Football skipper Sunil Chhetri’s home is about understated elegance

Sunil and Sonam have known each other for close to 15 years, but their relationship had always been a long-distance one till they got married. So being able to live together and share a common space finally is extra special for them. “Living with a friend, who I’ve known for fifteen years, well there’s no experience to compare it to,” says Sunil. 

and for housewarming…and we have tried to keep most of them in our house,” says Sonam. But despite an abundance of knick-knacks, the home doesn’t feel cramped – that’s because the kitchen, living and dining areas open out into each other. “We always wanted the kitchen and the living area, or the drawing-room should be a big one. Sadly, this house didn’t have a big space, so we broke the wall of the kitchen,” kitchen,” adds Sunil.

Sunil’s office is his favourite room, which is dominated by shades of dark wood and rich blues. There’s an old-world charm to the room, with an antique finish clock and cosy blue wingback chair for his desk instead of a formal office chair. His awards and trophies are proudly displayed across two shelves. His prized possession is his Golden Tweet award. “This is for the tweet that got the most likes and retweets, I never ever thought I’m going to get…but this is really sweet,” he says.

The bedroom opens out into Sonam’s favourite part of the house, the deck. Done in shades of minty green and grey, it gives off tropical vibes and serves as a way to bring the outdoors in, while still giving the couple privacy. Potted plants dot the deck, which also has a herb garden, Sonam’s work-in-progress project. She says, “This is the kitchen garden that I’ve built where I’m growing my own herbs. So next time you come to my house, you will find a full-on herb garden here!” 

Sonam and Sunil love to spend time on the deck, getting comfortable on the beautiful swing with a cup of tea or coffee, the perfect start or end to the day. Kicking a ball around on the deck, Sunil says “It’s a complete honour: being the national captain of the Indian football team is a dream. So many people have dreamt of it, I am living the dream… and in return, I try to give everything that I’ve got and be honest towards it.”