This Is Epic
A curation of our design ideas and inspirations for houses in Goa, contemporary art and architecture.
A Blog
with a curation of our design ideas and inspiration for houses in Goa, contemporary art and architecture.
Archive
- A Grounded Palette 12
- Architecture 76
- Art 13
- Conservation 3
- Design 34
- Designing a House in Goa 15
- Ecological Design 13
- Environment 29
- Geoffrey Bawa/Bijoy Jain 6
- Goa Ecology 5
- House for Sale in Goa 18
- Interiors 15
- Landscape 3
- Landscape Design 4
- Life 18
- Lifestyle 6
- Living in Goa 26
- Mentoring 4
- Moving to Goa 22
- Navovado Project Update 4
- Nivim Project Update 33
- Press 10
- Resort-style Lifestyle 14
- Sustainable Architecture 16
- Sustainable Design 14
- Wellness 5
We have some much-awaited news!
Grounded will soon be launching 2 new luxury villas for sale in North Goa. Set within beautiful Aldona, the house is surrounded by peaceful green vistas and the rustic charm of the Goan countryside. With expansive living spaces, intimate pockets that look out to the pool, and nearly 3500 sqft of open space, the house seeks to offer seamless indoor-outdoor living. Like all our other residential projects, the villas will be sustainable, architecturally relevant, and closely connected to nature.
To know more about the villas,
It is such a joy to see our project House with Three Pavilions find beautiful space in print and on the cover of Livingetc Magazine’s June 2022 issue. Aptly titled - ‘A Home with A Verandah’, the article draws attention to our countryside Goan house’s tangible connection to nature. It throws light on our tropical modern design approach and celebrates our efforts to create seamless indoor-outdoor spaces that allow our clients to take everyday life outdoors.
Read the published story here.
If you are considering buying a house in Goa, read our blogpost: What to Look For While Buying A House in Goa
To know more about our design process, take a look at: Designing A House in Goa
Grounded will soon be launching 2 new luxury villas for sale in North Goa. Like all our other residential projects, the villas will be sustainable, architecturally relevant, and closely connected to nature.
Register your interest using the link below to know more about the villas:
https://lnkd.in/dJfR9hS4
Celebrating the rustic yet contemporary nature of Utsav House by architect Bijoy Jain.
A simple, 5 step guide to design and build houses with rustic and luxurious spaces that are connected to nature.
A Guide to Local Goan Food with a list of offbeat Goan restaurants, unique Goan food stories, extensive Goan food histories and food journals as well as Goan food through art and travel. Read about all things Goan cuisine here, right from mastery of the famous Bebinca Cake to a food pilgrimage by Chef Thomas Zacharias through Goa.
Now that you've got this house in Goa, imagine all the things you can do with it to make it your sanctuary. The most wonderful thing about having a house in Goa is being able to enjoy the natural immersion and the seasonal indulgence that comes with it. To us, design is a direct way to enhance comfort, improve quality of living, and create richness in experience within every space.
Design can be simple but generous and luxurious when the right materials and strategies are used. Here are 5 effective ways to create rustic spaces that are designed for barefoot and earthy luxury.
01 Create spacious bathrooms finished with rustic materials that feel great against bare feet.
Find bathrooms designed as sanctuary spaces here.
02 Use a colour palette of subtle shades & tones in neutral monochromatic colours.
Read more about building a neutral palette here.
03 Take advantage of the unique colours, patterns and textures of natural materials.
Learn about using and maintaining wood, lime, and IPS here.
04 Design landscape to mimic a wild landscape as opposed to manicured landscape.
Learn more about natural landscaping and local species here.
05 Practice a bit of wabi sabi where you appreciate and live with site's imperfections and the aging of materials.
Read our blogpost on living with nature.
We have recently started work on a small house for a lovely young family in Talpona village in Goa. The focus will be on indoor-outdoor living and creating opportunities to connect with nature. The project site is contoured and verdant, with lush trees meeting the eye every side we turn. Our vision for the project is to bring land and life together, through timeless contemporary-vernacular architecture. As we explore the relationships between space and site, we ask ourselves repeatedly,
What are the views that we can frame? How can we create open, continuous and connected spaces? How much light and breeze comes through? How can we create pockets around different natural clusters? How will each space change with time to allow for multiple experiences?
If you follow our work, then you know that we are somewhat 'experts' in designing houses in Goa. We constantly highlight the key design elements appropriate for houses in Goa and the Goa lifestyle, such as preserving and celebrating the site's natural features, preserving the existing trees on the site, designing indoor-outdoor spaces with large verandahs, and spaces with ample daylight and cross-ventilation, while following sustainable practices to reduce the building's ecological footprint.
Another key element to consider while buying a property in Goa is 'maintenance'. This is not a topic that is often discussed but must be seriously considered while buying a new home. If the house in Goa is used as a second or vacation home, then one may not live in a it all year round and when you visit, you want to enjoy the beauty and luxury of the house and not be inundated by a plethora of maintenance issues. These concerns take center stage in Goa, specially due to the relatively heavy monsoon period in Goa which can lead to several problems of water seepage, mold and dampness.
Here are the main points to consider while buying a house in Goa:
Balance your desire for design goodness with maintenance requirements
BUGS:
1. Be cognizant that you will be co-living with bugs and reptiles, and sometimes monkey and bats. Insist on mosquito net screens for doors and windows. These are vital to 'resort-living' and are sadly often omitted. The mosquito nets allow the home owners to keep doors and windows open without the concern for bugs, mosquitoes and other undesired creatures from entering the house. The homeowner can in-turn enjoy the sunsets, evening breeze and an indoor-outdoor lifestyle without a compromise.
2. Avoid decorative ponds. In my experience, the decorative ponds become habitats for reptiles and can become a maintenance headache.
DAMPNESS:
3. Get closets that can breath. This is critical due to the high humidity during the monsoon period in Goa. If you plan to leave you things back in the house (as you should), then it is important to have closets that can breath. This can be achieved by using breathable materials within the closet doors, in the form of lovely cane weaving, wood louvers, canvas and even cotton curtains.
4. It is important to air-out your house in Goa. While you as a homeowner are away, it is important that the house staff or friends periodically open up the doors and windows and air the house. This is critical to avoid mold from growing in hidden corners in the house.
SECURITY:
5. Check the quality of glass used in a home. Toughened glass is the most commonly used glass for security purposes. Higher grades of security glass are also available and can be installed at a premium.
6. New technology allows for video surveillance. There is also an availability of motion sensors and special alarms that go off in case of vandalism. Panic buttons can also be introduced in each room if desired.
7. Finally, the best security is offered by watch dogs and guardsmen who can keep an eye on the property and raise an alarm when security is breached.