M A K E U P A N D H A IR : A N G E L IN A J O S E P H

FORMER MODEL MANPREET BRAR

WALLIA’S

Delhi home epitomizes understated

luxury. It oozes a Zen-like calm while being warm

and welcoming. Get an exclusive peek.

by ANKITA ATALWAR photographs AN AY MANN produced by RAGINI SINGH

The two-storey Wallia house in the posh locality of

Golf Links, Delhi. The ground floor houses the

entertaining and more public areas, whereas the

family’s personal rooms are on the first floor. The

ample use of wood and white colour, with greenery

for relief, imparts a refreshing look to the home.

Eventhough

she

bowed out o f the m odelling industry

a few years ago, Manpreet B rar W a llia still

commands a presence

when she walks into the room.

The statuesque former Miss India, well-noted for her intelligence, is a

fusion of elegance, winsome amiability, and genteel frankness. And her

600-square-yard bungalow in Golf Links, Delhi, has taken after its

mistress. It’s welcoming and open. “For me, my house has to reflect my

tastes, likes, and dislikes. I am not okay with the idea of handing over

my house to a designer or a third person,” says Manpreet. No wonder

the lady knows her wood and paint types, and can talk effortlessly

about the business of structures, plumbing, and electrical wiring—a

task most women happily bequeath to the male fraternity.

“The house has virtually been authored by Manpreet. She visualized

conceptualized, and executed everything from the structure to the

decor,” says husband Arjun Wallia, Group Founder and Chairman,

Walsons Securitas. And Manpreet had a tough task at hand. ‘W hen we

bought this house around two years ago, it was an old wall-on-wall

structure. Besides strengthening it and redoing the floor plan, it required

a changeover into a column-and-bcam structure,” explains Manpreet.

What emerged was a clean structure with lots of openings to welcome

nature and people alike. “My taste in interiors and houses is defined by

clean lines, open spaces, and a decor that is devoid of too much

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS FEBRUARY 2011

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