Ashwini Bahadur in the living room that is made distinctive by her collection of art works and antiques

An enviable art collection is a given at any curator’s home but what makes art consultant and curator Ashwini Bahadur’s residence a visual delight is her eclectic collection of antiques. Married to textile exporter Atul Bahadur, Ashwini moved to her husband’s massive house in Delhi’s sedate Civil Lines 14 years ago.

While she retained a lot of what was already in it, she added age-old antiques and a fine collection of art by the best signatures.

You enter the house through an imposing iron gate and can’t miss the two huge houses that occupy the compound — one a historic bungalow and the other a newer, three-storeyed building that was built about 15 years ago.

(From top) Ashwini’s Rosenthal glassware collection was a wedding gift from a friend; An antique silver hookah that’s a family heirloom

And even though the two sit on a 10,000sq ft area, there is enough room left over for a sprawling garden. “We are a big joint family and together there are about 25 people living in both the houses,” chuckles Ashwini.

The single-storey white bungalow is steeped in history. “It is believed to be one of the houses built to accommodate the guests of the Delhi Durbar held to commemorate the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India in 1911,” says Ashwini.

While this house is occupied by her in-laws, Ashwini lives with her husband Atul, daughter Avantika, 6, and son Aryan, 10, on the ground floor of the three-storey house that has been built on a 1,700sq yard plot. While the basement of the house has been converted into a store, Ashwini’s floor includes three bedrooms, a living room with an attached dining space and a study, which serves as library of sorts.

You enter the house through a lobby, which is a cosy corner. A staircase on the extreme left leads to the upper floors where the other members of the family live.

The lobby is dominated by a collection of antiques like a wooden bench from Ahmedabad, two carved, low chairs from Jodhpur, a Portuguese console accentuated with colourful tiles and a 120-year-old antique wooden rack from Jodhpur.

There’s a collection of interesting curios on the wooden rack. A rosewood Ganesha from Bangalore, an 80-year-old iron from Jodhpur and a gray-black bowl catch the eye. “I picked this from Dilli Haat, when it was inaugurated, from a potter who specialised in curd bowls!” says Ashwini. Then there’s a bronze sculpture, which Ashwini bought from sculptor Usha Rani Hooja.

White is the colour of the moment for Ashwini and her collection of antiques stands out against this pristine look. But she says hastily: “I picked most of the collectibles years ago at a fraction of what they cost today.’’

A centre-table in the living room bears testimony to this. Ashwini picked an antique door from Rajasthan for a paltry Rs 500, topped it with clear glass and converted it into the centretable.

The living room is split into two distinct areas with cosy seating in each. White dominates this part of the house as well. The white walls are complemented by a white marble floor so that paintings add riotous colours on a very clean look. Adding to the bright look is the cheerful upholstery.

(From top) Low chairs from Jodhpur and an antique Portuguese console dominate the lobby; A 120-year-old wooden rack from Jodhpur holds more antiques and artefacts; (Below) An old Rajasthani door has been converted into a centre-table

In one part of the drawing room there’s a landscape by Prakash Karmakar and a Thota Vaikuntam canvas that Ashwini bought six years ago. Her favourites are two 90-year-old Tanjore paintings flanking a huge mirror with two pillar-like structures framing its length at the living room entrance. She says: “The paintings are from Mysore and the mirror-frame from a temple that was being renovated in Chettinad.’’

On the adjacent wall is a sideboard that holds china handed down to Ashwini by her aunts who live in Mysore. She’s also proud of her Rosenthal glassware collection that was a wedding gift from a German friend. “There are all types of glasses — champagne flutes to wine goblets,” she says. A round dining table next to the shelf too is an antique. “My father-in-law picked it up from a curio shop in Delhi,” she adds.

The bedrooms open into the living area. The children’s room plays with animal imagery on its embroidered curtains and bedsheets that contrast with the soccer souvenirs and collectibles. “My son’s a big soccer fan,’’ she says. The couple’s own bedroom is high on the period look. The king-sized bed is a reproduction of period look though two chests of drawers are antique. “The bedroom walls have a lot of contemporary art,” says Ashwini.

No visit to Ashwini’s own home can be complete without a peep into the old house, which the Bahadurs are very proud of. Ashwini says, pointing out the family favourite, an antique silver hookah: “Atul’s great grandfather used to smoke it,” she says. Adding grace to the living room are elegant chandeliers and furniture that her father-in-law bought decades ago.

Living in a rambling, high-ceiling house comes with its share of back-breaking maintenance. “Looking after the house does consume a lot of energy,’’ confesses Ashwini, who multi-tasks and is curator, art consultant and businesswoman looking after the family’s textile business. But that’s hardly likely to deter Ashwini to adding to her collection of antiques and collectibles.