Amangalla, Galle

By Anamika Butalia

Give your home a makeover with white walls, wooden furniture and period pieces a la the colonial interiors of Amangalla, Galle

Located in the historic quarter of Galle, Amangalla is housed in a 15th century building. Its colonial architecture and interior design is elegantly preserved to exude refined simplicity, while accommodating every modern comfort imaginable.

White plays a unifying role on the walls, window frames, ceilings and blinds, softening the natural light streaming in from the large windows. For a colonial touch in your interiors, dress it up with solid wooden furniture, royal blue linens and soothing soft furnishings. Team these with Burma teak floorboards or patterned tiles for an antiquated feel.

Invest in 19th century antiques and period furniture pieces — wooden trunks, heavy-set pettagama chests, four-poster beds and colonial-style mirrors and dressers — in dark browns. Print black and white photos and old nautical maps to dress the walls.

Continue the all-white theme in the bathrooms as well with a white bath tub, basins, linens, etc, and accessorise with a wooden towel stand.

For lighting, get your hands on all-glass, vintage or vintage-like hanging lamps and place over the bath tub, dining tables and even the bed. If you have a high ceiling, go all out with an elaborate chandelier over the staircase or as a statement piece in the living room.

What we love about this setting is how the daybed with a modern design melds with the colonial style floor lamps and chairs. It is also the only colourful piece of furniture in the entire setting and yet doesn’t overpower the overall neutral scheme.

Sometimes, all it takes to spruce up a corner are the bare essentials – a simple two-seater and a storage option that doubles up as a centre table. You can adapt this look for a corner in your living room or bedroom.

Large windows are a constant fixture in all Amangalla rooms, making the interiors look brighter and bigger. Streamlined furniture works best if you’re looking at incorporating a lot of pieces in your common areas. Take for instance this space in Amangalla, which has several pieces without looking too clustered. This is because the furniture used is visually light and has been spaced out well.

A constant fixture in the bedrooms of Amangalla is the classic classic four-poster bed. To pull attention to the main fixture and the antique pettagama chests, the room has been left largely bare. You can adopt this same technique in your home too. Minimal furniture is a great way of keeping your bedroom clutter free.

When working with white walls, make optimum use of your flooring, not only to demarcate spaces but also to inject some colour. A mosaic floor with deep saturated colour can help offset austere looking walls. Plus, it can provide the reference point of adding more colour into the room.

The all white scheme has been continued in the bathroom as well with wooden accessories providing the only splashes of colour. A monochrome bathroom results in a zen like space, so if you want a spa-like experience right at home, think about a single colour space.

Blank walls are the best canvas you can get. Bring out those porcelain and glass pickle jars and arrange them for a statement display. Upcycle your old wooden stools as side tables and experiment with tribal pieces as wall decorations.

13-Mar-2018