Cherishing Spaces

Introducing a Maestro Artist ....Mr. B.P.Karthik

2012-02-02T01:24:00.000-08:00

I am very happy to introduce a maestro in Art (Oil Paintings on Canvas). He is my friend's father Mr. B.P.Karthik. His works include Abstract and Figurative art. The uniqueness of his art is the depth in his paintings. There are times when I have sat for hours looking at his paintings. The strokes range from bold to hazy engaging the viewer's eyes. I admire his fusion style of paintings and his portrayal of Buddha. Take a look at his collection on his website here.

ABSTRACT ART

RELAXING BUDDHA

THE PEACEFUL LOOK ON BUDDHA'S FACE ENRICHED BY THE RICH GREEN

YOUNG BUDDHA SEEKING ENLIGHTENMENT

These are a just a few of his works. Please visit his website to see more of his works.

Tattoos for your walls.....

2012-01-31T02:49:00.000-08:00

I am sure there have been times when you have seen paintings on the walls of Hotels or Frescoes in palaces and wished you had a similar one on the walls of your homes too. There are some who take the risk and attempt one on their walls...but there are others who only wish that they were artists too.... Don't worry, here is an easy option for all you people out there who wish to have some instant art on your walls that could magically transform the look of your rooms. They are called Wall Decals or in simple words wall stickers. There are a variety of them available online and they also allow you to choose from a list of sizes and colours. Isn't that wonderful?. These fine quality stickers blend along with the walls making them look like art on walls or tattoos on walls. I have a few in my house.....take a look...

As I was browsing the net today for some wall stickers, I found this website called Wall Art. They sell some of the best wall tattoos for every room. Take a look at some of their themes. All pictures below are from Wall Art website.

Border

Neo Classical

Indian Mehandi Design

So, check out the website of Wall Art here and choose your desired theme and colour.

Easy and cost effective storage solutions from IKEA

2012-01-30T04:42:00.000-08:00

Every time I go to Ikea, I am always looking for more and more storage solutions. Here is what I liked during my recent visit.

Bed Room

Kids Room

Kitchen

Utility Areas

Living Room

Will keep posting more such useful information:)

All pictures from Ikea

Theme Based Decor....

2012-01-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

Check out my article on Theme Based Decor in the recent issue of Prismma - an online interior design magazine (Page 40). I put together a few more boards for you.

Theme: Tuscany, Italy

Theme : Kerala, India

Theme: Country yet Contemporary

Theme: For the love of red and green

Theme: Whispering water colours of the ocean

Theme: A Dancer's Paradise

Theme: A Newyorker Sports Fan

Theme: An Artist's Dining Room

For more boards on Theme Based Decor, Please click here, & here.

For the full article on Theme Based Decor, do check out this Prismma Magazine Link (Page 40).

All pictures above are created by me using Olioboard.

Stress - Free Colour Schemes....

2012-01-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

Check out my article on " Stress- Free Colour Schemes" (Page 58) in the latest issue of Prismma - an Online interior design magazine. I put together a few more pictures for you.

Visualise the cool expanse and the soft colours of the sea.

Self printed patterns and various textures form an interesting mix.

An all-white scheme would be a good option with a few accents in a different colour.

For a Warm and Cosy ambience, tone down bright colours by mixing them with black or brown.

Maintain a constant look throughout the room.

Add different shades of brown for a warm feel.

Try a peaceful Zen look with greenery.

For the full article on Stress-Free Colour Schemes....Please do check out page 58 on this Prismma Magazine Link.

All pictures above are created by me using Olioboard.

Photo Wallpaper....

2012-01-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Wallpapers on my walls. They not only add colour to your walls, but enhance them with textures, patterns and the effect is instant. There are many types of wallpapers. My favourite is the Photo Wallpaper or Wallpaper Murals. Thanks to my dad, I had a huge photo wallpaper of the Alp mountains in Switzerland on one of the walls in my bedroom. Whenever I got bored, I would sit looking at it for hours. I truly enjoyed it. While I was browsing through the net, I found some very interesting websites that offer such interesting and beautiful wall papers for your homes and offices. The greatest advantage today is that you could give your photo and that could be printed as a wallpaper. Here are some interesting wallpapers from Foto Tapete. Please see their website for more.

Theme: Asia

Theme: Own Photo converted to a Wallpaper

Theme: Africa

Theme: Mountain

Theme: Flowers

Theme: Newyork

Theme: Beach

Theme: Nature

Theme: Abstract Motifs

Theme: City

All pictures shown above are from the official website of Foto Tapete.

Here is a board I created with a photo from my personal album. This board is created using Olioboard.

Hope you all enjoyed this post !!!!

Introducing TUSSE from Portugal......

2012-01-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 to all my lovely readers.

My first post for this year brings some unique furniture designs from Tusse, Portugal. One may call it art and the other may call it design...but for me it is exceptional art and design and stands true to its punchline. Geometric forms finely blended with artistic skills and handcrafted to perfection explains the end-result of Tusse's line of designer furniture. Here are a few pictures from Tusse. Please do visit their website for more information.

This is called the Gorgeous Lamp in a neo-classical look

This Gorgeous Gold and Purple bar can truly feature as a focal point of any room.

This Rainbow Armoire features 78 pieces of coloured glass and just imagine you have one of these in your rooms

BLUES is a majestic and an unusual piece inspired by the Gothic Architecture

NOVEAU - Art deco inspired furniture is highly glossy with an illusional pattern

Rainbow Screen - Instantly creates a magical ambience as light enters through it.

