THE JOURNAL
Design Inspiration
158 articles from the studio on design inspiration.
Design Inspiration
Designing a Home for a Multi-Generational Family in New Town
How to design a multi-generational family home in New Town, Kolkata: elder-friendly ground floors, acoustic privacy, kitchen options, services and sanction limits.
Design Inspiration
Society NOC and Renovation Deposit Charges in New Town Housing Complexes
A New Town homeowner's guide to society NOC approvals and renovation deposits in gated complexes, what triggers them, typical documentation, and how Studio Contour manages the process.
Design Inspiration
Upper and Lower Cabinet Colour Combinations: 18 Pairings Ranked
18 upper and lower cabinet colour pairings ranked for real Kolkata kitchens, covering materials, finishes, price bands, room fit and Vastu, from Studio Contour.
Design Inspiration
Where to Store Your Furniture During a Salt Lake Flat Renovation
Where Salt Lake flat owners should actually store furniture during a renovation, real options ranked by cost and risk, and how Studio Contour sequences projects to avoid the storage scramble.
Design Inspiration
Renovating a Flat Without Moving Out in New Town
A New Town homeowner's guide to renovating a flat in phases while still living in it, covering sequencing, dust control, wet-area work, and when NKDA permission actually applies.
Design Inspiration
Caught in the Middle: Designing a Flat That Works for Aging Parents and Young Kids
When one bedroom holds a parent who needs quiet and stability and another holds a child who needs room to run, an ordinary floor plan just is not built for it.
Design Inspiration
A Calmer Room: Sensory-Friendly Bedroom Design for a Special-Needs Child in Kolkata
We walk through the lighting, material, and layout choices that actually calm a sensory-friendly bedroom for a special-needs child in a Kolkata flat.
Design Inspiration
Second Baby on the Way: Turning the Home Office Into a Shared Kids' Room
With a second child on the way, the study that has quietly hoarded desk space and clutter for years usually turns out to be the room the family actually needs.
Design Inspiration
Renovating a 1980s Salt Lake House: What to Keep and What to Rebuild
Renovating a 1980s Salt Lake house? Here's what to keep, what to rebuild, and how NKDA rules, wiring, and waterproofing shape the decision.
Design Inspiration
Dead Passage Corridor to Floor-to-Ceiling Home Library: Before-After
A bare 14-foot New Town corridor that everyone just walked through became a floor-to-ceiling reading nook, and here is exactly how we used that hallway for bookshelves.
Design Inspiration
Renovating an Old Salt Lake House: Structural and Service Upgrades
Renovating an old Salt Lake house means fixing structure and services before interiors. Studio Contour's real-world approach to waterproofing, rewiring, and re-piping first.
Design Inspiration
Renovating in New Town While Living in the Flat: What to Expect
A New Town homeowner's guide to renovating while staying in the flat: NKDA rules, phased sequencing, dust control, costs, and what actually changes when the family doesn't move out.
Design Inspiration
Renovating a Builder-Finish Flat in New Town: What to Upgrade First
A New Town homeowner's guide to sequencing a builder-finish flat renovation: what to fix first, what to skip, and realistic timelines and budgets.
Design Inspiration
Waterlogging in Salt Lake and Behala: Renovation Fixes That Help
Waterlogging keeps returning to Salt Lake and Behala homes because cosmetic fixes ignore the real water path. Here's what renovation-level fixes actually hold up through monsoon.
Design Inspiration
Retrofitting a 1990s Salt Lake Cooperative Flat: A Case Study
A Studio Contour case study on retrofitting a 1990s Salt Lake cooperative flat, covering structural surveys, kitchen and bathroom rework, wiring, sequencing, and costs.
Design Inspiration
Carving Out Privacy: Design Ideas for Newlyweds Living in a Joint Family Home
Design changes that give a newly married couple genuine privacy inside a larger joint family flat, without a full renovation or moving out of the family home.
Design Inspiration
Disused Servant's Room to Compact Home Gym: A Complete Before-After
An old Salt Lake builder floor had a servant's quarter nobody had used in years, so we walked through converting it into a proper home gym, ventilation and all.
Design Inspiration
Interior Design Trends for Kolkata Homes in 2026
Kolkata homes in 2026 look noticeably different from what we were designing even three years ago, and the shift is not about chasing global trends but about something more hon
Design Inspiration
Ready for Whenever They Visit: Flexible Guest Rooms for NRI Grandparents in New Town
When grandparents fly in from abroad for six weeks at a stretch, a spare room needs to work like a real bedroom from the first night, not the third.
Design Inspiration
Before the Baby Arrives: Balcony Safety Redesign for High-Rise New Town Flats
Expecting parents in a New Town tower usually baby proof the nursery first and the balcony last, and we think that order should be reversed.
Design Inspiration
One Room, Two Jobs: Guest Room and Home Office Combos for Young Couples Before Kids
A furniture and layout approach for young couples whose spare room needs to work as a daily home office and switch to a proper guest room whenever visitors arrive.
Design Inspiration
Nursery to Toddler Room: Redesigning Baby's Space as They Grow in a Salt Lake Flat
The crib and changing table that worked at six months stop working around two, we walk through converting a nursery into a toddler room inside the same Salt Lake footprint.
Design Inspiration
One Room, Two Desks: Home Office Layouts for Working Parents in a Small New Town Flat
Two parents, back-to-back video calls, and one spare room in a New Town flat is a layout problem we solve often, here is exactly how we zone it for sound and focus.
Design Inspiration
Cluttered Under-the-Stairs Storage to Kids' Study Corner: Before-After
We converted a junk-filled under stairs storage space in a New Town duplex into a kids study corner, with a desk built to the exact slope of the ceiling.