I got my home featured for the first time in the wonderful +Shalini Pereira's blog. I had written to her asking if I could be a part of her "My space my style feature" and she graciously obliged!
Shalini is an Interior designer and architectural consultant. She runs her own firm and has quite a few projects in her kitty. U can check out her blog at http://allthingsnice-shalinipereira.blogspot.co.uk/
My home is featured here.
Thank you once again Shalini for letting me play designer, a dream that I live vicariously :)
Showing posts with label others. Show all posts
Showing posts with label others. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Reflection
I read this today on someones blog.
Martha Graham
Isnt it so true, so simple yet so profound?
“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is or how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open”
Martha Graham
Isnt it so true, so simple yet so profound?
Monday, February 3, 2014
A Spa birthday party was had..
Miki turned ten on Jan 9 this year. Isnt it amazing how much you grow after becoming a parent?
Its the easiest job to mess up isint it!!
Every day you learn something new about yourself just by the virtue of being a parent.
So as tradition went, we celebrated the 9th of Jan in India at her grand parent's place. Naturally we had to celebrate again with her friends just so the Universe could maintain order.
Hence it was decided we would have a spa themed party, what with Miki being a pre teen and all ( who comes up with this stuff?!!)
And so the whole of last week saw us scampering for ideas
We finally managed to rummage through various blogs and decided on a few.
I must say people are CREATIVE !!
Preparations took up the whole of last week
Like planning the menu, activities and shopping for supplies
It was the Chinese new year weekend and that meant most shops were closed for the holiday for three days and we had to stock up supplies before hand like craft supplies for activities, food and giveaways.
Most of my 'free time' at work was spent personalising giveaways and more shopping.
Finally THE day arrived and so did the girls, all squealy and excited.
They were proudly shown around our small aprtment by the young hostess before they all made a bee line to the jacuzzi ( ya very grown up!!)
Ribena was served in plastic wine goblets and there was a lot of clinking heard therafter ;)
Cold towels served as a respite from the late afternoon sun- It was thankfully a gorgeous sunny day
They spent about an hour in the warm waters before getting back to their squealing selves.
The girls each got a pair of spa slippers and a water bottle to keep them cool
Having graduated from the jacuzzi with flying towels
They proceeded to the pool for some more fun of marco polo
More shower fun and dressing up later, they had their fill of parantha and butter chicken and ofcourse some gorgeous red velvet cup cakes.
After that they sat down to make their own beauty supplies-
Lip balm with vaseline, eye shadow and food colour
Body glitter with unscented cream,cosmetic gold dust and a few drops of aromatic oil'
Bath salts with rock salt, food colour and food essence/ aromatic oil
The girls decorated their personalised lip balm and body glitter containers with glitter pens, Washi tape and sequins
We even tried to make our own bracelet cuffs with ice cream sticks
Sorry I have no pics of that
First You need to soak the ice cream sticks in warm water for about 48 hours (YUP!)
When they begin to get soft, try gently bending them into a C shape
You put this C shaped cuff into a glass tumbler for a couple of hours to hold the shape
Voila! U have your cuff!
We had done a fruit and yogurt creamsicle ( Blend a cup of strawberry yoghurt, 2 bananas, and some raspberries, add honey and freeze in popsicle molds) but they didnt set in time for the party. We shouldve done them atleast 24 hours before. Never mind that,
It was a fun packed birthday party and the girls had a blast !
Its the easiest job to mess up isint it!!
Every day you learn something new about yourself just by the virtue of being a parent.
So as tradition went, we celebrated the 9th of Jan in India at her grand parent's place. Naturally we had to celebrate again with her friends just so the Universe could maintain order.
Hence it was decided we would have a spa themed party, what with Miki being a pre teen and all ( who comes up with this stuff?!!)
And so the whole of last week saw us scampering for ideas
We finally managed to rummage through various blogs and decided on a few.
I must say people are CREATIVE !!
