A home should define family. Even though family members may have disparate likes and dislikes, the different facets should come together to form a warm and cohesive whole.
Suraj Villa, the home of Mr and Mrs Varadaraj, is one such place. For over a decade and half now, they have adopted a lot into their home — a lovely rooftop lawn to a beautiful little sit out at the back of their house.
The Vardarajs gave DC a personal tour of their home and spoke about the planning that went into building this perfect abode…
When Madhumita Varadaraj, the daughter of the house, talks about her home, it is with a lot of love and pride.
“This house was built over 15 years ago, with intricate attention to every beautiful detail that my parents wanted in their home. And, as years went by, it has constantly evolved with the changing trends and tastes.
While building our abode, they referred to every possible book and magazine on houses and gardens that they could lay their hands on.
Designed solely by us, this house has been put together with the help of an engineer and nifty carpenters who executed the drawings, sketches and ideas so very accurately.
The walls are in bright colors, and one of them is special - my mom Dr. Sunita and I, actually painted that wall ourselves.”
Says Madhu about his home, “While building our home, we ensured that it had a lot of wide, open spaces and at different levels — to be able to entertain people while still making for a perfect home.
The bright, natural light and good ventilation is because of proper planning - through the strategically placed windows, skylight, and green spaces.
The layout of the house includes a drawing room, a library/office, a den, an outdoor deck, a huge terrace with a lawn, four bedrooms and a wrap around garden with a lily-pond. It is surrounded by a lot of trees and greenery, which ensure that we have all the privacy we need.”
Even the lush lawn on the terrace is bounded by trees, which ensure that the Varadarajs’ efforts to maintain privacy are met with success — it is remarkable that they have been able to achieve it with just trees and greenery.
Their outer deck is a recent addition; it looks like a café, with its different table settings — the wrought iron table set for the morning tea, and the low chairs for friends to get together over snacks during the day.
There is also a proper dining table for those candlelit evenings, when the family sits outside all evening long, enjoying the breeze and a good meal under a guava tree lit with lamps.
Mrs Varadaraj comments on the artifacts that are scattered all over the house, “The house is filled with handicrafts of different shapes and sizes.
There are curios from all over the world — paintings, tapestries, crystal, china, statuettes and souvenirs fill every nook and cranny of our home.
Mr. Varadaraj is particularly fond of collectables, making an ongoing collection of ducks, owls, stone eggs, elephants, Buddhas and lamps from all the places that we have visited - Vietnam, Europe, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Uganda and more importantly, from all over our country as well.”
