This particular Bengaluru home designed by Aakriti Saraf marries minimum upkeep with maximum storage

This particular Bengaluru home designed by Aakriti Saraf marries minimum upkeep with maximum storage

When former LinkedIn India product head, Akshay Kothari and his fashion designer wife Manya moved to India from San Francisco in 2017, they knew the move would be short-term. Yet, what this young couple wanted was to build a perfect home that was warm, fun, contemporary and inviting—for them, their guests and their baby girl.Fortunately, Manya, whose family is in the construction industry, signed up for the task. It wasn’t long before they identified a 5,000 sqft penthouse apartment with a terrace in Indiranagar, the stylish and lively heart of Bengaluru. Bringing the verdant outdoors into the roomy indoors was a huge attraction for them and the terrace, coupled with Bengaluru’s great weather, really just ticked all their boxes.Planning distinct yet seamless spacesThe informal living area opens up to the dining spaceShamith PatilLocated on the top floor of a low-rise building, theirs was the quintessential builder’s dream (it is two flats converted into one)—a bare shell complete with a 1,000 sqft terrace overlooking a large, lovely children’s garden. There were also generous common spaces that needed to be divided into different sections for the family to use. “We were keen on hunting down a designer who would help us convert this house into a home, who understood our needs and was aligned with our design sensibilities,” explain the Kotharis. And they found their match in interior designer Aakriti Saraf, founder of Bengaluru-based Aakriti Saraf Designs.