Rainbow Lamp

Hope you all enjoyed this post on Tusse's unique and interesting furniture.

Watch out for more such interesting posts this year !!!!!!

Interior Design Trends of 2012.....

2011-12-23T02:03:00.000-08:00

With 2012 around the corner, everyone is looking to revamp their space and start fresh. Why not kick off the new year by redecorating your house? Some new paint on the walls or a couple of fixture replacements could help you get a fresh outlook on the new year. If you need some inspiration, we’ve got you covered. Here are some interior design trend projections of 2012 to get you started:

Color Forecast

The color forecast for 2012 is looking bright for those who love vibrant colors. Black has been replaced with warm browns and Popsicle orange, raspberries, rose, royal purple, and bamboo tones are taking hold of the household.

BAMBOO TONES

POPSICLE ORANGE

RASPBERRY

ROSE

ROYAL PURPLE

WARM BROWN

Nature’s finest

Bring nature into your home with wood floors. Wood details and wood floors are rapidly gaining popularity as the staple of every contemporary home. Cherry wood finish is particularly a la mode next season, appearing in everything from floors to armoires.

Nature details can also be brought into the home with tree details, like Shawn Lovell’s tree bed. You can also simply add colorful plants to a space to bring a little bit of nature indoors. Orchids can add a delicate element to a soft space (though their upkeep is notoriously difficult).

CHERRY WOOD FURNITURE

NATURE INSPIRED ELEMENTS

Emphasis on Private Spaces

Unlike the past decade, interior design is starting to shift to private, rather than shared spaces. This mainly includes bathrooms. Where kitchens and living rooms were once the reigning and pervading force of house plans, bathrooms will start being some of the most important rooms of the house with garish bathroom vanities, gilded wall paper, mosaic patterns, and enormous, copper, claw-foot, or iron bathtubs.

PERSONALISED BATHROOMS

Text: by Lisa.

Lisa is a guest blogger who likes to work with people to get their Austin homes for sale off the market.

Photographs: Collated by me on Olioboard.

I hope you all have enjoyed this post as much as we did in putting it together. Hope you have a great year ahead with re-decorating your homes.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !!!!!

Traditional Rajasthani decor with a contemporary twist.....Suryagarh, Jaisalmer

2011-12-09T05:09:00.000-08:00

I was watching Master Chef - India - Season 2 and saw the contestants cooking in the kitchens of this gorgeous hotel, SURYAGARH in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. This reminded me of my recent trip to Rajasthan and our stay at this hotel. I decided to do a quick post with some of my personal picture collection.

Jaisalmer, also known as "The Golden City" is very popular and a dream destination to many tourists.

This hotel is also built using yellow sandstone to preserve the tradition of Jaisalmer.

This super-luxury hotel has an entrance with a typical medieval fort look.

The Neo-classical Reception and the Lounge areas.

The illumination as you enter the courtyard and the puppets getting ready for a traditional show.

Dinner at the illuminated court-yard with folk musicians and dancers - Truly Rajasthani!!!

Seems like Heaven on Earth

Restored artifacts and furniture can be seen in the corridors throughout the hotel.

A beautiful blend of the classical elements like the columns with luxurious contemporary furniture sets this hotel apart from the others.

Intricate Lattice or Jaali is creatively used wherever necessary.

The Bathroom motivates one to totally relax....feels like the Kings and the Queens

I specially loved the block work of golden paisleys on the walls in the room and the door displays in different colours with traditional illustrations.

The Peacock inspired Swimming Pool - Neel, is a place when one can spend hours....truly!!!

Dramatic brass ornamentation on the walls with peacock inspired motifs, the accent lighting and the blue pool is a divine experience.

Verdict - A great place to stay with entertainment for the complete family.

More posts on Jaisalmer to follow soon. Have a great weekend!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

2011-12-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

What I love about Christmas is that it is celebrated all over the world with a touch of its cultural own in every country. I am so fascinated with the way it is celebrated in Germany. Christmas wreaths, cakes, cookies, ginger bread, hot & spicy wine, traditional pine wreaths decorated with dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks, miniature gift wraps, glass balls and candles.The feel of Christmas starts right from the first week of December. Here are a few pictures of some wreaths getting ready. Thanks to my friends Renate and Marie for making them and teaching me how to make such beautiful wreaths.

Every town in Germany boasts of its Christmas markets traditionally known as the Weihnachtsmarkt. I simply love these markets because of the rarities that you find here. More on these Christmas markets in my next post. Meanwhile, do check out the old post on a traditional market here. A few pictures from the Christmas market near my house.

More posts on Christmas Market to follow soon. Enjoy your Christmas season!!!!

Tagging this to In the spotlight - Santa Stories at Colours Dekor

Bringing your inspirations home....an addition to the previous post

2011-12-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of boards that I created just as an addition to my previous post. Inspired by grey architectural wonder of Somanathapura, I decided to use the picture that I photographed in different ways.

Option 1

Print a huge poster of the photograph. Treat it as a wall paper and stick it directly to the wall as if to form a focal point. Frame it all around using a wooden or a metal frame. Identify the feel of the photograph and then choose the right textures, patterns and colours to create the desired ambience.

Option-2

Get the complete picture screen printed and treat it as a wall paper. Alternatively, get the picture printed on ceramic tiles and fix them to the wall.

Option - 3

Crop the picture in different patterns. Make 3 pieces or 6 pieces of equal or different sizes. Print the picture and box frame it. Arrange them on the wall with little gaps in between them. This engages the

viewer's eyes and creates an interesting focal point.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Hoysala Architecture at Somanathapura.....