Preparations took up the whole of last week
Like planning the menu, activities and shopping for supplies
It was the Chinese new year weekend and that meant most shops were closed for the holiday for three days and we had to stock up supplies before hand like craft supplies for activities, food and giveaways.
Most of my 'free time' at work was spent personalising giveaways and more shopping.
Finally THE day arrived and so did the girls, all squealy and excited.
They were proudly shown around our small aprtment by the young hostess before they all made a bee line to the jacuzzi ( ya very grown up!!)
Ribena was served in plastic wine goblets and there was a lot of clinking heard therafter ;)
Cold towels served as a respite from the late afternoon sun- It was thankfully a gorgeous sunny day
They spent about an hour in the warm waters before getting back to their squealing selves.
The girls each got a pair of spa slippers and a water bottle to keep them cool
Having graduated from the jacuzzi with flying towels
They proceeded to the pool for some more fun of marco polo
More shower fun and dressing up later, they had their fill of parantha and butter chicken and ofcourse some gorgeous red velvet cup cakes.
After that they sat down to make their own beauty supplies-
Lip balm with vaseline, eye shadow and food colour
Body glitter with unscented cream,cosmetic gold dust and a few drops of aromatic oil'
Bath salts with rock salt, food colour and food essence/ aromatic oil
The girls decorated their personalised lip balm and body glitter containers with glitter pens, Washi tape and sequins
We even tried to make our own bracelet cuffs with ice cream sticks
Sorry I have no pics of that
First You need to soak the ice cream sticks in warm water for about 48 hours (YUP!)
When they begin to get soft, try gently bending them into a C shape
You put this C shaped cuff into a glass tumbler for a couple of hours to hold the shape
Voila! U have your cuff!
We had done a fruit and yogurt creamsicle ( Blend a cup of strawberry yoghurt, 2 bananas, and some raspberries, add honey and freeze in popsicle molds) but they didnt set in time for the party. We shouldve done them atleast 24 hours before. Never mind that,
It was a fun packed birthday party and the girls had a blast !
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Drooooool...
Saw some AMAZING home ideas today at http://www.boredpanda.com/amazing-home-interior-design-ideas/
In my next house may be...
The last few are not on the wishlist but make it for their sheer ingenuity
Creepy but clever
Added a few to my wishlist - yes it will happen someday people!
Totally drooling over this
In my next house may be...
Stairs bookshelf yall!
The last few are not on the wishlist but make it for their sheer ingenuity
Creepy but clever
A pain to clean up but I can feel the cool sand under my toes just looking at it
Not for the queasy
How adorable :))
Rain makes music through these pipes
Should try this..
Monday, January 20, 2014
Dining room chairs
Im happy im happy im happy im..
Got myself some Hans Wagner loouve...
Reproduction they might be but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do :p
Ashwood and PU leather
What do u think?
Got myself some Hans Wagner loouve...
Reproduction they might be but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do :p
Ashwood and PU leather
Monday, April 1, 2013
All in a day's work
This is what I do during my lunch hour and in between :)
Ssshhh! Dont tell the boss.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Feature wall
The ugly bar cabinet that inhabits most of my living room space has been slated for dismantling ever since we laid our eyes on it when we first saw our place. The previous owner was obviously a man of the world and really enjoyed his drink. In our household, drinking is synonymous with entertaining, neither of which happens at regular intervals.
The idea is to dismantle the eye sore of a cabinet and in its place add a tidy little feature wall. Ive been shopping around for ideas and ofcourse the friendly internet is always there to help.
I liked a few ideas...Let's see if we could agree on one :) ( Not that I can afford all of them.. but hey! who says I cant dream)
 |
| "This wall is made of hand applied real silver leaf with an antique glaze on 3/4" MDF panels. The panels are applied to the wall with finishing nails and liquid nails and the nail holes are hidden by the applied walnut moldings that are applied between the panels" |
Contemporary Living Room by Miami Interior Designer Arnold Schulman Design Group
Isnt the whole white on white gorgeous?!!
So what if I was just day dreaming? It was all worth the weight in drool..
 |
| Absolutely love this idea- reminds me of cots we had at home when I was little. |
 |
| Couldnt resist this one |
If only...
