Artist Michelle Poonawalla gave a tour of her lavish 7.5-acre sanctuary home in Koregaon Park, Pune, for the digital cover shoot of Grazia India. In the video, Michelle, who is married to industrialist Yohan Poonawalla, shared intimate details about her personal sanctuary and how she decorated the home.
Michelle highlighted how the environment of her luxurious residence blends modern aesthetics with family tradition. She also showcased significant artworks inside the villa, including her signature 3D butterfly installations and a sentimental “colour alphabet” painting inherited from her grandfather. Let’s take a tour:
Inside the 7.5-acre sanctuary home
Michelle Poonawalla describes her home as a blend of traditional and contemporary styles, intentionally designed to be a warm, comfortable environment for her family. As one enters the double-ceiling villa, they are welcomed through glass-panelled, ornate black-wood and crystal doors that open into a spacious foyer.
While the foyer is decorated with crystal chandeliers, wood beams, ornate mirrors, a crystal centre table, vintage wooden side tables, gold wall lamp fixtures, and black-and-white marble flooring, it opens into an even more lavish living area and a lounge room with a bar counter.
The living area is adorned with massive crystal chandeliers, elegant wainscotting, ethereal marble sculptures, plush sofas, stunning floral arrangements, priceless paintings, and artwork by Michelle herself. The home also houses a vintage Austin baby car and a horse statue, the latter symbolising the family’s deep-rooted history in horse breeding and racing.
The outdoors
The outdoors are as beautiful as the indoors. The facade of the Poonawalla villa is all white, surrounded by nature, with manicured lawns featuring lush trees, fountains, and a stunning dark teak-wood panelled pagoda, where Michelle likes to enjoy some quiet. It features lounge chairs, plush sofas, and rattan-decorated tables. She also revealed that they keep ponies on the estate, which have been with the family since they were babies.
During the tour, Michelle also showed a glimpse of her workspace, which is a quiet “painting studio” situated in the middle of a garden. It features a skylight to let in natural light and serves as a gallery where she showcases various artistic styles, including her graffiti Ganeshas, the ruler technique, and a thick impasto lily pond painting.
In the video, she also talked about her 3D butterfly installation, which is displayed inside the villa. It was created by Michelle in 2016 and designed to be plain and white, so the garden would reflect into the house.