2011-11-27T02:29:00.000-08:00

After a brief rest from a nagging shoulder pain (thanks to wrong posture and continuous use of computer), here I am back again to my blog. My post today is an interesting one and that which is pre-dominantly seen in parts of Karnataka, India. This is called the Hoysala Architecture.

For anybody travelling to Mysore from Bangalore or vice versa and have a flair for design, this place is highly recommended. This is a small, quiet town located approximately about 35 kilometres from Mysore and is called Somanathapura. This town boasts of an architectural marvel. It is the famous Chennakeshava temple in Hoysalan Architecture.

The view of the temple as you enter through the smoothly textured columns which form the highlight of this architecture.

According to me, this town which is located on the banks of river cauvery goes unnoticed as it is hidden from the commercial areas. It is now a protected monument. This temple was built by Soma (also known as Somanatha) who was a commander under the king Narasimha III.

The temple is built using a soft grey stone with tints and shades of yellow on ít. It is also called as Soapstone and is a sculptor' delight

The original deity of Chennakeshava is missing but one can see a similiar deity as you enter. The ceiling carved out in several layers highlights the work of the skilled sculptors

Thís symmetric structure has a rectangular mantapa at the center and is surrounded by 3 star-shaped towers called vimana

The finely finished stone pillars adds character and form to the temple. Also notice the stone lattice (Jaali) behind the pillars which is the only source of light into the temple.

Most Hoysala temples are built on a platform called Jagati

The outer wall consists of various sculptures of gods, goddesses and members of the royal family

The Venugopala deity

This temple houses 3 deities namely Janardhana, Venugopala and Chennakeshava

The other carvings include processions of elephants, horsemen, warriors. The paisleys and the florals follow a rhythm.

Hope you all enjoyed this and will surely plan for a week-end getaway to Somanathapura....

A look at the Deepavali and Halloween decor at my home...

2011-10-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

Here are a few shots of the Halloween and Deepavali (Diwali) decorations at my home.

Happy Diwali to all you lovely readers!!!!

Linking this to ....of Spooks & Sparkles at Patricia's Colours Dekor blog

My Dream Concepts...

2011-10-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since i discovered Olioboard, my addiction to creating concepts have increased two-fold. These are some of my concepts that I would love to see in reality.

A Warm and Cosy Bohemian Bathroom with a fine blend of the old and the new

A Breezy country bedroom in blue-green colour scheme for a perfect summer experience

An extension of the farm into the kitchen with a traditional European touch

Can a Halloween party ever be more orangggy in this Living Room??

This is the colourful bedroom of a Newyorker sports fan

A refreshingly inviting pink lounge for the cancer awareness camp

A teal technofreak's den

A welcoming brick and yellow foyer in achromatic accents

I hope you all liked these concepts. Do write to me if you are particularly looking at re-creating something at your home or office.

All concepts shown above are created by me using olioboard.

Beautiful Touches from India......A guest post from Susi of Arcadian Lighting

2011-10-08T23:16:00.000-07:00

Today’s guest post is from Susi, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, a wonderful online resource for lighting and lamps for your home. Visit their website and cool blog for the latest in lighting trends. Eclectic style is all about mixing and not matching. Incorporating design elements from around the world can give a space an eclectic style that is unique to you. Adding beautiful touches from India, in fabrics, textiles, patterns, light fixtures and furniture, is a gorgeous way to bring eclectic style to your room.

The beautiful Indian mural, inspired by traditional style Indian art, sets the tone and palette for this bedroom. Golds in the textiles and lamps stand out against the cooler tones of the beautiful mural.

Indian textiles add intense color and bold patterns to a room or table. Embroidery is a traditional craft that can be beaded or decorated with small mirrors.

Patterned outdoor lanterns adds color and light to a room, porch or outside living space. Hang a group of three in a corner of a room for a beautiful touch of India.

This gorgeous door and arch showoff the Indian love of layers of pattern and deep, rich colors. The shapes and colors would make great patterns for textiles and paint.

Anglo-Indian style furniture and accessories feature gorgeous patterns inlaid into wood with bone or shell. A box on a table or shelf is a great way to add a touch of India.

Pink is a popular wall color in India and looks lovely in a bedroom. Layers of India textiles and pillows, plus more traditional lamps, give this room a chic bohemian style.

Indian textiles can be incorporated into a number of styles of decor. Used as upholstery on accent pieces, like these ottomans, or as a throw, Indian textiles will add color and tons of pattern to a space.

The paisley is a classic Indian design motif. Paisley shawls can be a great place for inspiration. Look for paisleys in woodblock textiles and wallcoverings to add a touch of India.

For more inspiring lighting fixture ideas... head over to Arcadian Lighting.

Images ( 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 )

Havelis of Mandawa, Rajasthan

2011-09-20T03:39:00.000-07:00

Back from a special trip to India. I call it special because we not only went home to Bangalore this time...but also visited Delhi and Rajasthan. Rajasthan had been on my list of places to see for a long time...but could only make it now. Feels so refreshed and I am currently having too many things to blog. So, without wasting time.....here is a post on the Haveli town of Rajasthan.....Mandawa.

Most of the first timers to Rajasthan are advised to see this beautiful little town of Mandawa, which is roughly about 290 kilometres from Delhi by road. We were on our way to Bikaner and so stopped here for a few hours to see the havelis. The guide told us about how Mandawa became famous as a trading outpost for merchants from China. Therefore, the large community of people still settled here are traders.

