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Sudha Menon

Putting up a home is like executing a good recipe. And this couple has enjoyed putting together the ingredients for theirs.

Gourmet food specialist, food consultant and writer Karen Anand and entrepreneur husband Yadu Sankaliya's house in Pune's upmarket Clover Village, a quiet residential community, is like a green oasis in the middle of an urban jungle. Walking in through the doors of their sprawling 3,000-sq-ft house is like being transported into a cheerful, well appointed country home with a cosy, lived-in feeling, where everything has a form and function and is part of an aesthetic whole. Not for this couple the steel and sterile looks of a new-age home. The house is a pleasing combination of Victorian-style antique furniture that they picked up and restored over the years from Mumbai's flea markets, comfortable cane chairs and sofas with thick cushions and bright coloured upholstery, rugs and throws that add colour and character to the spaces.

"We wanted the house to look like us, spontaneous and warm... and not intimidating to its inhabitants or the visitors," says Sankaliya who runs a design studio in the city and has employed his talent around the house with collections of innovative fruit trays, bowls and utilitarian things. The flat, which is actually two largish flats knocked down and combined into one, has been designed with clearly demarcated living spaces — all the bedrooms and the family's private "TV and chill out" zone at one end and the entertaining, living room and a guest room at the other end, with Karen's stunning custom-made kitchen in between.

One of the most used rooms in the house is the living room, a Mediterranean style room with comfortable rattan chairs and sofas with thick cushions in lime green, set off with an ochre-hued rug. A tall lamp stands in a corner enveloping the room in warm tones in the evening while a burnt orange Burmese fruit bowl and Sankaliya's deep green fruit tray add charm to it.

"We love chilling out here on Sunday afternoons with a glass of wine, just enjoying the greenery outside," says Karen, referring to the French windows that skirt the room, giving them a clear view of the garden, resplendent with greenery. The couple's two kids, Sasha and Param, love sprawling on the sofas and their two dogs have their own favourite corners in this room too. "We love the idea of a garden running along the length of the house and by using French windows extensively, we have ensured living with nature feeling of greenery and plenty of natural light," says Yadu.

The family dining room is characteristic of the couple's casual personality. A large round antique table with a collection of assorted wooden chairs with cheerful cushions is where the family assemble during the evenings to catch up on conversation and share a meal.

Two large antique cupboards house Karen's collection of old and new crockery, cutlery and wine glasses while yet another small round table in the centre of the room always has an impromptu but stylish flower arrangement to add cheer. The couple has fashioned a part of this largish room into the place where casual visitors to the home are entertained. Two comfortable wooden chairs, a tiny rug, a collection of elegant terracotta urns and a painting in brilliant hues by local artiste Sujata Dharap makes this an interesting conversation corner.

The pride of place in the house, naturally, is Karen's beech wood and black granite kitchen, which combines understated elegance with functionality. "I spend a lot of time pottering in the kitchen experimenting with my recipes, perfecting them and preparing stuff for my business as well as my family and it was imperative that it was a comfortable place to be in," says Karen. The open kitchen allows her to do her work and still be chatting with her family or friends.

The kitchen is also where one can find the foodie's collection of accessories related to her trade, built up over the years and displayed with affection. The tops of the kitchen cabinets are where Karen has displayed her collection of "special wine bottles with sentimental value" and these rub shoulders with other collectibles like a pair of crimson `lecreuset' pans, her Spanish glass ware, some `kalchettis' from the south, her Spanish paella pans and a cheerful framed painting of a capsicum that she did at twelve!

Walk out of the kitchen into a long corridor which leads to the bedrooms and this is where you will find the couple's favourite collectibles — a couple of Japanese ceramics in black and white, her collection "of baskets from all over the world including a matted grass onion basket from Spain", a typical French basket and the same species from Australia and South Africa. Also look out for a set of Biryani pots and a `tangine' that Sankaliya presented her, which she uses while entertaining at home.

The bedroom area is where Karen has given free rein to her imagination — the boys have bedrooms built to their specifications which means space for loads of things to be scattered around, posters on the walls, cupboards to hide the mess and lots of music. This corner also has a utility area and a pantry where she stores away the extra stuff. The couple's bedroom has what is probably a fantasy for everybody — a personal spa that Karen has fashioned out of a large sit-out, open to the lush greenery of her garden. The sit-out, which is where they would have their morning cuppa, is now home to an old Kerala style massage table and has been covered with cane chicks. When I come back after many days of hard travelling and work, this is where I have a massage and I can feel the weariness drain away instantly," she says.

The couple's bedroom and the TV room outside are full of family memorabilia — pictures of their wedding, the kids, etc. Also taking up space in the room are low comfortable seating arrangement, books, a music system and a TV set. The branches of a large ficus in the garden are almost inside the room adding the touch of a country home.

The garden outside the house is also where the family has a lot of fun with impromptu dinners out under the sky or just an elaborate Sunday brunch. This is also the place where the couple invites friends over for barbeques, with the man of the house himself doing the honours. "I put up the entire barbeque unit myself and I love spending time experimenting with stuff here," he asserts.

The huge garden is home to large trees including a mango, a huge ficus and a thick grove of bamboo. It is here that Karen grows Thai basil, thyme, basil, rosemary and sage; herbs she uses in her cuisine. This season she has also planted avocados and figs and is keeping her fingers crossed about the results. A part of the garden is devoted to a cluster of lemon trees — an Italian seedless variety, a plain Indian one and an exotic Spanish one. "All of these find their way into my recipes and I like to believe that is why they are so special," says Karen.

Putting their home together has been a huge challenge but a very satisfying experience and Karen says it will take a lot of tempting for her to ever look at another home because of the hard work involved. "I like to say that setting up a home is like putting a good recipe together. You have to get the ingredients just right to be able to enjoy the end result." Amen to that.

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