Inside Remo and Lizelle D’Souza’s serene Mumbai home named ‘Sabr’: ‘The moment you enter, you should feel peace’

“This is my favourite place,” Remo admits. “I’m going to spend most of my time here, in this house.”

Spirituality at the heart of the house

One of the first things that stands out is the deep spiritual presence woven throughout the home. From Ganpati Bappa at the entrance to Mother Mary, Shiva paintings, and Christian icons, the space reflects a seamless coexistence of faiths. “When you enter the house, there should be something that welcomes you,” Remo explains. “And when you look at Mother Mary, you feel all the energies.”

Lizelle adds context to their shared belief system. A born Catholic and Remo, a born Hindu who later embraced Christianity, the couple has never believed in limiting faith.

“I believe in all gods,” Remo says simply. “You can see it in my house. Jesus, Shivji, Ganpati, everything. Whatever name you take, at the end of it, you should have peace.”

Minimalism over show

Unlike homes that resemble curated sets, Sabr is intentionally restrained. White and grey dominate the colour palette, offset by carefully chosen pops of colour through art and furniture.

“I wanted one colour throughout the house: white,” Remo says. “Even the doors.”

Lizelle smiles as she recalls pushing back slightly. “I needed a break from that,” she laughs. The compromise? Muted greys, monochrome furniture, and colourful artwork that adds life without chaos.

Faith at the foundation

The temple space is not symbolic; it is active, lived-in, deeply personal. Every morning, Remo performs a full ritual. “I wash the entire temple, offer water and milk, put flowers with proper abhishek,” he says.

Spirituality, both Remo and Lizelle explain, has always been present in their lives, but it deepened after a life-altering moment

Lizelle recalls the day with striking detail. What began as a routine gym session turned into an emergency when Remo suffered a heart attack. “The doctor said, ‘Ma’am, it’s a heart attack,’ and I was just looking at him… everything around me felt like noise,” she says.

In that moment, strength took over fear. “Your one wrong decision can change everything,” she remembers thinking. As Remo was taken into surgery, the only thing she told him was: “You will not let me down.”

That experience, Remo says, transformed his relationship with faith. “I was always spiritual, but after that, it became a deeper part of my life.”

The children’s bedrooms

The younger son’s bedroom is less a styled space and more a living archive of growing up. Away in London at the time of the interview, his room has been left largely untouched, except for a tiny corner his mother jokingly admits to temporarily borrowing.

“This corner is amazing. Half of this collection is mine, and half is his,” she says, pointing to a carefully curated display of collectables accumulated since childhood. “Some things he’s told no one to touch. He keeps them in a box.”

What stands out is not the décor, but the respect the family shows for the room as an extension of their child’s personality. Even the colour palette was a shared decision. “When the architect sent me the plan, I shared it with them and said, this is how it’s going to be,” she explains.

The elder son’s room, by contrast, is intentionally different. “His is more grey, more creams,” she notes, subtle, restrained, and reflective of a different temperament altogether.

Remo reveals what transformed his relationship with faith (Source: Instagram/Remo Dsouza)

The master bedroom that became a sanctuary

The master bedroom is where the house’s philosophy truly settles into place. Equal parts indulgent and intentional, the room blends royal aesthetics with lived-in comfort.

At the centre of the room is a sprawling, deliberately oversized couch. “He wanted it almost like a bed,” she says. “This is my comfort zone. All my babies are with me when I’m watching something.”

Visually, the room is split into two moods. One side leans into soft pinks and prints; the other anchors itself in browns and neutrals. “It’s the same room, but designed very differently,” she explains. The evolution was gradual. “Earlier, everything was beige. Then I wanted a pop of colour. That’s when the prints and paintings came in.”

The domed ceiling gives the space a palatial feel. “It looks like those royal palace bedrooms you see in heritage hotels,” she says. Almost every piece here is custom-made, down to the dividers.

In the end, for Remo and Lizelle, the bungalow is not about perfect interiors or curated aesthetics, but about creating a sanctuary where family, spirituality, and stillness coexist.