Chettinad Style Interiors: Pillars, Tiles and Antiques

Chettinad style is one of the most recognisable looks in Indian interiors: polished teak pillars, floors of richly coloured handmade tiles, carved doors studded with brass, a wooden swing on chains, and rooms filled with old brass lamps, wooden chests and palm-leaf baskets. It comes from the great merchant mansions around Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, described in this site's article on Chettinad houses, and it has spread far beyond them — into homes, heritage hotels and restaurants across India.

The style is also one of the easiest to get wrong. Its elements are so attractive that they tend to be collected rather than designed. A modern flat with a 2.9 m ceiling receives a pair of salvaged pillars cut down to fit, a floor of busy tiles wall to wall, a swing in the living room, a carved door, brass everywhere, and the result looks like a theme restaurant rather than a home. The originals worked because they had space, height, a courtyard and a strong plan to hold their richness together.

This article goes deeper into the three things that define Chettinad interiors — pillars, tiles and antiques — and adds the doors, walls, swings and colours that complete them. It explains how each element was used in the mansions, how to size and detail it in a modern home, how to buy and care for antiques responsibly, and what it costs, with indicative October 2026 prices kept consistent with this site's Chettinad and Athangudi articles.

What makes an interior Chettinad

In the mansions, the interior was built from a small number of materials used generously and with great skill: Burma teak for pillars, doors, beams and ceilings; granite for plinths, steps and some columns; lime plaster polished to a soft sheen on the walls; handmade Athangudi cement tiles and imported ceramic tiles on the floors and dados; and, inside the rooms, the family's possessions — brass and bronze vessels, lamps, chests, cupboards, mirrors, enamelware, porcelain and baskets. Rooms were tall, commonly four metres or more, and opened onto a colonnaded courtyard, so even rich decoration had space and light around it.

Three qualities hold the look together. The first is rhythm: rows of identical pillars around a court, repeated tile patterns, a sequence of doors on one axis. The second is contrast: dark polished teak against pale lime walls, intense tile colours against plain plaster. The third is craft: every element — a turned pillar, a carved lintel, a poured tile, a hammered brass lamp — shows the hand that made it. A modern interior that keeps rhythm, contrast and craft, even with only a few elements, reads as Chettinad; one that collects many elements without them does not.

Pillars: types, proportions and fixing

The pillar is the signature of the Chettinad courtyard. In the mansions, rows of pillars carried the roof of the verandah around the valavu, the main courtyard, and divided the large halls into bays. The most famous are tall, polished Burma teak pillars, sometimes plain and round, sometimes square with chamfered corners or carved bands, standing on granite bases and topped with carved brackets that spread to carry the beams. In some houses, the pillars nearest the entrance or in the most formal halls were granite monoliths.

Proportion is what usually goes wrong. A mansion pillar 4–4.5 m tall and 250 mm in diameter is slender and elegant; the same pillar cut down to fit a 2.85 m flat ceiling becomes squat. In lower rooms, use a slimmer shaft — about 150–200 mm — and keep the base and bracket in proportion, or give the pillar a reason to be there, such as framing an opening or standing at the edge of a raised platform. A pair of pillars defining the entrance to a dining area or a pooja room is far more convincing than a single pillar standing alone. Fig. 1 compares the two situations.

Fixing matters as much as proportion. A decorative pillar does not carry the building, but a 2.8 m teak or stone pillar is heavy and must never be able to topple. It should be dowelled into the floor and anchored at the top into the RCC slab or a beam — not into a gypsum false ceiling — with a slight gap and a cover detail to allow the timber to move with the seasons. Granite pillars on upper floors need a structural engineer's check of the slab. Where a structural RCC column already stands awkwardly in a room, cladding it in teak or teak veneer with a granite base and a carved bracket can turn a problem into the room's centrepiece.

Athangudi tiles: patterns, layouts and the tile rug

Athangudi tiles are handmade cement tiles, cast face-down on glass with coloured cement poured into a metal pattern frame, then water-cured rather than fired — a process explained in detail in this site's articles on Chettinad houses and on the history of Athangudi and cement oxide floors. They are commonly 200 × 200, 250 × 250 or 300 × 300 mm and about 15–20 mm thick, with material costs of roughly ₹120–300 per sq ft and laying of about ₹50–100 per sq ft, or about ₹150–400 per sq ft installed, plus freight from Tamil Nadu (indicative October 2026). Patterns come in families: field tiles that repeat, border tiles, and corner tiles that turn the border.

