Excerpt: Birds In Paradise by Think With Us is a boho-contemporary home shaped by thoughtful details and small interventions that bring together comfort, creativity, and everyday living. Designed as a calm, peaceful, nature-inspired space with a minimal palette, the residence balances warmth and functionality through subtle motifs, custom elements, and flexible spaces that adapt seamlessly to the homeowners’ evolving lifestyle.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] They say, a home is shaped as much by its details as by its walls. In a newly built 800 sq ft 2 BHK apartment in Pune, Vaibhavi Patil and Ganesh Gayakwad, a young couple, envisioned a home that could keep up with their professions and lifestyles. “We longed for a boho-contemporary themed space that is calm, peaceful and nature-inspired, with a minimal palette,” shares the couple.
Balancing full-time careers in IT alongside active content creation, they wanted every corner of their two-bedroom apartment to look like a picture-perfect frame while still feeling like a warm home; one that could smoothly shift between the two when needed.
And that was the challenge that excited the principal designers and partners Harshal Mutha, Shubham Gandhi, Dhwani Mehta Gandhi, and Aadesh Gandhi of THINK With Us. The Pune-based design studio immediately expressed how the home was destined to be shaped by the little things: thoughtful details, small interventions, and overlooked edges that hold the composition together, and the clients agreed readily.
“While the original layout provided a clear zoning of spaces and adequate natural light, it also came with limitations in terms of fixed services, predefined spatial constraints, and a tight budget that we needed to work on,” shares Harshal. “The homeowners are creative, expressive, and detail-oriented, while also valuing comfort and routine. The home had to be the one that suits them.”
The tone of the residence is seen from the moment you enter. A safety door marked with teak wood spheres creates a strong first impression, while a custom shoe rack with bird motifs hints at a theme that continues within. The living area opens up as a warm, flexible space, where a custom-designed sofa paired with a centre table detailed with bird engravings anchors the room.
Instead of relying on standalone artworks, the design integrates expression into the furniture and finishes themselves. A small mandir with lotus motifs is woven into the TV panel, adding a moment of pause without breaking the flow. Throughout the day, natural light moves across the room bringing out shifts in textures and materials. “Late afternoon is when the home feels at its best, with soft daylight filling the space and highlighting its textures,” describes Aadesh.
In the same line with the living room is the dining area, where a cityscape wallpaper greets you with its lively backdrop. The dining table features a playful twist, with a flippable top that reveals artwork on either side. The PU-finished kitchen, admittedly by the team, is designed to be cost efficient and easy to maintain, and has been the biggest splurge in this house.
Clean surfaces and a controlled palette ensure it blends into the overall layout without drawing focus. A concealed door leads to the guest bedroom that doubles as a workspace, enhanced with a custom library wallpaper, one of the couple’s favourites, and gold foil detailing on the wardrobe. It’s a room that adapts easily, whether for work, content shoots or hosting, serving as a multi-purpose area.
In the master bedroom, bird motifs reappear in the bed back and wardrobe, tying the home together without feeling repetitive. Being the most private space of the house, it feels personal and grounded: a room that steps away from the more performative aspects of the residence.
“The beauty of this home lies in the detailing; veneer-based motifs, custom wooden engravings, and custom-designed wallpapers add subtle artistic layers, elevating simple surfaces without overwhelming the space,” says Dhwani. The overall palette remains warm and neutral; a gentle balance that allows the residence to adapt both visually and functionally across different needs, and makes the space lighter.
This home isn’t defined by one standout element, it is crafted and tied together, beautifully through a series of nuanced details throughout. “The process felt like an artist carefully crafting a canvas, where every thoughtful detail contributed to the challenging yet creatively fulfilling larger picture,” notes Shubham. Together, they create a space that captures every episode, every season of the couple’s lives, while still feeling complete off screen.
Drawings
Images
