THE JOURNAL
From the Studio — page 28
Hiring Guides
In-House Team or Subcontracted Labour: What to Ask a Salt Lake Interior Firm
In house team vs subcontracted interior firm Salt Lake: what accountability, timeline and cost actually look like, and why Studio Contour built an in-house crew since 2014.
Commercial & Workplace
Sector V's After-Office Rush: Why Nearby Salt Lake Homes Need Sound-Buffered Balconies
Sector V's evening traffic and honking now reach Salt Lake balconies daily. Here's how sound-buffered balcony design actually works, and what Bidhannagar rules allow.
Decision Guides
What Is the Right Wardrobe Depth? 24-Inch vs 21-Inch Explained
21-inch vs 24-inch wardrobe depth explained: which one fits your Kolkata bedroom, sliding vs hinged doors, materials, and room-by-room guidance from Studio Contour.
Seasonal & Trending
Why New Town High-Rises Run Hotter Than Salt Lake's Tree-Shaded Streets in Summer
Why New Town's glass high-rises trap more heat than Salt Lake's shaded streets, and how New Town homeowners can design, retrofit or renovate around it.
Seasonal & Trending
Why Some Salt Lake Sectors Drain Better Than Others: A Monsoon Design Guide
Why some Salt Lake sectors flood every monsoon while others stay dry, and how site grading, plinth levels, and drainage design actually fix it.
Local Guides
Action Area II's Newer Blocks: Designing for Families Still Waiting on Full Infrastructure
Building in Action Area II's newer blocks while roads, drains, and water lines are still catching up? Here's how we design homes for that gap in New Town.
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.
Hiring Guides
A Bhowanipore Apartment Owner's Checklist Before Hiring an Interior Designer
A Bhowanipore apartment owner's honest checklist before hiring an interior designer, covering KMC rules, co-operative societies, freelancer vs firm tradeoffs, and what to actually ask.
Local Guides
Building Near Eco Park in New Town: Design Considerations for Orientation, Light and Facade
How orientation, daylight, and facade material choices should be planned for homes near Eco Park in New Town, Kolkata, with real setback, monsoon, and glare considerations.
Cost Guides
Cost of Electrical Rewiring for a 1000 Sq Ft Flat Renovation
We break down what full electrical rewiring actually costs for a 1000 sq ft Kolkata flat, point by point, so you can measure any quote against a real number.
Room Guides
How to Design a Long, Narrow Bathroom: Layout Rules That Work
A Kolkata-based studio's field-tested layout rules for long, narrow bathrooms: fixture planning, materials, lighting, storage, and realistic West Bengal budget bands.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Marine Ply or MDF for Kitchen Cabinet Carcasses in Humid Kolkata Homes
We break down exactly when BWR marine ply earns its higher cost near a Kolkata kitchen sink wall, and when MDF remains the smarter, cheaper choice.
Room Guides
Master Ensuite Bathroom Design: A Complete Planning Guide
A Kolkata studio's complete guide to planning a master ensuite bathroom: layout zoning, monsoon-proof materials, budget bands, lighting, vastu, and waterproofing done right.
Practical Guides & Ideas
New Town's Low-Lying Pockets: Where Waterlogging Risk Is Highest and How to Design Around It
Which New Town pockets flood first, why elevation and drainage gradient matter more than the plot brochure, and how Studio Contour designs homes that stay dry through the Kolkata monsoon.
Practical Guides & Ideas
How to Pest-Proof a Kolkata Kitchen Against Cockroaches Coming Through Design Gaps
We map the exact modular kitchen and plumbing chase gaps that let cockroaches into Kolkata kitchens, then explain the sealed cabinet detailing that fixes it for good.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Setting Up a Pooja Room in the Northeast Corner of Your New Town Apartment
We walk through exactly how much of the northeast corner a compliant pooja space actually needs, which way the idols should face, and what to keep off that wall.
Room Guides
4x6 Bathroom Layout Ideas: 8 Floor Plans That Actually Fit
8 practical 4x6 bathroom layouts that actually fit fixtures, plumbing and storage in a 24 sq ft footprint, with material, colour and cost guidance from a Kolkata studio.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Vastu-Compliant Layout for an 850 Sq Ft 2BHK in New Town
We walk through reconciling classical vastu zone placement with the fixed door, window and plumbing positions of a typical 850 sq ft New Town 2BHK floor plan.
Local Guides
Between Eco Park and Biswa Bangla Gate: Designing Homes in New Town's Most Photographed Corridor
Designing homes in New Town's Eco Park to Biswa Bangla Gate corridor means balancing street-facing visibility with livable interiors, NKDA rules, and Kolkata's monsoon.
Seasonal & Trending
Bijoya Dashami Post-Puja Home Reset Checklist for Kolkata Flats
Ten days of guests, alpona, and pandal traffic leave a mark on every Kolkata flat, and this is the order we use to reset ours after Bijoya Dashami.
Practical Guides & Ideas
How to Fix Ceiling Seepage from an Upstairs Neighbour's Bathroom in a Kolkata Flat
A damp patch spreading across your ceiling below someone else's bathroom is a specific problem with a specific fix, and we walk through diagnosis to repair.
Room Guides
Dry and Wet Area Separation in Bathrooms: 12 Ways to Do It Right
12 proven ways to separate dry and wet zones in Kolkata bathrooms, from level drops and glass partitions to tile choices, by Studio Contour, New Town.
Local Guides
Homes Near Central Park, Salt Lake: The Cafe and Retail Strip That Sets This Stretch Apart
Studio Contour on what the Central Park cafe strip signals for Salt Lake homeowners, plus what renovating or building near it actually takes under Bidhannagar rules.
Local Guides
Salt Lake Sector I: Inside Kolkata's Oldest Planned Residential Grid
A Salt Lake Sector I renovation guide from Studio Contour: what to expect from cooperative flats, structural retrofits, Bidhannagar rules, and hiring the right architect.