Quietly elegant

GREAT HOMES Ahead of World Environment Day, Aruna Chandaraju zooms in on an eco-friendly home in Bangalore with walls made of hollow clay blocks, making it a few degrees cooler than it would have been if made with bricks. Earthen pots for water storage, skylights, terracotta tiles make the Nayaks’a fuss-free, green home.


It is a simple, fuss-free, and quietly elegant house dotted with antiques and built with as many eco-friendly features as the budget, size and location would allow. This home of chartered accountant Lalit Nayak and his wife Dr Loramala Nayak is divided into three levels of 900 sq ft each.

Terracotta tiles line the floor of this home designed by architect Edgar De Mello giving it an earthy, ethnic look. The furniture is mostly wooden since “we like its warm, cosy look”, say the Nayak couple. They are almost all in antique teakwood and thus in old-world style. A hundred-year-old rocking chair is placed near the door. It was sourced from Goa and is all in teakwood and a favourite of Loramala where she loves to sit and read.

Inspired by Nrityagram

Next to it is a muneem-desk, also in teakwood and an Australian boomerang––again, a wooden artifact––on the wall alongside. A raised platform acts as a low seating area or divan which is ideal for lounging around, reading magazines or for the children’s study time. These features were inspired by Nrityagram, the classical-dance centre on the outskirts of Bangalore, known for its ethnic Indian architecture and design, and to which the owner was a regular visitor.

The sofa is the sole modern furniture element in the drawing room and is a traditional Gujarati-style ie a Sankhede set in lacquer finish with gold motifs...A Chettinad horse painting adorns the wall on the other side––this one too is an antique and nearly two centuries old! A small woollen rug from France is draped on the floor below.

Like many ecofriendly houses in Bangalore, the walls of this home too are made of hollow clay blocks. These blocks act to trap air and thus have an insulating effect. Hence, a home like this remains a few degrees cooler than it would have been if made with bricks. The natural coolness also means saving on electricity bills.

In fact, we remember that while growing up, we rarely used the fan or even lights for that matter during daytime, say the daughter Maanika and son Mihir.

Two large skylights and an atrium-like feature as well as large windows ensure plenty of natural light and fresh air washing through the house. A mesh covers all windows, enabling them to remain open all day and take further advantage of the outside light and air, while keeping out insects. The outer walls don’t use plaster––another saving that walls made of hollow clay blocks ensure

Minimalist, clutter-free

A few small artefacts objects placed on low tables and a couple of wall-hangings are all that make up the décor objects of the living room.

We have consciously tried to keep our home minimalist and clutter-free, say the Nayak couple. The kitchen and dining room are simple and utilitarian and we noted the use of earthen pots for water-storage since the family prefers this over refrigerator-cooled drinking water.

The bedrooms have antique teakwood beds and the deep, sober colour of the wood is offset by the brightly hued bed-linen and furnishings.

There are several potted plants lining the outside walls and at the entrance to the staircase leading up to the house.

All of them use organic manure and there is a natural compost maker too.

The children love these elements and the terracotta tiles, etc., since they studied at a well-known school which encouraged environment-friendliness and love of nature and where pottery, was actually a subject included in the curriculum.