Ideas That Inspire: 6 Chettinad Elements From Heritage Mansions

The Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu is acclaimed for its gorgeous traditional mansions belonging to the old mercantile, agricultural and land-owning families, who titled themselves Chettiar or Chetti. These are known to be designed according to Vastu Shastra and constructed with local materials, crafts and construction techniques that responded to the local climate of that area. Chettiar architecture is also famous for its luxurious scale, vivid colours, wood carvings and even imported materials from all over the world, such as Burma teak, Italian marble, Belgian glass and so on. Although this kind of architecture has witnessed a decline, giving way to modern, contemporary designs, there is hope, as some elements have seen a resurgence in new home designs.