Sunday 7 February 2016

HELLO READERS,

Here's some good news for you. WE HAVE MOVED  !!!!!!!!. Find some exciting and interesting articles now on our new blog, relaunched as a website......here is the link...

http://www.cherishingspaces.com/

http://www.cherishingspaces.com/

Leave your comments and update me on what you would like to read on...

For any of the other services, write to me at vasudha@cherishingspaces.com

Thanks for all the support and enthusiasm. Hope to write more and more.

Thanks and Regards
Vasudha

Wednesday 26 August 2015

A day at the Above Ground Levell Lounge.....


Okay, so that was a long long... long break. I know that some of my readers (mostly my beloved students) were very unhappy and kept asking me when I would start blogging again. Many of them were truly concerned if I would ever come back. But thanks to your constant support and interest, I am back in form and onto what I love doing the most, BLOGGING!!!!. I promise to write more and more interesting articles. 

“Thus began a break of undetermined length and meaning.” Jacob Slichter.
This is so true and in my case, the hiatus has been a long one. I was constantly looking for some motivation to get back to blogging again, but was always held back for one reason or the other until when a well wisher in disguise called me for a review of the above ground levell lounge in the Kempegowda International Airport Limited, Bangalore. 

I was super excited and instantly knew that this is going to be my come-back article. So, here it is....

The above ground levell lounge is an Indian Conglomerate of the Bird Group which is not only into Hospitality but also into High-end retail. Their concept of the Lounge caters to "Athithi Devo Bhava" meaning "The guest is equivalent to God". The idea of being Indian starts from here. Today, I will concentrate more on analysing the architecture, design and style aspects of the lounge.

Let's start from the logo. The name "above ground levell" signifies the feeling of lightness in the body when taken off the ground. The logo contains 3 elements namely; the circle which stands for wholeness, the bird which is the primary logo of the parent company and lastly the leaves which form the background of the logo representing the culinary herbs used in cooking.
  Moving on to the walls and surface finishes;
As I walked into the lounge, the first thing that caught my attention were the motifs of Hampi recreated on the walls and desks. The interesting feature is that one can easily overdo these motifs. But here, I noticed that the team has kept the contemporary and international ambience in mind and effortlessly blended the local elements into the design.

 
I sensed the pride in the spokesperson's voice when she said that "Ours is an Eco friendly Lounge". Having traveled locally and internationally, how often does one come across a totally eco friendly lounge. Greenery all around, natural plants with water recycled and treated, LEDs for accent lighting, Skylights for  ambient lighting and many more....
The carved relief work (motifs) is beautifully inset into the modern glossy black desk. The accent lighting is very beautiful and one can't get enough of it. I am not sure of the material used to create this work.
All through the lounge, you get to see canopies like the one below. The design inspiration for canopies are the trees and the branches. Although white is the prominent colour, one can see the use of earthy tones in mud red, rusty brown, sandy beige as background colours. Accents are with yellows, oranges and teals.
The carved relief work depicts the story of Ramayana. Do notice the shape of the seating. It definitely reminds me of a "royal asana" or a royal chair giving one the feel of a palace.
As you see here, the columns with downlighters are a classic element of the design and are featured throughout the lounge. The columns here are more a decorative element and not a part of the structure. These columns are engaged  to form part of a wall.
 The lounges are also equipped with magnificent bar and re-charging stations for laptops, mobiles, iPads & gaming consoles at most seating point.

Another beautifully imbibed south indian element is the "Rangoli". Traditionally, rangoli is a folk art where patterns are created on the floor at the entrance of the foyer, living room and court yards. This is done as a ritual to welcome the deities. So going back to where I began, Athithi devo bhava or welcoming the guests. The floor is carpeted with motifs of rangoli. The colour of the carpet in the domestic lounge is red signifying the extensive use of vermillon (kunkum) in our festivities.


The domestic lounge features three separate dining experiences. Guests have a choice of specific cuisines for each meal and do not have to be content with a set menu for the whole day. To cater to the needs of the travellers on the go, take away meal concept is also in function.The presence of a glass façade to the kitchen gives the guests a sense of confidence and comfort about the way their food is being cooked.
What excited me the most was their induction based cooking concept. So every thing from coffee to pasta to chaats to omlettes/rotis are cooked on Induction. Filter coffee and Masala tea is a part of their menu too.
What you see below is the International Lounge. Although the design elements are pretty much the same, there is a lot of sophistication in creating a very cosy ambience for the guests.
The mood is very subtle with a warm accent lighting. The carpet is a turmeric (Haldi) yellow colour with another rangoli pattern which is very welcoming.
The Jaali or Lattice is seen in both the lounges. It not only serves as a decorative element featuring the natural fern leaf motifs, but also acts as a source of bringing in the natural light during the day. Of course, the mellowed warm lighting in yellow makes it more comforting to the eyes.