Isnt the whole white on white gorgeous?!!
So what if I was just day dreaming? It was all worth the weight in drool..
Dream a little dream
Many years ago, I had a dream. I was in this beautiful white washed room with a large balcony facing the ocean. My bed was a soft mass of white linens. What I remembered loving the most about the dream were the billowing white tulle curtains playing peek a boo with the view outside. I decided that would be my dream house.
Even to this day, swaying palms and white curtains dancing to the evening breeze bring about such nostalgia- probably a throw back to my childhood summers!
Can you feel the gossamer breeze on your face?
The bed is winking at my groaning body saying " Try me!"
Yup! I left my heart in Bintan :)
All pics from the helpful internet
Even to this day, swaying palms and white curtains dancing to the evening breeze bring about such nostalgia- probably a throw back to my childhood summers!
Can you feel the gossamer breeze on your face?
The bed is winking at my groaning body saying " Try me!" |
| Reminds me of our make shift tents made out of bedsheets during our summer holidays |
Yup! I left my heart in Bintan :)
All pics from the helpful internet
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Kalamkari
I love all things Indian. I truly belive India has one of the best artisans in the world. Unfortunately not all of them have access to an international market. There is hope yet as numerous organisations are now dedicated to bringing the wonderful works of our rural artisans to the fore. Something that is specially close to my heart is Kalamkari ( Telugu: à°•à°²ంà°•ాà°°ి) as it is indigenous to Andhra Pradesh.
Kalamkari has been around since 15th century AD, initially patronized by Vijayanagar emperors and later by the Persian royalty. 'Chintz' ( glazed calico ( derived from Calicut) cloths block printed with flowers and other patterns )was very popular with the ladies of Britain , France and Holland, so much so there was a ban on Chintz since it couldnt be manufactured there!
I had visited Pedana, the epicentre of AP's Kalamkari production back in 2006 with dreams of starting a fashion line of Kalamkari and silk! This was while I was on a sabbatical after my baby's birth (I was young and indomitable). But then I had to get back to my day job and thats a different story altogether!
Anyway, I was amazed at the ingenuity of the whole process of dying and block printing using completely natural and bio degradable materials. Unlike other styles of painting, Kalamkari painting demands a lot of treatment before and after the painting is completed on the cotton fabric. Hence Kalamkari is a laborious and time consuming process.
 |
Photo- David H. Wells
|
I was shocked to learn that the first step in naturally bleaching the cloth is to cure it in cow dung for days before washing it to dye! After the cloth is done languishing in sun, it is treated with milk ( how decadent!) and painted with alum. Dyes used are all natural - red from madder (found in the roots of plants of the madder family (Galium, Asperula), yellow from pomegranate seeds or mango bark, blue with indigo solution (Indigofera tinctoria).
 |
| Bamboo kalam painting (as opposed to block printing) is seen in Kalhasthi. The rest of the procedure is the same. |
 |
| Image Source Page: http://www.myindianculture.com/ |
Sarees...wow!
Image Source Page: http://www.celebritysaree.com/2012/07/red-raw-silk-kalamkari-soft-saree.html
 |
| Image source: global conduct |
 |
| Image source- paper jewellery.wordpress |
 |
| Dwarakaonline |
 |
| Images- pottery barn |
I came across this really informative blog for anyone who loves beautiful things - An Indian summer
Through her, discovered
this very talented lady Ritika, with her 'Mora' collection. For more, go to http://www.mora.co.in/bestofmoraeve.php
Neeta Lulla and Shashikant Naidu's modern rendering of the Kalamkari in Fashion week
 |
| I heart this dress! ( Image: Fashion inquisitive) Below are pics from Asmita Marwa 2008 |
 |
| Images- homeshantihome |
Talented designer Yuti Shah of Udd and her collection in Klamkari
Kalamkari art comes in all shapes and sizes - each equally enthralling!
Do you have a favourite Indian handicraft?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)