designed for a retired couple, nani house embraces ageing rituals with slow living warmth

nani house redefines retirement through slow living

Designed as a sanctuary for a retired couple entering a slower, more reflective phase of life, the Nani House is a private residence in India conceived as an architecture of stillness and care. Completed by Creations & Urban Saints, the project responds to the clients’ desire for a home that prioritizes comfort, accessibility, and emotional continuity over spectacle. Rooted in the idea of slow living, the house unfolds as a series of fluid, light-filled spaces that blur boundaries between inside and outside, memory and daily routine, offering a calm yet generous setting for ageing with grace.

designed as a sanctuary for a retired couple, the Nani House is a private residence in India conceived as an architecture of stillness and care | all images courtesy of Creations & Urban Saints

Creations & Urban Saints balances comfort memory and nature 

Creations & Urban Saints is a multidisciplinary architecture and interior design practice based in Central India, known for its human-centred approach and refined material sensibility. The studio represents a convergence of legacy and innovation, bringing together decades of experience with contemporary research-driven practice. Working across residential, hospitality, cultural, and large-scale commercial projects, the firm has built a reputation for spaces that balance timeless elegance with functional clarity.

The practice is led by interior designer Shilpi Sonar, whose career spans more than 35 years and over 3,700 projects, alongside architect Satyadeep, founder of Urban Saints in 2018 after returning from London, and ergonomics specialist Arpita. Together, they combine expertise in spatial planning, material research, sustainability, and usability. This collaborative leadership informs the studio’s ethos, where design decisions emerge from an understanding of how spaces are lived in over time rather than how they perform visually in the moment

completed by Creations & Urban Saints, the project responds to the clients’ desire for a home that prioritizes comfort, accessibility, and emotional continuity

nani house is shaped around ageing rituals and everyday ease

At the Nani House, Creations & Urban Saints translated this philosophy into a home shaped by ease. The architects dissolved conventional hierarchies between rooms, creating seamless transitions between garden, living, and private zones. The project privileges texture over ornament, with stone, timber, and linen forming a restrained palette that allows materials to age gracefully and gather patina. Rather than commanding attention, the architecture invites presence, encouraging the occupants to inhabit the house slowly and intuitively.

The plan is deliberately fluid, allowing movement without barriers and supporting long-term comfort. Wide openings and large windows frame the surrounding garden as a living artwork, flooding interiors with diffused daylight and natural ventilation. Circulation is generous and step-free, ensuring accessibility without visual compromise, all while the garden extends into the house, softening thresholds and reinforcing a daily connection to nature as an active companion rather than a decorative backdrop.

at the Nani House, Creations & Urban Saints translated this philosophy into a home shaped by ease

Inside, warmth is built through nuance rather than novelty where neutral tones provide a calm canvas for personal artefacts, worn books, and collected objects that carry memory. Subtle details like hand-carved wood, the grain of timber, and the quiet sheen of brass reveal themselves gradually, mirroring the way stories unfold over years. Furniture is designed for ergonomic comfort and longevity, supporting the realities of ageing while maintaining a sense of understated elegance.

While the aesthetic language remains soft and timeless, practicality underpins every decision as the layered lighting reduces eye strain, textured flooring ensures grip, and thoughtfully proportioned seating and work surfaces support everyday rituals without effort. Spaces such as the kitchen, reading nook, and bedroom are conceived as places to linger, each encouraging unhurried use and reinforcing the house’s core intent: to make daily life easier and richer at once.

the project privileges texture over ornament

stone, timber, and linen form a restrained palette that allows materials to age gracefully and gather patina

rather than commanding attention, the architecture invites presence, encouraging the occupants to inhabit the house slowly and intuitively

the plan is deliberately fluid, allowing movement without barriers

furniture is designed for ergonomic comfort and longevity

supporting the realities of ageing while maintaining a sense of understated elegance

subtle details like hand-carved wood, the grain of timber, and the quiet sheen of brass reveal themselves gradually

the garden extends into the house, softening thresholds

textured flooring ensures grip, and thoughtfully proportioned seating 

from left to right: Arpita Sood Sonar, Shilpi Burman Sonar, Satyadeep Sonar

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project info:

name: Nani House

company: Creations & Urban Saints | @creationsbyshilpisonar & @saints.urban

architecture: Satyadeep | @nothing.but.satya

design: Shilpi Sonar | @shilpisonar;  Arpita | @arpitasoodsonar

location: India