#DPExclusive: Sage Tones And Vintage Charm Define This Mumbai Home

Suspended 26 floors above Mumbai’s orchestral sprawl, this 1,300 sq. ft apartment offers more than just sweeping views. Designed by Mustard Design Studio for a senior creative couple and their daughter, this residence represents a conscious pause. In their second innings, the couple yearned for a home untouched by the saturation of their professions. “They see colour everywhere in their work,” says Hiral Shah, who helmed the spatial design. “And so, they wanted a space that would neutralise all of that. 

The brief was clear, but layered: no visual noise, and certainly no Pinterest imitations. What they yearned for instead was a retreat from the city’s cadence. “A space that felt like a vacation, without leaving home”, asserts Shah of their vision. Accordingly, the design rejects trend cycles in favour of temporal stillness. The chosen palette is subdued: off-white walls and beige Italian marble become the grounding score, punctuated by solid teak and a single note of sage green — what Shah calls “the only colour in the entire house.” Botanical flourishes and vintage artefacts layer in time’s patina without cluttering the narrative. The resulting 3BHK is a quiet rebellion against the hyper-stimulated template of modern Mumbai living. A spatial haiku in matte wood and restraint, it channels a nostalgic ethos within a resolutely contemporary syntax.

An Entryway Etched In Sage

That spirit asserts itself right from the threshold. A double-shuttered homage to old European homes, complete with an operable letterbox and antique brass finish, the entrance door lends the residence its moniker. “We ended up calling it The House with the Green Door while working on it,” shares Shah. “That door captures everything the space is meant to be: rooted and quietly distinct.”

Nearby, rattan-fronted furniture lends utility, while archival black-and-white photographs of the city, grooved into the entryway wall, anchor Bombay’s colonial past as part of the visual architecture. Inside, a vintage chest, hand-carved mirror, and chesterfield pouffe compose a foyer vignette that feels both curated and lived-in.

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Design That Lets In The Sky

Beyond the apartment opens to an airy living space where the skyline unfurls like a living canvas. Eyes are instinctively drawn toward the deck, where Mumbai stretches in an unbroken stretch, — made possible by low-slung furniture that purposefully stays out of the way. “They didn’t want anything to block the view,” says Shah. “We let the city in, but on their terms.” Each piece of furniture is custom-wrought to further the home’s quiet thesis: that restraint can still be deeply expressive. 

Cohesion In Every Corner

Compact but intuitive, the dining area revolves around a circular black-polished table, surrounded by rattan and teak chairs. The sacred space, too, follows the same temperate language — a slim ledge with a fluted glass backdrop replaces the typical mandir, culminating in a corner that melds seamlessly into the room.

The kitchen was reimagined by knocking down a wall to introduce a breakfast nook: now a favourite corner for the couple’s morning rituals. In tune with the rest of the home, the materiality remains cohesive: off-white laminates below, fluted glass shutters above, wooden inserts, and a uniform quartz spread for the countertop and backsplash.

A central passage leads to the private quarters, where each room holds its own personality but remains tonally tethered. The master suite is swathed in hushed luxury, anchored by a custom four-poster teak bed draped in soft curtains — her one must-have. At 12 feet, the ceiling height allowed for ample vertical storage. The wardrobes feature white PU shutters with rattan sandwiched between glass and are finished with brass handles. “She also wanted two mirrors so both could get ready without waiting,” the designer laughs. It’s the only room with wooden flooring, adding a tonal warmth that frames their intimate evenings of wine and board games.

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A Fusion of Utility and Composed Elegance

The guest bedroom, though the smallest in footprint, is a masterclass in storage economy. A full-height storage wall cocoons the bed, offering ample room for essentials while maintaining a seamless visual flow. To avoid clutter, a distressed-finish chest of drawers adds both character and function, its weathered patina lending a lived-in charm without overwhelming the space.

In contrast, the daughter’s room takes a modern, zen-inspired turn. At its centre is a custom wood bed upholstered in cream-toned leatherette, set against the clean-lined canvas of a grooved backwall. Measured black accents inject bold punctuation, seen in the solid artwork crafted by Shah herself, and echoed in the powder-coated frames of the study and bedside tables.

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Throughout the abode, the design is calibrated toward composure, not for lack of imagination, but for abundance of clarity. Towering 12-foot ceilings allowed the team to maximise verticality while maintaining expansive floorscapes. And like a magpie, Shah sourced art and artefacts to weave them into the family’s everyday life, all in a way that is understated yet soulful. 

What emerges is a sanctuary of balance and belonging. Every element feels intentional yet unforced — a dialogue between discipline and delight, where serenity doesn’t stifle expression but anchors it.