Walk into any old house in India and chances are—you’ll stop, pause, and just… feel. There’s something in the light, the smell of aged wood, the gentle creak of a fan overhead. These spaces aren’t just built—they’re lived. And every corner tells a story.

From the grand colonial bungalows of Kolkata to the pastel-washed villas of Goa, old homes across India carry with them the layered legacy of different empires—British, French, Portuguese, Dutch. But what stays with you most isn’t just the architecture. It’s the interiors—those rooms that held families, monsoons, and memories.

Kolkata: Where British Grandeur Meets Bengali Heart

Old homes in Kolkata are like living museums—except families still sip tea in them. Think marble mosaic floors that have seen generations, carved teak furniture polished by hand, and staircases that spiral like stories.

At Cee Bee Design Studio, we recently worked on a century-old North Kolkata home that had layers of stories hidden behind peeling lime plaster and dusty chandeliers. We restored the teak windows, preserved the intricate grills, and introduced soft Bengali textiles to complement the grand colonial proportions. The puja room, which had once been forgotten, became a centrepiece again—with hand-painted terracotta tiles and soft lighting that honoured its quiet sanctity.

Sreerampore & Chandannagar: Whispering French Elegance

These small towns near Kolkata were once French settlements—and their homes still hold that quiet elegance. Pastel walls, chequered tile floors, curved balconies, and louvered shutters that open inward like old stories.

In a recent site visit to Sreerampore, we fell in love with a home that had an old library with arch-shaped windows and fading French detailing. Our work was subtle—we cleaned up, restored the wooden bookshelves, added woven cane panels, and created custom fabric blinds inspired by the old lace curtains that once hung there. The idea was not to erase time, but to gently dust it off and let it breathe again.

A Portuguese-era Goan home is where sunlit courtyards, patterned tiles, and carved altars come together to echo a heritage built on faith, festivity, and timeless charm

Goan homes, especially those built in the Portuguese era, are unapologetically vibrant. Walk into one and you’ll be greeted with tiled flooring in bold patterns, carved wooden almirahs, and altars lovingly lit with candles and marigolds.

At a recent Goan villa project near Assagao, we chose to retain the laterite walls as raw features and highlighted them with curated antiques from Mapusa markets. We custom-designed Athangudi-tile inspired flooring, added arched niches with built-in seating, and retained the old crossbeam ceiling that had seen decades of monsoon songs and Sunday meals.

Bangalore: Garden Bungalows and Anglo-Indian Calm

In areas like Richmond Town or Cooke Town, old Bangalore homes tell a quieter story. Sloped roofs, large porches, and red-oxide floors that stay cool all year. The interiors are calm and a bit stern—like the retired army officers who once lived in them.

One of our most cherished projects was the restoration of a 1960s home in Indiranagar, where the client wanted to keep the “soul” but make it functional for modern family life. We preserved the original Madras terrace roof, restored the jaali windows, and layered the interiors with a mix of mid-century colonial furniture and vibrant textiles. The red oxide floors were polished, not replaced. The result? A warm home that felt rooted, yet ready for a new generation.

Fort Kochi: Dutch Bones, Kerala Warmth

In Fort Kochi, history and home life blend seamlessly. Dutch and Portuguese influences show in the structure—steep gabled roofs, deep verandahs, and arched windows. But inside, it’s Kerala all the way.

While we haven’t yet worked on a restoration in Fort Kochi, our design travels through Kerala have deeply influenced our studio’s material palette—think timber, coir, brass, lime plaster, and murals that speak in whispers. Our upcoming project in Alappuzha aims to weave these threads into a river-facing ancestral home, where each room will carry echoes of the past while opening up to the slow breeze of the present.

Matter
Today, more than ever, we at Cee Bee Design Studio believe in learning from these old homes. Not to copy them, but to bring back their intentional design:

Rooms built around light, air, and seasonal rhythm
Materials that age with grace—lime, wood, oxide, stone
Furniture meant to be passed down, not tossed out
Sacred corners, verandahs, reading nooks—all made with thought. In a world of speed and modular living, these homes remind us that design is not just about look—it’s about feeling. Memory. Belonging.
Preserving Soul, One Space at a Time

So whether we’re restoring a crumbling puja room in Kolkata or reviving a Portuguese villa in Goa, our approach is the same: listen to the home, honour its stories, and then gently, carefully, bring it back to life.

Because some walls deserve to stand not just in memory—but the journey also