Most of the local guides have mastered some popular foreign languages like French and Spanish. Our guide could speak a few sentences in German too....

The whole town of Mandawa is all about FRESCOES........FRESCOES and more FRESCOES!!!!!

In simple words...A Fresco is a mural where natural colour pigments are used with water and painted directly on wet plaster. The pigments therefore get directly absorbed with the plaster and the murals brighten after they are dried. This is also one of the reasons why these frescoes last longer.

I appreciate the effort of the localites in preserving this culture. They still paint their houses and shops with beautiful motifs depicting rajasthani daily life. Most of these havelis are now converted to Hotels.

Out of the many havelis, we visited the Jhunjhunwala Haveli, famous for its gold leaf painted room. The Singhasan Haveli, which is again converted to a hotel and the Goenka Haveli.

I was so totally lost in the beauty of these Frescoes that I almost forgot about my family starving after a tiring journey. With a huge craving for Gatte ki Subzi....we went looking for a restaurant.

Look out for more posts on Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Jaipur......

The Surprise revealed!!!!

2011-07-29T03:31:00.000-07:00

A set of 3 sheets of Window Stickers for each of the winners of the Mood board contest. Here's a look at the motifs.


Maple Leaves in Fall Colours

Pumpkin themed Stickers

Various types of leaves with a gold line

Congratulations once again to Harshita, Kamini and Nidhi for making this contest a grand success. Hope to host many more such contests in future.

Design Challenge at COMMON GROUND...

2011-07-28T00:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers !!!!

I am very happy to note that Debra who blogs at common ground, has come up with a new feature of providing home decor solutions through her blog using the blogger community. Here is how it goes...

Anybody looking for some design solutions for their homes can send in pictures of their walls, furniture or rooms to common ground. This will be responded to by the blogger community. They can then decide what is the right solution for their problems. I highly appreciate debra's thought process and the desire to help.

Great Going Debra!!!!

Giveaway at Liven Things Up!!!!

2011-07-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

Good Day!!!

Its raining giveaways!!!!

Check out the giveaway at Emreen's blog Liven Things Up.

Winners of the Mood board Contest !!!!!!!

2011-07-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

My sincere thanks to my friend Catherine Turnbull, who was kind enough to judge this contest. Catherine is an interior designer by profession. Although a Mechanical Engineer, her passion for interior designer led her to choose this as her profession. Her extraordinary creativity and sense of style can be seen in all her works. Don't forget to check her website here.

Here is what Catherine says about the contestants and the boards.

"Well, the judging is complete. This was incredibly tough as everyone who entered has done a fabulous job. I had to really study the boards looking for the combination of elements and how they were brought together. Please tell your readers I believe they are all winners. I was incredibly impressed.I arrived at a decision by picturing the rooms. I wanted to understand how they would look and feel. With the top boards, I was able to walk through the room in my imagination".

When I put up this contest, I was not really sure about the response I would receive and so I was only planning for one prize. But now, I have decided to part with 3 prizes as it has been a wonderful experience putting up this contest.

Winners list:

First Place - Harshita Dakoju Tegi (co-blogs with Patricia at at Coloursdekor)

Second Place - Black Board - Arabian Night - Kamini Raghavan (blogs at saffronandsilk) shared by Harshita Dakoju Tegi again

Third Place - Nidhi Hegde (Freelance Interior Designer and a student of mine)

Congrats to all of you ladies. Please mail me your postal address and you would receive your prizes soon!!!

Thanks to all of you especially to you Catherine for the time you spent on this.

Finalist at the Blissful Homes contest...for the Prismma Magazine

2011-07-25T03:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

My Home in Bangalore, India, is featured on Prismma, an online magazine for interior design and decor. Please take a look at it and vote for me. Click on this link and comment. Your comment is treated as a vote.

Thank you once again.

Mood Board Contest....Contestant Boards....Take a look

2011-07-20T04:22:00.000-07:00

It was great fun downloading all the mood boards sent by my lovely readers. I am sure you all must have enjoyed doing it as much as I enjoyed putting these together.

So, did you enjoy this contest????? Please do let me know. Your comments are highly appreciated. Thanks so much for this effort.

Landscape and Lighting.....

2011-07-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Having beautiful landscaped gardens around oneself is becoming increasingly important these days. The reasons are many, but one that is my top of mind recall is good health. With good health, follows all other things. I am from Bangalore in India. This place is traditionally known as the Garden City with its beautiful formal public gardens. Unfortunately with the city expanding at a rapid rate, it is making way for a lot of residential and commercial apartment complexes. Although, I am happy to see Bangalore listed as a Global city, it saddens me to see the large gardens vanishing and making way for concrete.

With all these said, it is important to mention that most of these apartment complexes in Bangalore today are giving a lot of importance to landscaping to whatever extent possible. Landscaping a public place should not only consider aesthetic aspects, but also environmental and socio-behavioural issues as well.

Here is a post which focuses on landscaping and lighting. A few shots of a beautiful garden near my house which recently hosted a Light Festival.

A garden is naturally beautiful in daylight with its rich natural hues in various colours. The beauty can be totally transformed at night with some beautiful lighting effect.

The leaves look bluish with the special down-lighters that flicker every few seconds

The tower in different colours of lighting

The complimentary coloured red and green lighting....a challenge to nature

The rock separator turns fiery red and bright orange

A fairy tale effect

Up-lighters and Down-lighters create a dramatic effect on these green leaves

As the day light faded, safety lighting was provided at all areas for easy movement. This is very important in all public parks.

