Some houses are decorated. This one was restored first, and decorated second — and the order matters.
Monsoon House is an 8,000 sq ft holiday home in Thrissur that took two years of careful renovation before a single piece of furniture was chosen. The architectural details were restored sensitively rather than replaced, and everything that followed was arranged around them.
A free hand, used with restraint
The clients gave us complete freedom — vibrant, glamorous interiors, arranged in the traditional room-by-room plan rather than an open one.
Freedom of that kind is easier to misuse than to use. The temptation is to fill. We did the opposite. The rooms are not overfilled; the work went instead into getting the proportions of each piece right. A restored house has its own rhythm — ceiling heights, window placements, the width of a doorway — and furniture either respects that or fights it. Getting the scale correct is what makes a large house feel welcoming rather than grand, and liveable rather than staged.
East and West in the same room
The furnishing is a deliberate collaboration between two traditions.
From India: miniature paintings, crewelwork embroidered wall panels from Kashmir, brass accents, and plantation chairs — the Kerala form built for heat and long afternoons.
From the West: William Morris wallpapers, Spode blue pottery, Waterford crystal.
Neither is used as decoration on the other. A Kashmiri crewelwork panel and a William Morris paper share a vocabulary — both are pattern drawn from nature, both made by hand, both designed to be looked at for a long time. Put in the same room, they read as one idea rather than two.
That is the whole of what we mean by Heirloom Modernism: Indian craft and Western discipline at equal weight, in a house built to be inherited.
Monsoon House was restored, designed and furnished by Temple Town, the Thrissur-based interior design studio founded by Meera Pyarelal in 1999.
Temple Town's interiors for an 1,800 sq ft apartment — earthy tones, built-in storage and classic pieces, designed to move between family home and adult space.
Temple Town's interiors for a Kochi backwater apartment, designed for a family returning from a decade in London — Notting Hill drama in a Kerala setting.
A US-based couple gets closer to their roots in this evocative Kochi home
Pairing ethnic Keralan furniture with classic European styles, interior designer Meera Pyarelal designs a four-bedroom sanctuary for an expat couple to visit, and stay closer to, their parents
13 April 2024
Justin Sebastian
When the Pareiras—a couple based in the United States with their three daughters—chanced upon Meera Pyarelal’s work at their friend’s home and later visited her handmade-furniture store, they were drawn to the charming colonial styles that echoed across her designs. “Like many expats, they were constantly yearning being closer to home and their roots; and they bought this place to be closer to both their parents to take more care of them as they grow older. This was tremendously heartwarming to hear and immediately told me a lot about them as a family,” recalls Pyarelal, who chanced upon interior design after designing her own apartment in 1999. This led to starting her bespoke heritage-inspired furniture label, Temple Town, out of her husband’s garage, which today retails in two stores in Thrissur and Kochi.
An old wooden ceiling found in Rajasthan hangs above the monotone Fabienne sofa custom-made at Temple Town.
Justin Sebastian
“The couple is very house proud, and longed for a home here, especially after their three daughters had grown up and moved out for university and work. They wanted to build a collection of heritage pieces and art in this Kochi home, which could eventually be handed down as heirlooms in the family, or even taken back to their home in the US,” Pyarelal looks back at the Pareiras’ vision for their 5,000-square-foot four-bedroom apartment. While the colonial-style inspired space visually unfolds like an ancestral home with charming and intricate vintage designs in every corner, every form of modern day creature comfort has been quietly tucked away behind clever paneling.
A painting by Suneesh, a local artist, depicts sisters which Pyarelal chose as a symbol for the relationship between the couple’s three daughters; an antique door salvaged from a home in Kerala has been repurposed for the top of the living’s room coffee table with legs designed by the firm’s workshop, which have been inspired by traditional Keralan massage beds.
Justin Sebastian
A Haven To Grow Old In
One of the biggest asks for this Kochi home was a muted, soothing palette for a sense of calm for the couple’s now-ageing parents. Pyarelal, who has a penchant for tastefully playing with colour—adding accent points in her spaces with bright, jewel-toned pieces or textiles—achieved this by keeping the bedroom spaces neutral, and adding hints of colour in the common rooms. “The turquoise console at the entrance is the brightest colour I’ve used to open up the home. From there, you’ll see small bursts through the art or some of the upholstery, but overall, there are far more pared down hues and tones than I’d usually use.”
A collection of antique crystal lights, collected over the years by Pyarelal in Firozabad, have been strung together as a chandelier over the ten-seater Kerala teak dining table paired with Louis XVI chairs; a cast iron mirror hangs over a wooden console held together with repurposed balustrades.
Justin Sebastian
Another challenge, “which was the trickiest,” accordingly to Pyarelal, was uniformly continuing the heritage essence of the home while fitting in every modern-day appliance, gadget and technology the family was used to. “After living in the States for so many decades, they were reliant on far more home automation than most homes here, and we had to make sure every room was fitted with it; without a single wire, electric point or device visible in clear sight!”
The kitchen across the dining room has been fitted with the latest fittings and automations—all cleverly tucked away behind strategic panelling to retain the home’s heritage charm.
Justin Sebastian
To cleverly tackle this, the home entertainment system has been tucked away behind a teak console in the living room, with a projector rolled up behind a panel above. Similarly, strategic panelling in the royal blue kitchen has hidden every functional appliance—from the dishwasher to the chimney.
A master bedroom has been designed for an air of serenity with tussar silk cladded mouldings paired with hand-sketched landscapes. “There’s a sense of calm that has been created in this room by using furniture and accessories made only from natural materials which balances the muted colour scheme,” shares Pyarelal.
Justin Sebastian
Crafting Heritage
“India is always my biggest inspiration,” Pyarelal fondly proclaims, when describing her work and knack for collecting unique pieces across the country. “I have an entire godown of furniture, lights and objects, which I’ve discovered over the years. There’s never any particular reason I buy them—if it has an interesting story or made in an unusual way, I know it will eventually find the perfect home.”
An emperor-size bed fits all three daughters, who love to huddle together during vacations; square mouldings on the wall behind pay homage to heritage American homes.
Justin Sebastian
Each home she designs unfurls like a story, largely through its furniture, which is either built from scratch with inspiration from historical pieces or restored at Temple Town’s workshop. Pyarelal coins this to her love for heritage styles, with mid-century being the closest to contemporary she’ll ever come to. “I always learn about the client’s history before bringing their home to life, and more often than not, there’s something I’ve collected or built that can echo that in their spaces.
A set of flop-down rails on each side of the parent’s bed have been fitted for safety; while a trundle bed removes all ambiguity for accommodating extra guests when needed.
Justin Sebastian
And sustainability plays the largest role in her workshop, where each piece is built to be long-lasting and “handed down for generations. That’s the best way to be conscious of our consumption,” she muses, pointing to how all the wood used at her workshop is sourced responsibly within a 50-kilometre radius, with not a single material being imported in the process. “A lot of homeowners ask me how they can add an old or traditional piece in a contemporary space, wondering if it might be a mismatch. I never think that’s true—it is actually quite fascinating to see furniture telling a quiet story of your heritage in your home. This works in any house—from the opulently maximalist to the sleekest and starkly minimal.”