Before I forget, I have to mention about this twinkling star-light ceiling feature. It is very soothing and relaxing for the guests before they take off.




I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Thanks to the team of above ground levell lounge for providing all the answers to my questions and inviting me to be a part of the review program. A special thanks to the PR team as well for contacting cherishing spaces and for the wonderful lunch.

Thursday 4 April 2013

Explore the World of Flat Pebble...

Ever since I spoke to Bheesham Kumar of Flat pebble, I have been wanting to write this post on this beautiful platform for artists, photographers and all Art lovers.
 
TechClove, creators of Flatpebble.com believe in "Simplifying Life using Technology". They are a small group of highly motivated techies with an immense interest in promoting Art at all levels. FlatPebble  is an artist community and marketplace that enables you to showcase and sell original artwork and prints to a global audience. With flat pebble's innovative technology you can sell your stuff not only on their platform, but also within your Facebook page or your existing website or blog. Flatpebble makes it easy for you to sell paintings, murals,sculptures, collages, photos etc. All you have to do is upload a picture, set a few options and price and you're all set.
 
The flatpebble shoppers get many options to customize their purchase exactly the way they want it - size, media, mounts and finishing options. Shoppers can also add a personal message to their purchase.
 
The flatpebble artists get detailed analytics of how many times their item was viewed, sales over time and across categories. They also get to see what their peers have to say about their art. Give feedback, review, critique, comment or simply get inspired !!!!
 
To experience some of these and more.....check them out at Flatpebble. com
 
To give an idea of how you can use Art in your homes to decorate spaces, I have just created a few concept boards. Art photos used are from Flatpebble.com and belong to various artists.
 
Using Photo Art as Wallpaper.

Using Photo Art as Tapestry Art.

Using self shot pictures cut into segments to create an element of interest.
This engages the viewer's eyes.
 
Using Photo Art to create a Classic Wall of Art setting

 
Hope you all enjoyed the post !!!!

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Kannada Article on Vijaya Next newspaper

To read the complete article, click on the below link and turn to page 33.

 http://www.vijayanextepaper.com/epapermain.aspx?queryed=9&eddate=3/1/2013



Thursday 14 February 2013

CouponDunia.......a new website for some interesting deals

Hey Guys,
I’ve just come across CouponDunia, an amazing site for finding coupons & deals for online stores like FlipKart, Myntra, SnapDeal, Pepperfry, Tradus & many more.
CouponDunia, is India’s Largest Coupon & Deal site, and has over 150,000 Likes on FaceBook !


CouponDunia covers deals/coupons for products across various categories from Home Décor, Clothes, Watches & Purses to Air Tickets to Electronics.
They even have an option to subscribe to deals/coupons for specific online stores, so that you get an e-mail the moment a new deal/coupon is added for that online store.
Be sure to check out their featured coupons, where you can find great deals from new online stores.
To know more, check out CouponDunia here: http://www.coupondunia.in/

Here are some of my favourite deals !

Cushion Cover Set from SnapDeal. Save with SnapDeal Coupons.


Women’s Kurti from Myntra. Save with Myntra Coupons.


Bed Sheets & Pillow Covers from Tradus. Save with Tradus Coupons.

Have a nice day !!!!!

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Diwali ....the festival of lights

Diwali is a Indian Festival celebrated with the lighting of lamps. Diwali is all about lights, sweets, family meetings, crackers and fun. Here are a few Diwali decorating ideas from my home to yours. To read more about Diwali or Deepawali, click here.









HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL YOU LOVELY READERS !!!!!

Saturday 20 October 2012

Plum Roses...to decorate your coffee table...

Hello Everyone,

As you all know, decoration on my blog is not limited to interiors alone. Here's something to boost your spirit and your taste buds.

This is a recipe I was wanting to try for a very long time, ever since I saw this in a German Magazine. Please excuse me as I do not remember the name of the magazine. Recipe courtesy goes to this Magazine without doubt.
Fresh Plums ready to turn into Roses

Thinly cut plum slices

The ready to use pastry sheet cut into strips

I glazed the sheet with honey and arranged the plum slices and simply rolled it to form a flower

The first flower turned out as expected and my excitement grew...

So did the second one...
I was not worried about the precision of the slices....its okay if you are not accurate, just try to conceal it

And quickly there were many....

A honey glaze adds sweetness to these otherwise sour slices and also makes them look shiny. It so reminded me of the dew drops.

All set and ready to be baked
.

The process of baking extracts the juices of the plum and this adds a hint of colour like that of a double coloured rose.


The effect of glazing opens up the plum slices like petals

Sitting on my dessert table...like a bowl of floating roses.

A dash of cinnamon and icing sugar with cups of hot coffee.

Looks and tastes Yumm !!!



Do let me know if these pictures have inspired you enough to try !!!!!