(All Photographs are shot by me and are solely for Cherishing Spaces, please do not use without permission)

Location: Killesberg Park, Stuttgart, Germany

Sophisticated Living......refreshing contemporary furniture line....from Karlsruhe,Germany

2011-07-15T03:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

Introducing you all to a beautiful range of Furniture from Sophisticated Living. I love the fact that their products are highly contemporary with sleek lines and minimalism. But what truly brings in the beauty is the element of nature in colours, patterns and the feel infused in their furniture. Their product line consists of sofas, beds, chairs, pillows etc.,

Here is their latest line of modular furniture called PEAHI. This is a furniture that can be mixed and matched according to your needs and desires. Here is what sophisticated living says about PEAHI. "Peahi (pronounced pay-ah-hee) is a town on the northern coast of the island of Maui in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The name Peahi means "wave" in Hawaiian and is also the name given to the giant waves that break just short of this seaside town. In particular in the harsh winter months. Our latest sofa model is also called "PEAHI" and it gathers its inspiration from no less than the first rays of the springtime sun. We created it to be modular, flexible and to offer excellent seating comfort".

I always have a special appreciation for multi-utility furniture and so here is something i really liked. A Cube-inspired square and practical sofa. Can be combined and used in a variety of ways.

This is called REEFBREAK bed that symbolises casual elegance. The special feature is its removable cushion bed with its soft head board.

This is a SHOREBREAK bed with a fine blend of country look and classic elegance.

Their Chair series can be used as a single eye-catcher in your room or combined with their sofa series. I especially loved the red ragtag chair and the purple loop chair.

This is just an overview of their products. For more information, please log on to the above mentioned website.

Moodboard Contest....in progress........THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS....

2011-07-12T01:25:00.000-07:00

Hurry !!!!!!!!!! the contest closes in 4 days.....Click the link on your right for more information on this contest. Here are a couple of mood boards I made recently.

A mix-match of a classic-country Kerala bedroom with peacock accents. This one is especially for Patricia from Colours Dekor and for her love of a peacock theme.

This one is a Romantic black bathroom inspired by the Bouganvillea Flower.

Moodboard Contest....in progress

2011-07-07T02:10:00.001-07:00

Hello readers,

Here are some more concept or mood boards. Please click here for the contest rules.

This board is for the plant lovers. A contemporary bedroom with a contemporary interior landscape and a zen feel. I am a true lover of Paris City. This is a moodboard dedicated to the exoticism in Paris....
How many of us have secretly enjoyed a beach party??. Here is a board with the concept of a beach party at night.....

to make this competition more fun....join in and send as many entries as possible.....HURRY!!!last date is 15th July 2011.

Tallest Gothic Church in Asia....

2011-07-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of Doloures Basilica

This is a beautiful Gothic church located in Thrissur, Kerala, India. While the beauty of this church is the intricate Gothic detailing and its pristine feel in an all-white scheme, the speciality is that, it is acclaimed to be the tallest and biggest Gothic church in Asia.

The interiors showcase beautiful frescoes and wall paintings in biblical themes.

Vaulted Ceilings, intricate detailing on the altars and rose windows are the prime features of Gothic architecture.

For more info on this church and how to reach there, click here.

Image Courtesy: Sreejith Menon.

Natural bathroom with refreshing Mint Green accents....Moodboard contest in progress...

2011-07-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

The first thing I do every morning is to check my mail for the moodboards. I am immensely surprised to see the number of entries pouring in. Thanks to all my lovely readers. As promised, here is my moodboard for the day. Click here for the contest details.

A very refreshing bathroom with natural elements like stone, cane and wood. I put the accents in mint green to add a touch of nature and to accentuate the feel of a country bathroom.

Join in, 11 days more......

MOODBOARD CONTEST.....in progress

2011-07-01T02:13:00.000-07:00

Its exciting to see my mailbox flooded with pictures of colourful moodboards for the contest. I must admit that each of the boards are done with a lot of interest. Thanks to all my wonderful readers and followers. Its a suggestion from a good friend to keep the suspense of all these boards on..till the round up day...that is on the 15th of July. Until then...I would like to keep posting a few of mine.....just for motivation..... so here is one that I did this morning.

For rules on the Moodboard contest...please click here.

An all neutral scheme with a rustic-retro look....

MOODBOARD CONTEST......open to all...

2011-06-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Many of my students and people who know me from the ID field know how mad I am about creating moodboards for my projects. I have atleast a minimum of 100 handmade mood and sample boards at home. Every time I am bored, all I have to do is just flip through a few boards and then I am all geared up to make some more.

I have always used picasa collage to create some digital moodboards for my clients. My happiness know no bounds when Kamini of Saffron and Silk listed a few online resources yesterday on her blog. Thanks a ton Kamini. As I was scrolling her blog, I found out about this website http://www.olioboard.com/ which is very user friendly. As I quickly put together a moodboard, I realised it was almost efffortless. That is when this thought about hosting a MOODBOARD COMPETITION surfaced my mind. I request all my readers to take part in this. This will not be judged by me. I am looking for a person specialised in Interior Designing to do this. This ensures there are no biases. The rules of the competition are as follows.

