Carved wooden columns, Athangudi tiles and stone surfaces reflect the craftsmanship and material richness of Chettinad’s heritage homes.

Chettinad’s mansions were built by the Nattukottai Chettiars, a banking and trading community that made its fortune across Burma, Ceylon, and Southeast Asia. The homes were meant to display that prosperity and to house large joint families under one roof. At the heart of every plan was the courtyard, or mutram . Because special occasions and everyday family life unfolded around it, the houses were organised as a sequence of courtyards. The grander the house , the larger and more finely finished its courts, with carved teak columns and imported tiles and glass.

Why the design was so elaborate

The elaborate design had many reasons, says Venkat Rao, Design Head (South India), Petros® Stone LLP, and the courtyard served several purposes at once.…