Ancestral house in Pattambi gets a fresh look after renovation

This is the story of how a 35-year-old tharavadu was overhauled without offsetting its aesthetic value. The owner of this house is Dr. Pramila, an oncologist. This house was built by her father and precisely for that reason, she was reluctant to demolish it fully as she felt emotionally connected to that home. That’s how she decided to retain the structure and renovate it according to the changing aesthetics. Dr Pramila handed over the renovation work to Designer Salim who was an old hand in overhauling old houses.

On the exteriors, he made minor changes. The sheeted roof was replaced with GI trussed roof. A balcony was added. A show wall with red stone cladding was done on the outer wall. The presence of laterite cladding on the pillars, and interior walls add a touch of freshness to the house.

It is a two-layered plot. So the interiors had a level difference. The kitchen was located about three feet below. Moreover, there is less wind and light entering inside. All this was solved by redeploying the interiors to overcome the space limitations. Since the householder's children are abroad the interiors are designed to make maintenance easier.

The extended house has a sitting room, living room, dining room, kitchen, workshop, and four bedrooms. The area is 4700 square feet. Furniture done in antique finish lends a vintage look to the interiors. Earlier there were no rooms upstairs. Now they have added three bedrooms and a library upstairs.

Since the uneven interiors would be difficult for elderly people, they made sure the ground floor was level as much as possible. The old furniture was polished and reused. The flooring on the ground floor was retained.

Puja space was set up on the side of the stairs. The interiors feature lavish paneling and furniture made of teak, mahogany, and plank.

A counter in the form of an island is installed in the kitchen. It was converted into a breakfast counter by adding chairs.

Older bedrooms did not have attached bathrooms. So they attached them to the new rooms.

The homeowner, who loves plants, had created a beautiful garden and landscape in the old house. And that has been maintained carefully. The landscape complements the house and makes it more beautiful.

Project Facts

Location - Pattambi, Palakkad

Plot- 30 cent

Area- 4700 Sq. ft

Owner- Dr. C.G. Pramila

Designer- Salim P M AS Design Forum, Malappuram

Mob- 6238803316

Y.C- 2022 May

Photos - Akhil Komachi