This competition is open to all, irrespective of the place you live in. I will ensure that the personally handpicked goody box will reach you.
You dont have to be a blogger to do this. Any person interested in learning something new and creative can try this. Remember it can help you re-create your own spaces.
You are allowed to send any number of moodboards.
You are free to make hand made moodboards or simply log on to the above mentioned website and create one. You can also use any other software that you want to.
Please visit my blog and press the follow button or enter your email ids to subscribe.....just a gesture to motivate me...it will only take a few seconds.
If you are a blogger, please spread this word across.
Please mail all your pictures to vasudha.dilip@hotmail.com.
The competetion closes on 15th July 2011.

Now here is mine....Hurry...start working on it...and I promise you ....the goody box will be worth the effort.....

Promise to come with more.........

Projekt POET...a shop loved by its customers for its ambience & products

2011-06-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

With subtle chantings of the krishna bhajan, the mixed frangrance of the tea leaves, dried twigs & delicately flavoured nuts, I was welcomed with a warm smile by Mr. Jorg Eisenmann of projekt POET. I simply loved the decor of this shop. The simple yet rich in its display, the country yet contemporary look with natural elements in the decor looks superb. This shop is located at Feuerbach, Stuttgart, Germany. Please see the end of this post for the address.

I am mainly posting this article for the lovely decor of this shop. Mr. Jorg Eisenmann is highly inspired by the calm and tranquil nature of Buddha and therefore the decor of his shop revolves around this theme. He has cleverly chosen a subtle colour scheme of Grey and Green with hints of red that can be seen here and there.
He handpicks his products and the range involves Wine, Gift articles, Home decor products and delicacies like roasted nuts, flavoured chips, tea leaves, spices etc., from various countries.

Grey performs a splendid job of a becoming a background colour and allowing all the other colours to go ahead and perform their job of looking bright. Since its the colour of the natural stone and the colour of steel, grey suits both country and contenporary settings. This is exactly what one can see in this shop.Projekt POET also features lovely country-contemporary furniture from ante neo. Do not forget to check this website for more details. I especially loved these coasters, and wein bottle fitters. The various hues of red can be seen in the Wine display section.Some handpicked tea leaves are a speciality of this shop. Mr Jorg Eisenmann also offers a choice of your articles gift wrapped. This makes your gift artciles more special. Loved this oval shaped olive motifed bowl... Everything you spot here has an element of nature in it....I truly appreciate this thought

Beautiful stone figurines of Asian gods and goddesses from Thailand.

Some handmade artefacts in Green with country motifs adds a healing touch to the decor.

I would like to thank Mr. Jorg Eisenmann for the hospitality and the wonderful coffee.

For my Stuttgart readers, address of projekt POET:

Grazer Strasse. 21, 70469 Feuerbach. Mobil-0172-8874997

I am linking this post to Buddha Scapes at Colours Dekor.

Please drop in to comment if you liked this post and projekt POET. Comments are always motivating. Follow this blog for more such interesting articles.

Ayesha Puri's collection of decorative Cushions....

2011-06-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

A very good day to all my readers out here. This post is about Ayesha Puri and her collection of cushions. Ayesha has already been introduced by a number of bloggers now....but ofcourse, each of us can interpret her collection differently. So, here it is for all those of you who have not see her collection on any other blog....

Ayesha is based in Delhi and has recently started her line of home furnishings. While her current focus is on decorative cushions & table lines, she definitely aspires to stretch her product line in the near furture. She retails via exhibitions in Delhi/NCR. She also takes order for commercial and residential requirements. These are just a few pictures that I compiled for you from her collection. Her collection is titled ALL THINGS PRETTY

The Summer Floral Collection

The Classic Blue-Black Paisley collection with matching table runner in Silk
The Vibrant Damask collection in a crushed fabric....

The Jute collection for a country-contemporary look

In this picture below, you will find that her patterns range from highly classical motifs like paisley to retro and contemporary too.

Some pictures taken at various venues during the exhibitions. So, have you chosen which one you want for your home...then please contact at the below mentioned email address and place an order of the ones you loved the most. She will be more than happy to courier to it your addresses. On the other hand, if you have liked the collection and want to buy them later then please visit her facebook page and click on the like button to encourage her to offer more of her creative side.

Wish you all the best Ayesha...

email her at: ayesha.puri@gmail.com

All pictures that you see here are edited and collaged by me.

Beach Theme Tablescape & accessories from NKD...

2011-06-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Just spotted these Beach theme deco accessories from NKD. I think this is very apt for this Summer. Loved this blue and white combination with subtle stripes on the floor cushion, hangers and the table fabric. Tell me what you feel like when you think of a beach theme decoration....what are your colours, patterns and textures?????. How do you imagine your dream lunch on the white of a beach...send me some pictures....

All pictures from NKD, collaged by me.

I said Blue.....and she said Pink.....

2011-06-07T06:36:00.001-07:00

As I was listing down things to pick up for the summer segregation.....little did I realise that my 6 year old daughter was mentally mapping her list of things to pick up. The first picture that you see here are my picks...............while the second picture are some of her picks. I think many of you would agree with me when I say that these little girls are obsessed with the word pink. I have often wondered WHY PINK ALWAYS???????.

I loved this collection from KIK. My fascination for classic patterns attracted me to this collection of pink and blue articles from KIK, especially the waste paper bucket.Some lovely stationery in the same combination for my daughter's new study corner. The backpack is her favourite pick.

Have a nice day. All pictures from KIK, collaged by me.

