Designer Rahul Mishra has made his fame sending hand-embroidered gowns down Parisian runways during couture week. Now, he’s dressed a hillside in Uttarakhand and of any accusations to anticipate, none will be that it isn’t stylish. The “dress” in question is Aatman, a boutique villa that hosts one party of guests at a time by request via email. Five bedrooms are available to visitors—a sixth permanently reserved for Mishra—and can be booked either as a two-bedroom stay or as a full house including an attic. At 6,000 feet in the Kalakhet village of Nainital district, the property is Mishra’s first architectural project and the debut of his new design venture, Rahul Mishra Spaces.
Aatman
Aatman
How it was designed
The house opens into a soaring space of wood panelled walls, exposed stone and cedar beams overhead, letting in the great outdoors through floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Though the flooring uses mostly chevron or straight wood strips of pinewood, to retain the heat in the home, Jaisalmer sandstone, beautiful mustard tiles, cover the ground floor living space layered with thick Banarasi carpets. Seating areas are arranged across the ground floor and mezzanine levels, allowing different vantage points of the surrounding landscape and a double-sided stone fireplace connects the living and dining areas. The bedrooms are generous in scale yet retain a sense of intimacy in their blockprint furnishings and four-poster beds draped in gauzy curtains. At the front of the house, a fully glass-walled and roofed solarium with a wooden altar extends outward, admitting sunlight right from day break, and makes for just the spot to have a peaceful session of morning meditation.
Aatman
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Every detail of the house responds to its location in Uttarakhand’s fragile Himalayan eco-zone. It does not require any artificial cooling or heating systems as it relies entirely on its own architecture to manage its climate. Built by hand without cutting a single tree or blasting a rock, it follows the contours of its topography. Local artisans crafted every door, staircase, piece of furniture, and embroidered wall on site. The house functions as a self-sustaining ecosystem: solar panels supply electricity, rainwater is harvested and reused, and organic waste nourishes the gardens, orchards and organic farms that provide much of the household’s food. Fruit trees and water features invite local birdlife, ensuring the home coexists gently with its environment. Even as Mishra trades in his silks and sequins for stone and cedar, every corner of this new home is as considered and exacting as the garments he creates.
What you can do
The meals at Aatman are vegetarian, slow-cooked by a private chef, and largely sourced from the property’s own organic gardens, with a butler on hand to make sure your plate reaches you at whichever dining area you pick: the walnut-tree dining table, the breakfast gazebo, around a fire pit, or straight from the chulha.
Aatman
Aatman
Outside the retreat, there is a program full of activities that leaves little excuse to check your phone. You can walk to a nearby temple through pine forests or trek in meadows, both routes ending in a picnic lunch. The early birds who appreciate a good view can catch a Himalayan sunrise on a drive with breakfast on the go. There’s plenty to do in the villages surrounding the property too, whether you want to try a traditional Kumaoni lunch, learn embroidery from village artisans or spend a day planting and harvesting with local families. After dark, the sky presents the perfect opportunity to dabble in moon photography and attend astronomy sessions, a rare prospect for city folk carting in from Delhi, Mumbai, and other metros. The staff onsite can also arrange excursions to the more popular tourist spots like Ranikhet town and golf ground, the Kainchi Dham shrine, and Corbett National Park.
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