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Football skipper Sunil Chhetri’s home is about understated elegance

Ideas and Inspiration

By Meenakshi Nair

May 28, 2020

Footballer Sunil Chhetri Sitting on a chair at his home office in his home in Bengaluru with his trophies and medals kept in a couple of display units

Located in one of the Garden City’s toniest neighborhoods, the two-bedroom home with a wraparound deck is a story in classy, understated elegance – much like the personalities of Indian football captain Sunil Chettri and his wife, Sonam. “My idea of home is to come back to a place where I can be myself. Lots is happening in my mind, but when I come home I feel at peace, I relax, I’m more calm,” says Suni, chugging his morning smoothie.

Located in one of the Garden City’s toniest neighbourhoods, the two-bedroom home with a wraparound deck is a story in classy and understated elegance – much like the personalities of Indian football captain Sunil Chettri and his wife, Sonam. The couple has some beautiful decor pieces on display, from statuettes and mirrors to paintings and clocks—all gifts. “My idea of home is to come back to a place where I can be myself. Lots is happening in my mind, but when I come home I feel at peace, I relax, I’m more calm,” says Sunil. Take a tour with us as we visit Sunil Chhetri and his wife Sonam's elegant home in Bengaluru!

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.

Wood Story
What you notice about the home is the abundance of wooden furniture and surfaces – something that Sunil loves. The flooring, cabinets and most tables and consoles have a dark walnut finish, offset by cool tones of blue and grey. Sunil says that the entire house has been done up by Sonam. Says Sunil, “The debate on who is more practical or impulsive in terms of decorating the house isn’t fair because I’ve got no input – this TV is the only thing that I’ve bought!”

The couple has some beautiful decor pieces on display, from statuettes and mirrors to paintings and clocks—all gifts. “There are a lot of things which have been gifted to us when we got married

A living room with a brown sofa, a couple of chairs, a centre table, wooden flooring and a lamp placed in one corner of the room

The open kitchen and living room.

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.

A bedroom with a large bed with along with two side tables, a clock, wooden flooring and a ceiling fan

The master bedroom with a sleek walk-in closet.

Private Spaces
The master bedroom has plenty of natural light. Compared to the other areas of the house, it is minimal, with a few key pieces that catch your attention: metal bedside lamps and a handsome leather headboard for the bed. The star attraction here is the walk-in closet. “I always wanted a walk-in closet when I was a kid and it’s always fascinated me. And since it’s a glass closet, only my stuff is on display since I’m the most organised one in the house!” laughs Sonam.

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.”