Designed for the Stars

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Working on a celebrity home design project comes with glamour and its own unique set of challenges. The business tycoons, renowned academicians, superstars of sports, movies, music or any other field are known to have some peculiar requirements when it comes to their abode. For celebrities recognized for their work, stardom, status and more, home is a shelter away from public attention. It’s their own private, personal space where they let their guards down. And it requires a sensitive attention to every little detail. The go-to haven for the rich and famous can be tricky task to design. Be it in architectural nuances, curated pieces of art, the best and latest in technology or elements of exotica that celebrities covet. It needs to exude a luxury that’s befitting of their personality and style sensibility. And it needs to be thoughtfully equipped with a functionality that will complement their unique, and quite often, kaleidoscopic lifestyle. What do celebrities want in a home? The number one priority of a celebrity is privacy. They want to be able to get away from the paparazzi. Thus foliage and hedges around the property become essential so that people can’t look in. Gates and high boundary walls to secure the area and provide security are the must haves. In cities like Mumbai, celebrities living in a vertical tower prefer a penthouse and a gated community. Constructed to ensure privacy are concealed windows, big dramatic doors with state of the art locks and the most technologically advanced security systems with coordinated cameras placed in strategic positions. These luminaries also prefer to have desired amenities with the home roof. They prefer to entertain at home more than going out to a fancy restaurant. So gourmet kitchens become the part & parcel of their homes. Dedicated rooms like fully equipped studios, organised makeup and dressing rooms, state-of-the-art gyms, home theatres with the best technology, quaint libraries, party areas with dance floors or cozy entertaining dens are some of the critical considerations in home designs for stars of their fields. Celebrities often conduct business from home too, hosting meetings and interviews. An office space is therefore crucial, in order to give them a work space that does not encroach into their personal and intimate areas. Open spaces are another aspect they crave for due to the lack of freedom they have outside their home. Lavish terraces overlooking the ocean, landscaped gardens surrounding the home with jhoolas or hammocks or a pool to jump into, as a place of escape is usually on the wish list. It helps them wind down, away from the frenzy of a life as a star. Elements of serenity also play a role—water bodies, musical instruments like grand pianos, sculptural windows that allow natural light to flood the space, as well as chandeliers or other items that provide the perfect mood lighting for every occasion. In terms of interiors, large, separate, over-the-top closets are an important consideration. Many a times extra rooms are converted into customized closets. Rooms that transform into massive walk in wardrobes are the quintessential. Design elements could include things of rarity—renowned works of art, custom made Botticino marble flooring, limited edition masterpieces, eclectic sculptures, meaningful objets d’art, installations, video art, all of which find its pride of place in an elegant fashion. Apparently, a nightclub in the home too isn’t that altogether uncommon. Basements designed as nightclub and dine-in wine cellar are increasingly becoming the luxury essential of a star personality home. What’s more, helipad atop the roof is becoming an aspirational addition for the billionaires in India. Designing the celebrity abode It’s also a very different experience designing the homes of the country’s most adored people, compared to ordinary folks. While of course the mandates of designing any home do encompass the basics, like bringing an enveloping warmth, ensuring safety, efficient space management, harmonious use of colour, exclusive curation of furniture—but sometimes it may seem like a celebrity’s demands sound over the top. Isprava offers luxury homes, villas, apartments, plots and property in Goa, Nilgiris and International locations. The homes are designed by leading international designers, fully furnished with antique furniture and is maintained by a property management team on the owners behalf. Some of the Isprava home owners include personalities such as Sunil Gavaskar, and founders/promoters of Infosys, SpiceJet, etc. Explaining the design nuances of a celebrity home project, Nibhrant Shah Founder and CEO of Isprava said, “When you live a life in limelight and travel the world appreciating the best of luxury, it’s only natural to get inspired. As a designer, one has to educate oneself with their likes and dislikes, their needs, eccentricities and fetishes. Whether it’s a singer, sports personality, film star, director or famous fashion designer—a celebrity desires a home which is as much a reflection of them in the public eye as it is about them as a private person. Their homes are like a performance that stands still. From the kind of furniture that occupies it – heritage or modern, handpicked and quirky or coordinated and clean – to tiniest of details like the tiles – patterned, material-centric, colourful or monochrome.“ Case study: Villa Capela By Isprava Villa Capela provides sanctuary to a well-known Indian celebrity, and serves as the ideal home away from home for them. Keeping in mind everything a celebrity desires in a place of escape, Villa Capela was thoughtfully designed and decorated. Tucked away in a secluded part of Parra in North Goa, the idyllic location was handpicked to offer tranquillity while being close enough to the pulse of Goa’s best bars, beaches and famous restaurants like Thalassa and La Plage. Villa Capela stands as a quaint home with many open spaces and greenery that surrounds. There’s a beautiful rectangular courtyard with a swimming pool that seems to spill into a palm-fringed paddy. Keeping in mind the idiosyncratic style of the owner, the building consists of subtle collage of doors and windows reminiscent of a Mediterranean fort. Inside the home, a flight of stairs lead to a spacious terrace where a sloping pergola houses an outdoor seating area to watch the sun set, as the branches of a banyan tree create a beautiful design. A rustic dining area stays open to the left of the courtyard, while the soft breeze from the outside finds its way into the double-height living area. In one corner, a charming bedroom overlooks fields on one side and the forest on the other. Upstairs three beautiful bedrooms have been accented with antique furniture, discerningly handpicked from palaces around India and abroad. Each bedroom has delightful projecting balconies that overlook palm-lined paddies. A bridge connecting the bedrooms looks into the courtyard below. Villa Capela marries the indoors to the outdoors, and makes the resident feel at one with nature, even from the inside. It’s got a vibrant, chic and elegant feel, and is a true reflection of the owner’s style and spirit. It has also been meticulously equipped with all the modern luxuries they may need. Villa Capela was designed arduously as the client envisaged ensuring it serves as the abode to come to, away from the spotlight [caption id="attachment_34030" align="alignnone" width="300"] Villa Capela By Isprava[/caption]