Mumbai公寓改造为英式乡村风住宅丨印度丨孟买Olive Roof,创始人Shraddha Shah

This Mumbai apartment feels like a cottage straight out of a still life painting

Olive Roof transformed a bare-shell Mumbai apartment into a soulful home inspired by the English countryside.

The living room is a countryside-inspired haven framed by exposed wooden beams and walls painted in Marbled Arches by Birla Opus. A delicate floral wallpaper from Borastapeter sets the scene for a Victorian-inspired bar cabinet, adding a touch of old-world charm. The cobalt door to the left leads to the den.

The thing about designing a Mumbai apartment is that they all tend to blur together—matchbox layouts, builder-grade flooring, and endless sprawls of concrete stretching in every direction. Interior designer Shraddha Shah, however, has never seen it that way. Arguably, the closest she ever came to designing two in the same breath was when she landed projects, several months apart, in the same building—allowing her to shuttle between site meetings in a record three minutes flat. “False,” chuckles the founder and principal of Mumbai-based Olive Roof, dismissing the notion of sameness. “If anything, it took us longer to nail the layout of the second one. The initial plan from the builder was 100% impractical, and I had to sketch and re-sketch to get the zoning right.” But iteration after iteration wasn’t in vain—because as she tells it, the result, fortuitously, was a blueprint stripped of clutter and brimming with soul.

The den door is a vision in cobalt. The walls and ceiling are clad in reclaimed wood, while the accessories and furniture echo the charm of classic pre-war cottages.

A rich tahini-hued fabric from Warwick and a lovely floral print from AP Royale breathe life into the sofa, perfectly complementing a set of vintage-inspired chairs wrapped in a terracotta weave from Warwick. A teak wood planter from Mahendra Doshi and the Blur Side Table from Pottery Barn flank the sofa, the latter hosting a Freedom Tree lamp topped with a floral lampshade from Zufolo.

The dining room is anchored by a built-in oak bench, antique cane chairs, and a sleek teak wood table. “We wanted this space to feel like it had always been this way,” says Shah, referencing the reclaimed teak columns and exposed brick wall that lend it a timeless charm. The teak columns also serve a practical purpose, subtly marking the transition from the dining area to the bedroom entry.

The owners of this Mumbai apartment, Shweta and Kartik Soral—a technology professional and an equity fund manager respectively—were already familiar with Shah’s work, having seen it firsthand in a neighbour’s home. They knew exactly what they wanted—"something with the warmth of a country

cottage

"—and, just as importantly, what they didn’t—"anything difficult to maintain." Having only ever lived in rentals, they were eager to create a home that truly reflected them—one with a dedicated library for their books and a strict no-TV policy near the dining or drawing areas. “This being our first home, we were excited through every step. We had plenty of ideas at the start, but the one thing we both agreed on—it had to be our sanctuary of love, happiness, and peace,” says Shweta. For Shah, who received carte blanche, their vision became an invitation to step into the past—aesthetic nostalgia she embraced in more ways than one. She forwent a false ceiling, instead crafting a warm, intimate glow at eye level with wall sconces and table lamps, letting the light shape the space as much as the design itself.

The spare bedroom—doubling as a den and library—is wrapped in deep blue and red brick walls, creating a rich, cocooning feel. Underfoot, beautifully woven dhurries from Home Neera add warmth and texture.

The kitchen is a smorgasbord of colour, courtesy of the subtle green floor and bright rainbow-hued cabinets.

Anyone who knows Shah will tell you she’s a sixties soul—but judging by this project, whether her heart belongs to vintage Europe or old-world Asia is anyone’s guess. “I’d say a little bit of both,” she muses when asked about the jewel-box decor, a farrago of brass lamps, delicately upholstered headboards, and chairs emblazoned with colourful miniature Ganeshas. “The mix of textures—reclaimed wood, classic upholstery, and textured walls—strikes the perfect balance between rich and cosy,” says Shah, who layered the textured black tiles in the living room and den with characterful dhurries from Jaipur Rugs and Home Neera, and dressed the walls with wooden panels and floral Borastapeter wallpaper. She thought of the windows as art, ornamenting the larger ones with elegant drapes and the smaller ones with warm wooden blinds. As for the bedrooms, she tread lightly with colour, using the upholstery on the headboard and benches as the springboard for the peripheral palette.

The primary bedroom is a serene retreat, brought to life with Swedish and Japanese floral prints, a curved olive headboard, and soft linens. “The room has one window that’s a quarter the size of the other—a problem we solved by dressing the larger one in light green curtains and the smaller one in wooden blinds,” says Shah. The walls balance textures, with tongue-and-groove panelling on one side and textured paint on the other. A wardrobe shutter in a delicate cherry blossom hue adds warmth, while a strip of floral wallpaper along the ceiling nods to the charm of English cottages from a bygone era.

You’d be forgiven for thinking the home is a relic of the past—a colonial gem simply refreshed for modern living. The walls and ceiling are clad in reclaimed wood, while the accessories and furniture echo the charm of classic pre-war cottages. Even the living room floor, which replaced the original marble, feels like a page from history. “We wanted it to feel timeless and lived-in,” says Shah, who crafted room dividers from locally sourced teak wood logs and used jackfruit and mango wood planks to bring warmth to the walls. While she largely kept the palette neutral, she made one bold exception—the kitchen. Vibrant cabinetry and a subtle green floor add a welcome pop of colour. “That was Kartik’s idea, and I thought it was excellent,” she admits. As for whether the home lives up to their country

cottage dreams

, Shweta believes it goes beyond. “It’s more than we ever imagined—it’s our sanctuary, filled with warmth, thoughtfulness, and personal touches. It proves that timelessness isn’t just about looking back, but about creating something that will always feel like home.”

The kid’s bedroom isn’t your typical Pinterest-perfect space. “You wouldn’t even know it’s for a child,” says Shah, who designed it to evolve alongside its pint-sized occupant. The wardrobe seamlessly connects to a built-in reading bench nestled under the window, creating a cosy nook for quiet moments.