Weekend Wrapup Post for Colours Dekor....trip to Esslingen, Germany

2011-06-06T02:58:00.000-07:00

I did this post specially for the weekend wrap up post on patty's blog Colours Dekor. What better setup can I ask for....hold on while I explain....With a thunder stormy rain outside, a romantic tamil song playing on my laptop, a hot cuppa in my hand, a beautiful novel titled Persuading Annie set amidst the scenic landscapes of an English town , what more can I think of other than doing something that I am very passionate about...blogging.

so, here it is... a post on what I did during the weekend.....

This was a short travel to Esslingen in Germany....a town that reflects a strong sense of tradition and culture of the medieval era. Medieval period is all about the castle look, zinc table ware, cobbled streets, roughly cut stone towers in tudor style of exteriors, and not to forget the dragon accessories. This is one such tower that is still intact with a stone structure, black and white half timbering on the exteriors. This is now converted to an Ice cream parlour.As you enter the main street in Esslingen, you will be welcomed by the beautiful colour combinations of each of the buildings, river neckar and all the beautiful street cafes.I was charmed by the beauty of each and every building. While some had beautiful shapes, some were adorned with timber work. If some facades were architecturally made beautiful with coloumns and unusual shapes, some had beautiful patterns painted on them. These are just a few of the many buildings that I clicked...more to follow in the later posts. Had some excellent coffee at the starbucks cafe. To add to the strong flavour of the black coffee were the beautiful patterns and textures on the building.

This is another building which is now a bank. One can see how beautifully and painstakingly, people of Esslingen have tried to retain the most important architectural buildings of this place.

Take a look at some of the beautiful and not so common facades of the buildings. I loved the colour schemes, the rough textures, the simple, elegant yet traditional window treatments.
This is the beautiful town hall of Esslingen. It has a complementary colour scheme of orange-red and blue-green. With its beautiful shape, architecural details, a gilded clock ...its a must-see in Esslingen.

All-in-all....a weekend well spent and worth every minute......

What I would like to specially tell my readers is that, try using some of these elements in your interiors...like maybe a wall in half timbering , fake windows symmetrically placed on either side of your bed with window treatment from the above images. This idea is especially for people who live in apartments and have boring UPVC window frames... try the colour scheme or the medieval patterns on your cabinets or cupboards to add an European touch to your interiors....

Ofcourse, you are most welcome to ask me for suggestions if you want to implement any of these ideas in your interiors.....

Linking this post to All about Picstory on Tina's blog....

Eugen Schwarz .....of textiles and decoration

2011-05-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

Eugen Schwartz is a retail outlet located in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, Germany. I am very happy to share a few pictures of their collection. This outlet is 75 years old and primarily involved in retailing soft furnishings for residential and commercial purposes. It is a family business and the passion is very evident in everything Mrs. Bischoff does with respect to textiles and decoration. My love for textiles attracted me to this shop because of its simple yet elegant window decoration. While choosing soft furnishings for your homes, it is very important to visual the complete decoration. Identify the focal points of your decoration and capture an image in your mind of how you want things to look like. I am often confronted with questions like....what should we buy first....the furnishings or the accessories? now....the obvious answer to this is that you buy the soft furnishings first. But why not think the other way round......Let's say you are in love with a set of accessories you spotted while you were out shopping. Now who is stopping you from buying that? is it the thought that...how am i going to match it with the soft furnishings that I have? or how do I bring about a harmony with what I already have? The answer to all these questions are....as a first step... identify and list out the colour palette on your accessories. If you have black, white, grey, cream, any of the browns then half your problem is solved. Strike out these from your list. Now all that you have to do is to look out for fabrics in the colours that you still have on your list.

It is not only important to match the colours but also match the mood or theme of your accessories. There are never single combinations. A creative mind can think of a variety of options. The best way to set the right mood is to try various textures and patterns. Using Grey subtles down any bright colour in an elegant and pleasing manner.
Floral patterns always add a fresh touch to your decor. At Eugen Schwarz, one can see the beauty of the accessories upheld by the fabrics and viceversa. Black in any form is the most beautiful. Simple black stripes are made to look extraordinary by adding an accent colour orange, a dash of gold candle and freshness through some green leaves. I specially liked this red and white combination from Eugen Schwarz.

For all my German readers, Eugen Schwartz also offers individual home consultancy for textile and decoration ideas. They also have window treatments (Gardinen), flooring options(Bodenbelege), Wallpapers (Tapeten), Awnings (Sonnenschutz), Cushions (Kissen), Table decoration (Tisch dekoration) etc., Please write back to me for their contact details.

More to come on Soft furnishing ideas......

Do drop by and comment on this post....

Design of the week....Purple and Yellow Bedroom

2011-04-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

This is the second addition to my new series on designs. The inspiration for this bedroom design is from this board. This is a collage from here , here and here. This post is based on a request from one of my friend for a purple bedroom.

Colours: Hues of Purple and Sunshine Yellow The first look....

Walls: Rails running horizontally through the room @ 2ft below the ceiling and @ 2 ft above the flooring. These are painted in yellow. Choose a subtle wallpaper with a floral pattern to infuse the feeling of nature. As purple is a dramatic colour, I have chosen yellow which mellows the dramatic effect and adds an element of nature to the ambience.

A huge standing mirror in yellow frame acts as a focal point. The picture frames above the top rail, a beautifully carved polster bed with matching side tables in white........all add to the classic look of the bedroom.

Flooring - carpeted in a drak brown

Celing - can be painted in a dark brown or white...or use ply wood panels in dark colours to add a western look.

ENJOY!!!!! send in your inspirations....and lets see what turns out!!!!!!

