Steeped in tradition
Kanti Thapa welcomes Travel & Lifestyle into her classic and elegant home built on traditional values.
With cultural values and traditional designs in mind the home features a double reception space, four large bedrooms, one study room, two stores, one washing room, a gymnasium and a kitchen. Large wooden doors carved in Nepali conventional style intimidate you as you enter the threshold.
The exterior of the house is a mix of contemporary and traditional designs. Light brown paint and red bricks is generously used on the walls and the alleyway is lined with beautiful earthen flower pots. As you enter the house, you step into a world where the owner’s traditional approach is more pronounced. “My home is my abode. The design and the make of this house showcase my patriotic upbringing. It’s my way of inculcating the love for my country and my values in my everyday life,” says Thapa. She and her husband put their heads together when building the house in 2006. However, she informs, that the interior is all visions coming to life. “Each and every corner of the house along with the colours used is in accordance to Vaastu Shastra,” shares Thapa. She collects relics to decorate her house. “I adorn my house with family heirlooms. It preserves the aesthetics and helps my children to learn and remember our culture, tradition and values,” shares Thapa.
Wooden stairs
Thick brown banister and wooden tread, the spiral stairs sweep up from the living space to the floor above. “The stair is the centre around which the rest of the house is designed,” says Thapa. The floor is carpeted with timber. A sofa and a coffee table are placed adjacent to the staircase and this little corner is where she entertains her friends.
The chandelier is the centerpiece of the house which drops elegantly from the high ceiling above. A carved wooden banister wraps the space in a vintage charm. Wide tall windows fills the room with natural light and leads to the study room around the corner.
Thapa has turned a narrow space of on the first floor into a study for her husband. A simple study table and bookshelves mounting the walls right up to the ceiling compliment the minimal space of the room.
This room brings together the elements of modern architecture and vintage décor. The walls are painted in pastel and different hues of brunette clubs well with the overall design of the room. Heavy drapes are used on the windows which match with the hardwood floor. A standard fireplace and a television set takes up one corner of the room. “In my free time, I sit here and watch movies with the family. We gather here in the evening for some quality time.”
Although Thapa loves all spaces of her house, she is fond of this room in particular. “Whenever I sit here I reminisce about my daughter as a toddler. She would come crawling to me through that door,” says Thapa.
This kitchen has a marble countertop where the wooden element of the room is continued with brown cabinets. Bright yellow and dark maroon colours adds warmth to the hearth of this home.
