When we first walked into the property, the bones were already remarkable: Portuguese restraint, proportion, and spatial flow. The brief was never to overwrite this. It was to begin a dialogue.

Tucked inside the heritage shell, the Viceroy Bar is more intimate, more old-world. A wood-panelled counter; twin arched display niches lit from within; framed portraits of colonial-era figures climbing the saffron-cream walls; a hand-wrought iron chandelier dripping with carved wooden pendants. The Viceroy is where conversations linger and the room slowly empties out.

The open-air bar pavilion sits under a sloping tile roof, framed by the heritage trees of the property and lit softly as the day fades. Black wrought-iron balustrades, marble bistro tables, amber stemware and a wall of decorative Pichvai plates set the tone. Saffron Bar is where the vibrancy of open-air gatherings meets the depth of Indian flavours — designed for the long, lingering evening rather than the quick stop.

the open-air bar pavilion (detailed above) functions both as transition and destination, completing the ninth room of the house. Between these rooms, the design refuses the temptation to introduce hierarchy. There is no main room at Kesar Bagh. Each space asks for its own pace.