The most effective way to use them in a modern home is often the tile rug: a panel of patterned field tiles framed by a border, set into a plain floor of the same thickness. It brings the richness of a Chettinad floor to a living or dining room without overwhelming it, defines the seating or dining zone like a carpet, and uses fewer tiles. Plain Athangudi tiles or a plain cement or stone floor around it keep the level and the material family consistent.

Colour choice decides whether the floor feels calm or loud. The traditional palette is earthy and deep: oxide red, ochre yellow, indigo blue, bottle green, black and off-white. A tile rug in two or three of these colours, with the rest of the room in pale lime and teak, is classic. Very bright combinations and many patterns in one home quickly become tiring. Because the tiles are handmade, colour and edge vary slightly from tile to tile and between batches; order the full quantity plus spares in one batch, ask for a dry layout on site before laying, and follow the maker's laying and cleaning advice. They are cement-based, so acid cleaners are out, and turmeric and oil should be wiped promptly while the floor is new.

Many mansions also used imported glazed ceramic tiles, often described as Japanese or European, on dados, steps and some floors. Their modern equivalents are encaustic-look cement tiles and printed ceramic tiles. Printed tiles are cheaper and more uniform, at roughly ₹50–150 per sq ft for the tile, but they lack the depth and patina of a poured tile; they suit bathrooms and wet areas where Athangudi tiles do not belong.

Antiques: what to look for and how to buy

Antiques are what turn a Chettinad-inspired room into a lived one. The Karaikudi area has long been known for its antique and salvage shops, which sell doors, pillars, brackets, windows, cupboards, chests, brass and bronze vessels, lamps, enamelware, mirrors, wooden toys and household objects from the mansions. Similar pieces travel through dealers to every major Indian city. Not everything sold as "Chettinad" is old, and not everything old is sound, so buying needs patience and a few checks.

New reproductions are often the better choice for daily use. A newly made teak or teak-veneer door, a new turned pillar or a new brass lamp by a skilled craftsperson supports the living craft economy of the region, can be made to the exact size needed and carries no question of origin. Aaditya Interior's practice is to place one genuine antique where it can be seen and appreciated, and to use well-made new work for the elements that must fit and perform.

Doors, ceilings and walls

The Chettinad main door is a statement: a heavy teak frame, often with carved bands of creepers, flowers and figures, a carved panel or deity such as Gajalakshmi above the opening, a raised wooden threshold, and double leaves with panels and brass studs or bosses. In a modern home, one such door is enough — at the main entrance or the pooja room — and it should sit in a wall that gives it space. This site's Chettinad article prices a teak or teak-veneer main door with one carved panel at about ₹80,000–3,00,000 or more, depending on timber and carving, for an opening of about 1050–1200 × 2400 mm.

Ceilings in the mansions were often timber — beams, joists and coffered panels of teak — or the Madras terrace type with timber joists carrying diagonally laid bricks. In a modern RCC home, a few real or veneered timber beams in one room can suggest this, provided they are deep enough to look structural, roughly 150–225 mm deep and 100–150 mm wide, and spaced regularly. Thin strips stuck to a gypsum ceiling look false.

Walls should be the quiet background. The mansions' polished lime plaster was pale and smooth with a soft sheen. In a modern home, true lime plaster needs a skilled craftsman; limewash or a lime-look mineral finish on one or two walls costs about ₹40–150 or more per sq ft of wall, with premium emulsion at ₹20–30 per sq ft elsewhere (indicative October 2026). Keep walls white, off-white or a pale earth tone so that teak, tiles and brass can carry the colour.

The oonjal: a swing with rules

The oonjal, a wooden plank swing hung on chains, is one of the best-loved features of Tamil homes, and many Chettinad halls had one. In a modern home it needs space and a safe structure. The swing needs room to move — about 900–1200 mm of clear space in front and behind at seat level is a sensible minimum for gentle use — so it suits a verandah, a wide balcony, a double-height space or a large hall better than a compact living room. Its hooks must be anchored into the RCC slab or a beam using a detail designed by a structural engineer for the dynamic load of people swinging; never into a false ceiling, a hollow block or a decorative beam.

