Feminine Grace – in monochrome!

By Kiran Ghosh

Photography: Indrajit Sathe; courtesy the designer

Read Time: 1 min 30 secs 

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Sumessh Menon’s new project in Colaba, Mumbai uses a world of black and white to bring classical décor to life...

It cannot be denied that Menon’s eye for detail and style can breathe intrigue and statement décor into any interior. This time, he recreates a bygone aura in a compact 550 sq. ft. salon.

In the back alley of the Taj Hotel, a figure stands in silence, gazing up. The hotel looms over her with its monumental dome, surrounded by a panorama of rich heritage, so evidently Bombay. She lingers on for a moment, taking it all in, before walking towards a white brick wall with a sign hanging above: ‘There She Glows’.

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Immaculately crafted motifis greet her at the reception as she enters the glass panelled door. She feels she has entered the surrealistic era of Hepburns and Monroes amidst myriad patterns in black and white. Satiated with the timeless elegance of what surrounds her, she reaches out, admiring the graceful silhouette of the white desk, her fingers running along its sculpted mouldings.

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Seated in a high white chair - a throne fit for a queen - she puts her feet up on the leather futon in anticipation of a long-awaited pedicure. The contemporaneous glass and metal seamlessly blend in with classic elements of fabric, leather and mirrors. Peering into the bevelled mirror cladding at the end of the room, realization hits that the grandeur of the moderately-sized salon is, after all, a sleight of eye. Her beauty regimen done with, she moves across the black and white tiles towards the exit. Her heart pulsates and her eyes revel in the classical décor one last time, reminiscent of the beauty that she holds within.

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Sumessh Menon has designed a little paradise of feminine elegance, aptly named ‘There She Glows’, amidst the austere architecture of old Bombay. The main salon hall along with a secluded facial rooms and washroom brings classical décor to life through well-curated and customized tiles, wallpaper, furniture and fixtures. His creative exploration of the monochrome elevates the salon experience by bringing out the contrast between the contemporary and the classical, the pragmatic and the dream-like.

Fact File:

Project name:  There She Glows – Salon and Nail Spa

Design firm: Sumessh Menon Associates
Designer:  Sumessh Menon

Area: 550 sq. ft.
Location:  Colaba, Mumbai