I initially said no,” laughs interior designer Mansi Mehta when we ask her for her reasons for taking up the project to restore Green Gifts Bungalow, an elegant and spacious Parsi home with a plant nursery on Bandra’s Turner Road. Officially known as Tehmi Terrace and originally built in 1916, the imposing bungalow has been frequently leased out for advertising film shoots in the past. But when Mehta first encountered it for the purpose of restoration, she found it riddled with structural concerns, including corroded metalwork, compromised walls, and damaged ceilings. 

“I saw the space and it scared me. It was in a mess,” she recalls. But owners Yasmine and Dhunrumi Patell had faith in the designer and artist who has studied at institutions like the Sophia College for Women and the JJ School of Art, and credits design firm Talati and Panthaky for providing a strong foundation for her career.