A private corridor leads the way to each bedroom and its attached toilet that opens into a courtyard, which brings in the southwesterly winds and pitter patter of the monsoon rains. This corridor also connects the rooms to the puja room. The floor above holds the master bedroom, bathroom, and the entertainment space, with a slatted terracotta screen wrapping around the entire structure to form a balcony on all sides that’s shielded from the rain, yet steeped in light through every season.

Each courtyard serves as focal point that connects and opens the interiors of the entire home to nature.

Turtle Arts Photography

A Regional Indian Home

Clean linear designs across this biophilic home allow the numerous courtyards woven into the structure to stand out as verdant focal points, giving the home a deliberate sense of weightlessness while harmoniously engaging with the surrounding natural environment. While the furniture and décor have been chosen for their charming simplicity, fine art photography by the homeowner’s brother sentimentally adorns each wall. To complement the pockets of nature that bloom through the home, a palette of natural materials such as exposed laterite, terracotta, teak, stone pavers and exposed concrete bring in a sense of warmth.

Turtle Arts Photography

The landscaping on the property by Plain Spaces and LIJO.RENY.architects has retained the existing flora of the land, while bringing in several native plants and trees. “Everything here has been selected to ground the house firmly within its natural surroundings, displaying a traditional palette that harmonises with the distinct topography of northern Kerala. Although the design language here is unapologetically modern, the soul of the home remains profoundly regional,” says Jos. Lijo looks back at the seven years it took to create this slice of Keralan paradise, a feat he says taught him more about, “patience! Building a home that opens up to nature is more than just strategically placing plants or even a fountain in the middle of a structure. Each space that’s left open to the elements is bound to weather over time. It takes a lot of planning, and observing nature, to build in harmony with it.”