Room by room: putting it together

A Chettinad-inspired home works best when each room has one clear idea. The foyer suits a carved door and a small Athangudi rug or border, with a brass lamp in a niche. The living room suits a pair of teak pillars at its opening, a tile rug under the seating, pale lime walls and one antique cupboard; if there is a verandah or wide balcony, the oonjal belongs there. The dining room suits a long teak table, an Athangudi floor or dado, and timber beams overhead if the height allows. The pooja room is the natural place for the finest carving — a teak door, a carved frame, brass lamps — and for the brightest tiles. Bedrooms are best kept quiet: a teak bed or chest, a tile border, and textiles such as Kandangi cotton for colour.

A worked budget: Chettinad accents in a 3BHK flat

The example below adds Chettinad elements to an otherwise standard mid-range 3BHK interior, using the indicative October 2026 rates from this site's Chettinad and finish guides. It excludes the base interior, GST and freight of tiles from Tamil Nadu.

Before the pillars, swing and antiques, the Chettinad layer adds roughly ₹1.3–4.7 lakh to the base interior, most of it in the door. Pillars, a swing and antiques are priced piece by piece and vary enormously with age, timber and carving, so it is wise to set a cap for them at the start and spend it on one or two excellent pieces rather than many average ones.

Where Chettinad style is going

Interest in Chettinad has grown with the restoration of several mansions as heritage hotels and homestays, and with the region's place on UNESCO's Tentative List. That interest is helping the Athangudi tile makers and other craftspeople, and it is shifting buyers from stripping old houses towards commissioning new work. In interiors, the trend is towards restraint — a single tile rug, one pair of pillars, a few brass pieces — and towards combining Chettinad elements with modern planning and lighting, much as the merchants themselves combined local craft with materials from across their trading world. The future of the style lies less in collecting the past than in keeping its crafts alive.

Rules for Chettinad style interiors

• Choose one hero element per room — pillars, a tile floor, a carved door or a swing — and keep the rest calm.
• Keep walls pale and plain so teak, tiles and brass carry the colour.
• Size pillars to the room: a slimmer shaft of about 150–200 mm in a 2.85–3.0 m room, in pairs framing an opening.
• Fix every pillar top and bottom; anchor to the slab, never to a false ceiling.
• Use Athangudi tiles as a rug or border before committing a whole room, and order all tiles plus spares in one batch.
• Keep Athangudi tiles and lime plaster out of showers and very wet areas.
• Check antiques for borer, repairs and soundness, keep documentation, and avoid anything of doubtful origin.
• Hang an oonjal only from engineered hooks in RCC, with 900–1200 mm of clear swing space front and back.
• Prefer new work by skilled craftspeople for elements that must fit and perform.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chettinad style interior design?

It is an interior style based on the merchant mansions of the Chettinad region around Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu: polished teak pillars, doors and ceilings, handmade Athangudi tile floors, pale polished lime walls, brass lamps and vessels, wooden swings and antique furniture, arranged with strong rhythm and contrast.

Can Athangudi tiles be used in a modern flat?

Yes, in living rooms, dining rooms, foyers, pooja rooms and verandahs. A tile rug or border inside a plain floor is often the most effective use. They are not suited to showers or very wet areas, need a skilled mason, and cost about ₹150–400 per sq ft installed, indicatively in October 2026, plus freight.

Where can Chettinad antiques be bought?

The Karaikudi area is known for antique and salvage shops selling doors, pillars, cupboards, brass and household objects from the mansions, and many dealers in Indian cities sell similar pieces. Check for borer, repairs and soundness, keep invoices, and avoid anything that may have come from a temple or protected monument.

Are Chettinad pillars structural?

In the mansions they carried verandah roofs and beams. In a modern RCC home, a Chettinad pillar is usually decorative, unless it clads an existing structural column. Decorative pillars must still be fixed to the floor and the slab so they cannot topple.

How do I avoid an over-decorated Chettinad look?

Give each room one hero element, keep walls pale and plain, limit brass to a few pieces, avoid mixing several tile patterns, and leave space around antiques. Restraint is what makes the richness of Chettinad elements visible.