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Sunil Grover’s Mumbai home has a warm rustic vibe

Rustic Vibe

By Gauri Kelkar

Dec 01, 2023

Comedian Sunil Grover house design – Beautiful Homes

Asian Paints’ Where the Heart Is actor Sunil Grover’s duplex in Mumbai’s Goregaon, a space that’s all about tall windows, high ceilings, wooden features and unmistakable warmth

Sunil Grover’s success as an actor parallels the progressively larger spaces he has moved over the span of his career in Mumbai. His first house in the city, for instance, was a rented one-room kitchen. Over time and with the successes piling up, he was able to move into bigger spaces. Today, he is the proud homeowner of a sky-grazing duplex in suburban Mumbai where he lives with family. But home for the actor and comedian is more than just a matter of size. It is about how happy you are in your space—regardless of square footage—and the people you share it with. It is where you are comfortably you. As he says, “Home is where you meet yourself.” This woody modern home, with a design conceived by his wife Aarti, is certainly that kind of home. It evokes warmth, sparks a sense of belonging in its inhabitants and ensures complete comfort.

Step into Sunil Grover's home, where warmth meets whimsy, offering a glimpse into his life's journey. Grovers' two-story haven is an imaginative interplay of textures, fabrics, and wood.

Wood is the central theme here, from the furniture pieces—big and small—to wall panelling to the internal staircase and all of the doors. The seamless open-plan living/dining/kitchen area on the first floor, double-height ceiling and staggeringly tall windows all add to the rustic look. A stand-out highlight is the unmissable hand-painted mural on a living room wall. Natural light pours in here from everywhere, a counterpoint to the wood-rich interiors. “The best part of the house is the morning sunlight. It makes getting up worthwhile,” says his wife. The clean modern lines keep the spacious home simple and the generous greenery adds refreshing colour. For Grover, the cosy TV room is a favourite spot, reminding him of his days as a voice-over artist. The first-floor balcony is especially interesting too. “From here, I can see all the buildings in which I had apartments earlier. It’s like an album of my entire journey in the city.” And this woodsy cabin in the sky is currently a hard-earned, well-deserved high point.

Rustic Interiors 101: Get the Look

Grover’s house offers a great mood board for homeowners who like wood and a modern aesthetic—and want a combination of the two in their house. This house does that effortlessly—with a modern style centred on the generous use of wood. This Where the Heart Is foray into Grover’s apartment is your go-to guide for the rustic urban home and how to achieve it.

Opt for an Open-Plan Living Room

A wide-open living area gives the space that unmistakable country home vibe with a laidback look. Additionally, it also makes the space look airy and spacious. All of these elements are hallmarks of the rustic, lived-in aesthetic. Grover’s enviably sized living area certainly ticks all inspiration boxes—high ceiling, tall windows, airy spaces and an open plan.

Use Wood Liberally

Rustic means wood, lots of it. The best part is that you can get as creative as possible when using it. A wooden (or imitation wood) floor is an obvious bet. But like Grover, you can also choose to use it everywhere else—the clean-lined furniture, open bookshelves, wall panelling, doors and even the internal staircase. Even a wooden false ceiling is a great option for a rustic look.

Wooden living room design - Beautiful Homes

The comfortable sofas add to the cosy look and the natural light offsets the generous use of wood.

Wooden dining room design - Beautiful Homes

The dining area’s benches lean into the rustic, country-home aesthetic and sit perfectly against the double-height living room wall.

Balance the Wooden Elements with Warm Shades and Textures

Too much wood can make your space monotonous and dull. So break the look with different textures and colours. Grover did it with the warm dark flooring for the living area, sofas upholstered in cool, light colours, and some paler accents for the soft furnishings.

Make Generous Use of Plants

To amplify the rustic, plants and flowers are non-negotiables. Add indoor plants in your interior spaces, pack in plants on your windowsills or add plants to your balcony. They add colour, breathe fresh air into your space and a sense of vitality. Grover’s long narrow balcony is a case in point.)

Add a Statement Wall

As with most modern homes, colour comes through in accents and artworks. Pick out pieces and accessories that add colour to your space. Grover achieved that with the dark blue accent wall of his living room, then went ahead and got an artist to paint a mural on it. A casual seating area on the second floor follows a similar idea, with a bold red accent wall and a large unmissable tree painted on it. Adapt that idea to suit your space. (In any case, an accent wall in a favourite shade always works!)

Make Sure the Space Receives Sufficient Natural Light

In crowded cities, natural light in your space has become a rare phenomenon. The tall windows in this house achieve that easily. This may be more challenging in other city apartments but do try and ensure that your rooms receive as much natural light as possible. A modern aesthetic helps to do this: use lighter curtains for your windows, add mirrors (preferably opposite a window) so that light gets reflected into your space and use muted paint for your walls. And most importantly, regularly clean and maintain your windows.

Cosy seating area design – Beautiful Homes

A casual seating area on the second floor wears modern, neutral shades and has simply designed comfortable furniture.

Use Natural (Even Exposed) Materials

As far as possible, choose natural materials for your soft furnishings. They lend themselves to the rustic aesthetic and are typically used in modern interiors too. Cottons are an ideal option when it comes to fabric. You can even create an accent with exposed material, like red brick or concrete (but not too much of it if you’re already using generous amounts of wood).

Wooden furniture design – Beautiful Homes

Grover’s favourite room, the TV room features wooden furniture with a modern aesthetic; the blue walls are a sharp contrast to the neutral upholstery.

Moroccan tiles for kitchen design – Beautiful Homes

The burst of colour in the form of the backsplash of Moroccan tiles in the kitchen livens up the space.

Simple balcony design with plants – Beautiful Homes

The long balcony outside the first-floor, open-plan living room has been well-used to incorporate greenery into the space.

Stunning wall painting design – Beautiful Homes

An accent wall here adds bold colour to the rustic vibe created by the warmth of the wood and the otherwise neutral shades.

Comedian Sunil Grover house design – Beautiful Homes

Actor and comedian Sunil Grover in his Mumbai flat, designed in a preponderance of wood that lends it a warm, rustic look.

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