In This Tudor Revival, Saris Cover Sofas, Hand-Painted Murals Abound, and There’s a Little Gothic Drama Too

Interior designers wear many hats: decorator, curator, and armchair therapist. For AD100 talent Darren Jett, principal of New York City–based firm Jett Projects, a recent commission tested his skills as a translator, requiring him to bridge his clients’ Indian roots and American vernacular without flattening either. The husband and wife, who work in finance and government, respectively, met Jett through a mutual friend and approached him to redesign their Manhattan apartment. Then came the pandemic, and with it a job offer for the wife that reframed the scope entirely: Could Jett reimagine the project for a new setting—in Ohio?

The kitchen sets a moody tone with a hand-painted mural depicting wildlife from the surrounding landscape. The cabinets were created by local Amish builders; the backsplash and countertops are by Bantam Tile. The sink and faucet are by Waterworks; the pendant lights are by Jamb London; the glassware and bowls are from Artisans And. Floral arrangements throughout by Sweet Blossom Floral.

The answer was yes. Jett even helped the couple find their new home just outside Columbus. While touring new-build communities together, the designer sensed a disconnect. “They love architecture and history and were telling me all about their travels around the world,” he says. “They’re natural storytellers, and I wanted them to have the perfect place to write their next chapter.” His instincts led them to a Tudor Revival in the leafy suburb of Bexley, where the early-1900s home immediately resonated. “We walked down the driveway and it was like something out of a fairy tale,” Jett recalls.

Vintage pierced brass pendants from Morocco crown the dining room. The custom table by Stand and Build is flanked by Bonacina chairs. The rug is by Michael Trapp, the curtains are custom color-dyed linen from C&C Milano, and the artwork is by Siddhartha Sengupta.

The house had good bones but an unwieldy layout: too many bedrooms, multiple additions, and a maze-like flow. The first order of business was consolidation. Without changing the home’s footprint, Jett reduced the bedroom count from seven to four, creating two primary suites (one for the homeowners and one for guests), along with a nursery for the couple’s newborn son. There’s also a wellness wing complete with a gym, sauna, and prayer and meditation room; outside, a 2,000-square-foot vegetable garden now flourishes.

The bar in the living room was inspired by Chateau Voltaire in Paris and built by local Amish millworkers. The counters are Verde Antigua marble from ABC Stone New York; the sconces are vintage, and the early 1800s Dwarapala wooden statue is from a temple in Gujarat, India.

At 8,000 square feet, the four-year-long project became Jett’s most expansive to date—and also his most immersive. “As Americans with European tastes and Indian heritage, our vision came to life through Darren’s method of listening, studying, and blending our style sensibilities with the things that are personal to us,” says the wife. That mandate shaped the deeply personal, richly layered interiors.

Situated at one end of the wellness wing, the dedicated prayer and meditation room includes a mural depicting the homeowner’s favorite Hindu scripture.

Balance—between grandeur and warmth, East and West—became Jett’s guiding principle. The sunken living room hosts a nearly 60-foot-long built-in sofa, angled toward the fireplace and upholstered entirely in a patchwork of saris, collected and handed down through generations of women on the wife’s side. The saris also drove the home’s color palette, evolving from moody jewel tones in the main living areas to spice-inspired hues in the primary suite. “Winters are bleak,” says the wife, “so another goal was to make a home that would feel cozy through the cold winters but warm and energetic, drawing from the outdoors during the spring and summer.”

In the primary suite, the four-poster bed was custom-built by The Raj Company, with Pierre Frey fabric to offset the nearly 20-feet-high ceilings. The vintage Persian rugs are from Heirloom Brooklyn and the lamps are by Galerie des Lampes.

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The Tudor Revival’s generous proportions posed challenges, but they also offered a canvas for creativity. A mural artist “basically lived in the house for two years,” says Jett. He commissioned original works for the morning room, where scenes of the wife’s ancestral village in Srirangam unfold—including one of her mother bathing in the local river with elephants. In the kitchen, the murals shift to local wildlife, with illustrations of a beaver and an eagle the couple has named. Snakes are a motif throughout the house—a nod to the cobra as a symbol of good fortune. The nursery departs from murals in favor of a custom Voutsa wallpaper teeming with jungle wildlife.

The couple welcomed a son during the renovation process and converted a guest room into a nursery. It’s the only room to feature wallpaper—a custom design by George Venson for Voutsa—instead of a mural. The Roman shades were fabricated from an antique quilt.

Music served as a quiet through line for Jett, who develops playlists to set the emotional register of all of his projects. “I had to create the perfect mix to accompany the furniture and the different eras, to switch into that headspace,” he says. During the renovation, tracks by Iranian pop icon Googoosh and Indian rock legend Nandu Bhende echoed through the house, lending the long process a sense of rhythm and continuity.

In the primary bathroom, the copper and nickel tub is by Penhaglion and the fittings are by Waterworks. The medicine cabinets were made in India, and the sconces are by Galerie des Lampes.

But music here isn’t only atmospheric. In the prayer and meditation room, a discreet speaker continuously plays a religious chant meant to ward off negative energy—a core tenet of the homeowners’ Hindu philosophy, and a reminder that the home is as much a spiritual environment as a visual one. “Darren molded his ideas to our taste, our histories, our lifestyle,” says the wife. “He’s effortlessly tasteful—and while we both believe that any person can be taught design, few can be taught taste.”

Seafoam green walls frame the sunken living room, which features a custom 60-foot-long sofa and espresso-stained floors. The fireplace surround is by Bantam Tile; the cocktail tables are by LaVerne; the snake lamp is by Edgar Brandt; and the chair is custom by The Raj Company in Pierre Frey velvet.

The home library, which doubles as the wife’s office, pairs a ceiling mural with a vintage Chesterfield sofa, a George Smith armchair, and an Art Nouveau stained glass lamp.

In the morning room, the walls feature a hand-painted mural depicting the homeowner’s ancestral village, Srirangam. An antique map of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu hangs above the fireplace. The Gio Ponti sofa is covered in Christopher Hyland mohair; the chairs are vintage Bonacina. The cushions and window treatments are made from vintage Indian silk saris.