This Bengaluru Home Is Designed For Two Very Pampered Four-Legged Divas

In 1920s New York City, when wit was a social currency, and cruelty was customarily satirised, Dorothy Parker once delivered a razor-sharp insult, ‘Pearls before Swine,’ referencing the scriptures. Little did she know that decades later, on the other side of the world, her acerbic remark would become a prophecy for a whimsical home, with an inconspicuous façade, two polar-opposite residents, and their duo of kids. But the kids in question were two Huskies who picked between zoomies and languid naps, dictating most of the design considerations for the abode. ‘Pearls On Swine’ with its capacious spaces and whimsically functional hacks, is a 4,500 sq. ft. brutalist wonderland in Bengaluru’s urban landscape, conjured by Smita Thomas, the principal alchemist at Multitude of Sins.

As one of the residents, Thomas shares, “I knew what the house needed to do for each of its inhabitants.” Within, behaviour itself becomes the design inspiration, where warmth is found in imperfections—embedded in objects and flooring alike—and every corner seems mildly offended by conformity.

The Dogs And Their Pearl

The property with a deceptively mundane facade was acquired by Thomas and her partner over a decade ago. “The name emerged quite naturally from the condition of the apartment itself,” Thomas reflects. The name is, however, a shift from its established tainted legacy to imply a discrepancy between a seemingly ordinary exterior and esoteric, fantastical interiors, being the pearl. However, this pearl, like every other of its kind, endures a demanding predisposition courtesy of the two very vivacious dogs. But as Thomas put it, “I wasn’t interested in designing a house where animals had to negotiate with the architecture. That felt backwards to me. The architecture needed to understand their behaviour first.”

Along with the murky paws and shedding hair, the house had to accommodate its other inhabitants’ social rendezvous and their opposing personalities; one adored clarity, functionality and restraint, while the other was enchanted by the sorcery of eccentricity. And yet, it wasn’t about bridging these temperaments, but coexisting. This concurrence is manifested in the rampant brutalist design language. Thomas explains, “Brutalism became relevant because it allows materials to exist honestly without excessive decorative diplomacy. Concrete can remain concrete. Steel doesn’t need an apology. Stone can age visibly without the entire house entering emotional distress over it.”

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Down The Rabbit Hole

Ditching the conventional guises of a foyer, the entrance welcomes visitors directly into the living room, but not before an encounter with a partly perforated wooden screen. “I’ve never trusted homes that reveal themselves entirely within the first few minutes,” justifies Thomas. The screen’s other side is functional with hooks to hold umbrellas and leashes, making it easier to dress the Huskies in the morning. To carry all the essentials, a storage unit hides in plain sight under a flight of stairs near the entrance and in the dining room, a crockery unit parlays as a medicine cabinet for an epileptic dog. “Even storage became deeply tied to pet rituals, leashes, supplements, medication, toys, towels, all the little objects that quietly accumulate when animals fully occupy a home instead of merely visiting it,” Thomas avers. On the right, a fluted charcoal basalt stone tilts just enough so the pets can move dangerously close for their celebratory scratches.

The designer cum resident is mindful of how every space feels underfoot; this deliberation is perceptible throughout the home in parts. “The floors themselves had to take on the responsibility of texture, zoning, and visual interruption,” explains Thomas. For instance, in the foyer, a blue semicircle appears, tracing the door’s opening circumference, while demarcating the space and changing reigns. Elsewhere, sleek black lines appear embedded in the flooring, hinting at an unfinished game of tic-tac-toe, replacing a rug. “Rugs disappeared from consideration very early thanks to a husky who sheds with terrifying commitment,” Thomas shares.

A liminal space in between the foyer and living room lounges over a wide expanse. It is claimed by none but inhabited by many, for yoga, shimming, or just to laze on a cool floor. In the living area, the designer flicks a wand, and a series of tentacles jut out of an amorphous metallic flower, and a sleek light fixture with leather belts transforms the functional with her signature whimsy. The bespoke four-seater couch, a motley crew of armchairs and a glinting coffee table host a gathering along with the bar.

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Between Entertaining And Solitude

Thomas begins by studying how every space is occupied by movement, especially the Huskies, who turn the home into a playing field. In response, much of the bespoke furniture deliberately hovers slightly above the floor, allowing them uninterrupted pathways for their chaotic bursts of energy. From the English pub-style couch across the bar, falling just short of the floor, to a dystopian arched bar with a cabinet curving around the edges and a kitchen with a discreet sliding door, the spaces become compatible for the dogs. A glinting steel lighting installation shimmers over a 10-foot bespoke dining table and a concrete slab etched with the dogs’ names, orchestrating an interplay of light and shadow.

The Hidden Sprites

Suspended in time, a library cum den becomes a serene hideaway with vaulted brick ceilings, towering bookshelves, and steel columns following the home’s archetypal Brutalism. Equal parts literary salon and cinematic den, it is veiled by a wooden door, away from the Huskies’ line of sight, allowing the rare inclusion of an asymmetrical rug. Adjacent, a guest bedroom with Gothic romanticism, Brutalist rigidity, and futuristic nuances appears in details and in elongated vertical tiles until a soft mauve semi-circle interrupts the geometry. “The house constantly slips between discipline and indulgence without fully belonging,” Thomas admits.

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Here, liminal spaces are prone to eccentricity; the terrazzo stairs, too, carry an almost discernible shift with a mauve marble border. “Everything dramatic in the house is usually solving something deeply mundane underneath,” muses Thomas. As one ascends, an alcove features a colossal mirror framed in grey marble inlay and wine-stained wood looming almost theatrically, while on another level, a metallic light fixture and chandelier cast delightfully strange shadows that dance across the steel-laced accents. At the end of the steps is a home office shrouded in a glass box framing a lush rain tree canopy while shrouding a grey door and a wooden and concrete lone desk.

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This study gazes out into the designer’s favourite corner of the home—the terrace. “Architecture loosens its grip slightly on the terrace, which is perhaps why it feels the most honest,” she shares. Here, the contrast between the functional and whimsical is almost palpable, handing a baton to the residents. 

From rock-climbing walls and monkey bars to yoga corners and open-air lounges, the outdoor space unfolds into a surreal wellness playground. “The space absorbs everything from Iyengar stretches to exhausted, collapsing and poorly thought-out second drinks without demanding behavioural adjustment from anybody occupying it,” states Thomas. 

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Inside, a bedroom unfolds as a richly layered retreat where functionality disguises itself as fantasy with slim terrazzo stripes, mauve marble inlays, steel scaffolding on the headboard, and a grungy dressing area. The monochromatic bathroom, layered with functional and theatrical details, is not for the faint-hearted.

Material Mindfulness

The home balances its idiosyncrasies with an almost maddening precision. Here, every room embarks on its own small adventure of self-discovery, gently shapeshifting to accommodate its inhabitants, where materials morph with light and touch, and furniture performs different roles depending on the moment. Across the home’s expanse, brutalism unfurls its cold talons, yet “the palette is brutalist in logic but not in temperament.” She adds, “The ability for materials to exist without disguise while still allowing tenderness, humour, and intimacy to emerge through use over time.” 

This wonderland shifts at will—from flooring to walls, alcoves to open spaces—murmuring in riddles and changing colour, always leaving just enough clearance for two Huskies to behave or not. As Thomas implies, “I had no interest in a home that needed everybody to behave correctly around it.”