‘Daastan’ means a story or a tale. Why we’re calling this home a story is a story in itself.. which we’ll come to later on. But since we’re comparing homes to stories, if ‘Taru‘ was a tender romance, you could call ‘Daastan‘ a full-on Broadway production. It has all the energy of bright lights, catchy music and high drama. And like any super-hit production, it has a dazzling opening act. Don’t believe me? Let me show you the Entrance and Foyer of Daastan…
Entrance and Foyer of Daastan
But first, let me begin with the story of how this beautiful story got this charming name.
The story begins in April last year, when we were just going to start work on the project. The evening before we were going for measurements, I got this lovely message from the client… a beautiful couplet from a ghazal by Firaq Gorakhpuri called ‘Tu Hai Sarbasar Koi Daastan’. It’s the most poetic start I’ve ever had to a project, and if you believe in energies as much as I do, you can imagine how much of a symphony this home has turned out to be.
We shot this stunning home this February. I had completely forgotten about the above exchange when I asked the client what they would like to name their home. I got a prompt reply from him, marking this message. He said we could consider ‘Daastan’ since every room tells a different tale.
And so, I proudly present to you the first chapter of this glorious story today – the fabulous entrance and foyer of Daastan.
The Plan
The foyer is a good sized rectangular space. We equipped it with a large sideboard that serves as a shoe cabinet, and a small stool to sit on while wearing or removing your shoes.
Then we got around to some magic to make it a stunning space… the kind that makes you stop and look again.
But before we even enter this foyer, we first worked on the main door.
The Main Door
Being the only apartment on this side of the lift lobby, Daastan’s door is placed at the centre of a large wall. We couldn’t change the size of the door, so we panelled the entire wall around it to give the home a grand frontage.
A carved moulding around the door frame and moulding panels on the door itself add to the rich vibe.
Wall sconces on either side of the door light up the space and also double up as decor. We put all the clients’ names in black metal lettering for the name plate.
The Foyer
On the inside, this stunning space makes you stop in your tracks.
We have a large sideboard that works as a shoe unit. A large mirror above it with wall lights on either side complete the simple set up.
Look and Feel
I usually start any design by first asking clients to send me pictures of spaces they have liked and saved. When the clients sent me their favourites, I noticed that all of them had shades of yellow in them in some form or the other. In some pics it was a yellow wall, in others a yellow sofa or cushions. So yellow became our starting point for the design, and this bespoke mustard sideboard became the focal point of this foyer.
With this large piece in bright yellow, we didn’t need any more colour in this space. So we decided to use pattern instead.
We started with simple black and white stripes on the wall behind, and added a smaller houndstooth pattern on the stool upholstery.
Then we picked this bold black and white geometric pattern for the rug…
… and replicated the same on the kitchen door which is right opposite the mirror. I love how the rug and door team up to add so much drama to this foyer, and this is one of my favourite design elements of Daastan.
Also, don’t miss how the pretty macrame wall-hanging so easily conceals the main electrical box of the home.
The shadows from the wall sconces add a pattern of their own and the result is this gorgeous space… an absolutely stunning first look of this home.
Before and Afters
And now to the before and afters, so you can see magic at work!
The main door of the home…
We panelled the entire wall around it to make the whole entrance look bigger and grander.
A view of the entire foyer…
We furnished it with a large sideboard that works as a shoe cabinet.
The main foyer wall…
The bright, mustard sideboard is the hero of this space with the mirror and lights centred around it.
The kitchen wall…
We added this geometric door with a pattern to match the rug. It adds another bold pattern to complete this stunning space.
Get The Look
All the furniture of the entrance and foyer of Daastan is bespoke. It was all either designed and made on site, or customised for us by our vendors. But many of the accessories are available online. You can easily find them by clicking on the links below.
| – 1 – Bespoke striped wallpaper | – 2 – Amalfi Wall Light | – 3 – Spideo Huax Decorative Mirror | – 4 – Callum Wall Light | – 5 – Macrame Wall Hanging | – 6 – White Striped Ceramic Planter | – 7 – Brass Hook | – 8 – Bespoke Geometric Dhurrie |
That concludes act 1 of the story of ‘Daastan’. Are you beginning to see the lights and hear the music yet? The drama is only just beginning, and I can’t wait to share the rest of it with you. Sign up here to stay updated and I’ll see you here next week again.
Until then,
.
Photography: Biju Gopal of @bizou.photos
Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links