Amritha Karnakar is a practicing architect from Mumbai, India. Her house is a nurtured garden built with a lot of love and passion by her Late father Dr.Sachin Karnakar and mother Mrs.Vrinda Karnakar. It is a mix of their love for antiques and artifacts with their passion for gardening. Every plant, whether big or small has been treated like their own baby. The house with a terrace on the 6th floor is an ideal example of blending in of the inside and outside. A hint of her parents traditional South Indian decor is mixed with a hint of her own contemporary modern touch. The artifacts are a mix from all their travels. Few big wood carvings were bought from a trip to Africa. Some others include metal brass work from Gujarat and stone artifacts from their terrace at Hampi. The house has a mix of different flowering plants like orchids and champas, fruit bearing plants like chickoo, oranges and also bonsai’s and cactii. The house has a calming vibe. The fabrics and furniture have been carefully selected so as to blend with the garden greens and to match these the leather sofas are a shade of dark green.
There is a unique collection of bronze and wooded animal figurines. One of her favorites being the deer bronze statue which sits peacefully in the garden. Small elements like a bronze buddhist monk statue sleeps under the bonsai tree. It is details like these that add a surprise element to every corner of the house and garden.
At dusk, it is absolutely amazing to see the Devi stone statue and the Natraj soaking in the last rays of the sun. It brings a happy and peaceful feeling.
There are two beautifully carved wooden pieces in the living room. One such intricately carved centre piece sits proudly just above the sofa and is a depiction of our different Gods. The other unique one welcomes you in the passage.
The stunning centre table is made out of an old carved traditional door. In one corner is a very unique Balinese statue of a Goddess which is carved out of one bark of a rosewood tree and is slender and tall. A real stress buster is their garden. Whether you’re looking to do a morning yoga routine or just unwind from a stressful day – 10 minutes at the terrace during sunset brings in the much needed peace. It is a real stress buster. Her friends lovingly call it the spa home.
The garden boasts numerous kinds of orchids. Amritha considers it her most valuable possesion as it brings back fond memories of her father who had a keen passion for collecting unique orchids. Walking around the house, one is filled with an enormous appreciation of plants and art.
A lot of their new pieces are from their tavels. They have some gorgeous pieces from a recent trip to Nagaland. This includes the traditional beaded jewelry and the rhino horn shaped mug. She firmly believes that these dying art and crafts must be preserved and loves to get back such souviners as a memory of the unique art of each of these places, especially traditional art which is dying at such a rapid scale.
Her next trip this month is to Japan and she is undeniably excited to see and learn about their culture and more so to understand their concept of zen gardens. She affirms that their understanding of landscape and blending in of the inside-out in the most traditional format is breath taking . She is keen on learning more about their bonsai collection and claims that her mother who has a great collection of bonsai’s has inspired her to work with bonsai.
Amritha firmly believes that your home is a representation of you.
