Khosla Farmhouse: Where Rustic Elegance Meets Tranquil Serenity

This sprawling home is a farmhouse in Sultanpur, New Delhi where Saba Kapoor lives with her husband, in-laws and their grandmother. I believe that a home should be a reflection of its inhabitants. This entire home showcases Saba’s signature style and is a reflection of its inhabitants. The home is a marriage of classical and contemporary design styles showcasing a blend of different aesthetics. Moreover, the beauty of Indian workmanship shines through the interiors of the home. The furnishings celebrate brass and metal while being subdued by earthy materials like wood, neutral whites or soft textures, which adds that softness and warmth to metal. The home is a celebration of nature, be it the creepers that intertwine the columns of the verandah or the imposing mango tree in the garden. 

All the plants have been grown extremely naturally and beautifully. While the entire home has the same design aesthetic, each room has its own personality. This 2.5acre farmhouse located in Sultanpur, New Delhi, just off the main thoroughfare connecting New Delhi to Gurugram is a renovation of a 30-year-old bungalow. The house retains a lot of the 30-year-old elements of the home which was renovated rather than breaking it down and building from scratch. The electricity is from solar panels and there’s a lot of natural light in the home. Finally, the farmhouse is decorated with antiques and art and artefacts that are created with recycled or scrap materials. 

As soon as you enter the home, there’s indigenous Indian green marble on the floor, welcoming you into an airy verandah encompassed by a beautiful array of plants. This space leads into a Neoclassical foyer area with arresting mouldings on the walls, two black and white chairs and a centre table. As you go further inside, a majestic double door opens into the living room, which features an old-world charm that has been contemporized with the use of materials and pieces of artwork. Inspired by Saba Kapoor’s travels the bar called the Serengeti and it has intricate metal work depicting the fauna and flora found at the Serengeti. 
To the left of the living room is an outdoor patio, which is evocative of a zen garden. It features a serene water body, a sectional sofa, and an outdoor dining table under a beautiful mango tree. This space has been inspired by Japanese gardens, but made Indian by using Kota stone and other materials that are found indigenous to Delhi in India itself. The garden also boasts a wooden gazebo that can be used for larger gatherings. The living space also has a wraparound green patio as well. This patio has a chaise lounge, an antique chandelier and bird cages that are used as artworks. 

The dining area bears testimony to a unique collaboration between Saba and her father-in-law, a handicrafts exporter. The base of the dining table and the chandeliers were designed by Saba and cast in brass at her father-in-law’s facility. The opulence of brass is juxtaposed against earthy tones of wood and other muted shades. The double-door entrance leads to the expansive living area that stuns with a gorgeous play of white and gold. It overlooks the bamboo groove through the large window keeping the interface between the indoors and outdoors alive. The furniture, the chandelier and the accessories imbue the contemporary space with an old-world charm. 

The living spaces have been planned around a nucleus—a courtyard with bamboo plants. The bamboo plants are the heart of this house, because you see them in the informal dining, the formal living and formal dining areas, and you see them from the zen garden as well. The house features a seamless flow of natural light and natural beauty.

You walk around the house and you enter a dramatic and bold green room which is the family’s ‘zen room’. Aside from a variety of green planters, the room features an actual antique Kerala boat that was used for fishing in the olden days, placed on a pedestal and has plants growing within it, adorned three little playful Buddhas. Connected to this area is an elegant mandir, which overlooks the verdant garden. The greenery outside is the perfect backdrop for the mandir. It adds to the serenity of the space.  

Thereafter, you can go upstairs or downstairs. Upstairs are the in-laws bedroom, a TV room and a family lounge, and downstairs is the couple’s husband, a lounge and a study room. 

Age-old brass finds a unique modern application in the master bedroom, redefining timeless allure. Its minimalistic palette is matched by the refined design of the furniture pieces and the contemporary details in brass. The master bedroom and the living room surround a serene pool, overlooking the poolside patio soaking in the greenery and sunlight. The patio is furnished with elaborate modern furniture. The poolside patio brings modern minimalistic living to the outdoors. Sumptuous loungers, a set of two centre tables, arm chair and sculptural planters, all in white, add a serene calmness to the space and offer a much-needed escape from everyday chaos.
 
A wooden staircase with a walnut hue leads downstairs back to the main living area, and the bar area with a hidden pantry, which is an extremely artistic space because it is kind of a collection of all that Saba loves. Even the bar or the coffee table you see are more like pieces of art than actual furniture. There's an extremely interesting artwork on the walls by artist called Abhishek, made out of scrap metal and from shipyards in Gujarat. The bar is a multifunctional with half of storing tea while the other half has some drinks to entertain friends.