Freedom Tree’s new
Indiranagar Bengaluru’s architectural new store
leans even more into “warmth and Color”

Freedom Tree has transplanted its Indiranagar location to another space, just three streets away. As always, we redesigned the interior to respect the architecture. How do you work on a space that is already an iconic piece of architecture, yet find a way to have the modern home brands personality coexist?

While the brand has always occupied unusual home spaces, even abandoned places, the move here was like a home coming. A challenge to fit into a home space converted for office use, and not lose the navigability of retail decision-making for a guest. To fill it with the promise of the warmth and comfort that people increasingly expect of home.

Spirit and Quality

Freedom Tree has always looked for architecture with good bones, much in keeping with the character of the brand. Happy, well-proportioned volumes, allowing the color forward aesthetic to shine in well-lit spaces. They could not have asked for a better brief fulfilment when they were shown #575. It is adjoining the home and sprawling multipurpose layout of architects Shahrukh and Renu Mistry. Long before ‘going green’ became the inspiration du jour, Sharukh and Renu Mistry had been incorporating sustainable practices in their designs. 

Materiality

Constructed in an aesthetic familiar to our founder Latika Khosla’s alma mater, NID, the architecture is familiar and timeless. The natural materials use only stone, brick, terracotta tiles, wood and iron grills. Fenestrations and skylights that open onto the trees and let in bursts of sunlight. The spaces are all very clever and modular. The functionality allows for it to be an office, an adjacent annex a one room bedsit, still others two room apartments. Each catching the light, air and privacy. Much like the best of tropical architecture, the place was not air conditioned, but was cool with netting that kept the air circulating.

Modularity

The modularity also lies in the smallest unit of construction: Brick. It lies in the person of the most amenable architect/landlord, Renu herself. We must also give a nod to the craftspeople who understood the essence of working with frugality of materials and upcycling all that could be reused. If a wall had to be removed, brick by brick, it was lowered and neatly became a partition or a doorway. Grills unscrewed to be usable elsewhere; glass repurposed to fit newly formed openings. Renu actively encouraged removing certain walls to show the magic of how they had originally conceived this seamless space.

Color Coda

The overwhelming amount of brick, dark polished wood, monochrome painted trusses needed a thoughtful refresh to house Freedom Tree. “We set about redesigning what was an office and an annex with a focus on navigability for our large range of products and fabrics. Some fixed anchor spaces for key tasks and flexibility for changing product lines and furniture arrangements."  said Sonal the Brand Custodian.

With critical timelines, materials and color coda were established. The intent was to give the house a more elevated yet modern-casual essence. All brickwork was to be left untouched. Window frames and doors were scraped down to natural or painted a broken white to make them visually expansive. To lighten the open spaces and the trusses that held the fiberglass, they were painted in a uniform glass colored taupe. It literally took the roof off the place!

The verandah places have glass roof tiles that throw geometric shafts of light in the day and look like starlit openings at night. The metal work holding the tiles was painted in a vulnerable skin pink, which immediately gave the terracotta a shy update.

Happy Accidents

A vast curving wall, the retaining wall snakes up, holding together the adjoining spaces. It is a monumental piece. “We needed to get attention away from the brickwork, stand out, but not shout out away from this calm oasis. Trying our sampler color wall, we stumbled on the idea of just doing our FT stripes in varying widths, intermittently punctuated with the Freedom Tree green color.” says Ajeata the interior designer on location.

The store will see a lot of colors, bold prints and patterned textiles. The backdrops must remain subtle for the more colorful additions that will come with every new design collection. The combination of brickwork, fresh colors, critical white walls and natural light evokes a hospitable home atmosphere.

Open spaces

Surprises lurk for the guests, as much as they have consumed the design teams. Cleverly placed windows/or glass doors become prescient peepholes to the next room. A teeny courtyard houses a proliferate Chikoo fruit tree. Freedom Tree leans into that open to the sky courtyard with a sensuous, curved shelf that houses their most loved hand painted ceramics. Further in, a double height room is open to natural light. Their artworks and curated artworks will line the walls of this room.

Upstairs, overlooking this double height room are housed rolls of jewel toned fabrics. Another room with a glass roof and exceptional light has beautiful hand-woven rugs, perfect for seeing every detail. Shafts of light on tile covered verandas are quiet escapes where one can enjoy this house full of color.

Decision making becomes easy with a thoughtful layout. The upper floor has the more considered categories around the fabric, rugs and bedding coordinates. The ground floor houses the living room furniture, new collection walls, cushions, decor lighting and dining lines. Fashion gives a frisson of impulse shopping!

Many Hearts and Hands

There is a whole load of work to be done with every move. Especially when a commitment is made to reuse materials; from signage to shelving for sustainability and continuity in some way. “The store staff has to manage customers, shut down the old space systematically, even as the team works to familiarize themselves with a new space.” says Shaan, the Bengaluru manager. Everyone has unconditionally loved the new space and is excited for this airy interconnected new workspace.

Rishabh, the Business Head sums up the feel-good culture. “As the brand expands, and new people join, a move like this makes them equal stakeholders in the shared experience.”

Come Say Hi!

Our new location in Indiranagar gently opens its doors this weekend. Come say hi for an early peek at what we’ve been working on.

We're located at House no. 575, 9th A Main in Indiranagar. Just off 100 ft road.
See you soon!