Furniture Exhibition - PART 2

2011-04-13T00:59:00.001-07:00

Here's PART-2 of the Furniture Exhibition.....For all those who are looking for PART-1 of the same....please click here.

Kamal's Telescopic Ladder Unit - Kamal has used an old telescopic ladder.........which is normally used as a ladder...but in small apartments with space constraints.... this can be folded and used as a seat with a storage underneath ideally for small things like stationery or magazines. The speciality of this is that even when the ladder is opened for use....things inside the storage remain intact.

Vaishnavi's Compact box can be used as a dresser, a study table or a work table. all in one..... yet compact. Notice the mirror on the left which is concealed when used as a table. The small box underneath is the stool and also a storage. BIG VALUE FOR SMALL MONEY..... Vindhya's ALL-in-ONE table is a single piece of furniture......resembles a cube with 2 faces cut off. It has various utilities on all it other faces. As you see here, it can be used as a kid's study table or probably like a kid's dining table...on the other side a center table with a magazine and newspaper pit.

Vijayalakshmi's Aquarium center table looks delicate with a glass case separating the legs and the aquarium. She calls it a coffee center. The legs of the table stores the crockery, cutlery. The special case provided under the aquarium can be used to store sugar cubes, cookies etc., needed for a coffee or a tea meeting. Ideal for people having home offices. It not only reduces the time to move in and out of your kitchens but also looks elegant in any corner /center.

Swetha Evelyn's Foyer unit is an all-in-one unit which gives equal importance to deco aspect as well as the utility aspect. This is a tall unit with pot holders at the top, an aquarium below, storage for jackets, helmets, shoes etc., It also has 2 stools which fit into it and can be easily removed when one needs it. On second thoughts...i feel..it could double as a partition between the foyer space and the living space....especially in apartments where we dont see an exclusive foyer...... Sweta Daga's Topsy Turvy Cradle - I remember the many attempts that we did to get the drawing of this furniture right. Most of the cradles that we have seen are only for short use....like a year...this is a concept where for 1 year the furniture can be used as a cradle which swings. After the baby has outgrown the cradle...all one needs to do is to turn the furniture upside down and voila.... it becomes a bed that can be used by the child for upto 6 years......

Swati's Single seater can be opened up to a double seater and a table.

Susanna Rai's Study unit is a wall mount designed specifically for a kid's room. This special feature of this unit is that when not in use....it can be put on the wall for display as a deco unit in a child's room. It has small stools for children which are shaped in the form of alphabets.

Divya Chikkanna's Furniture is a very practical utility furniture for storage of very obvious items like garden equipments, laundry clothes, vacuum cleaners, detergents etc. This can be made using recyclable materials. The concept is very simple...but very useful. This can be placed in the balcony or terrace of any apartment. It looks neat and does not occupy too much space. It comes with wheels for easy movement. It also has an iron board on top. The openings that you see are for cane baskets to segregate the "to-be" washed clothes. It has hooks to hang the pressed clothes while still using the board.

Shamaan's concept of this furniture is that it can be used as a display on top. When opened it multiplies its utility to be chairs with storage underneath and a table. Spacesaver indeed!!!!!

Write to me if you need any help on making these furniture pieces....

More to come in PART-3.......

Exhibition of the MULTI-UTILITY FURNITURE....PART-1

2011-04-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

This is a very special post and is dedicatded to all my lovely students. This is an exhibition that I organised for my students to display their talent in designing a MULTI-UTILITY FURNITURE. I am always fascinated with the idea of using a furniture for more than one activity. Ofcourse, this is not new ....and I also know that there are many available in the market. Here the challenge for the students was to use the same piece of furniture for a minimum of 3 activities without having to spend too much time and effort on the convertible.

The thought of a multi-utility furniture came to me after considering the following facts:

Most of us are living in apartments where we have very less or no storage space at all. (remember the concealed attics of our grandmothers' or the storage rooms in our parents' backyards..)

With one fact being proper storage...the second one is easy accessibility to the storage space...which is more often not considered....

Living in style with the most modern amenities irrespective of the space.

Considering the above points, the challenge given to my students was to design a furniture which is not only aesthetically appealing....but also a multi-utility furniture. Various themes were chosen by each of the students. Since there are many to showcase...this post will be divided into parts.All the furniture that you see here are not life-size...they are scaled down models of the same.

1. Sindu's HEXTRA - It can be used as a Kid's day-bed, sofa. When the cover is lifted off, it can be used as a table with storage in each of its a stool. Zainab's MOBILE BEDROOM SET - This is the opened version. When folded....it simply becomes a rectangular box. Very ideal for people moving from one location to another.

Nitin's Studio apartment furniture is a kitchenette on one side and a bedroom on the otherside with a movable partition box. Rashmi Jadhav's ALKOOL is a mobile bar counter. When closed...looks like a cool deco unit, when opened up becomes a bar with storage for all types of bottles and glass holders. It doubles up as a barbeque unit on top.....surprisingly..it also houses 2 stools inside it. Ideal for backyard parties.

Akshay's floor lamp is definitely a lamp but....can also be used as a dresser on the one side and an iron board or a narrow desk on the other side. The base unit that you see is for storing a sleek contemporary chair that can be used for either purposes.

Rakshita's FOLDABLE DINING TABLE is from a japanese inspiration of low-lying furniture. This is the opened version. When closed, it just looks like a Chest of Drawers. All the cushions and the legs go in.

Goutham's multi-utility bar counter.

Priti Choudary's KIDS PLAY SET is a wonderful creation which has a minimum of 4 board games with seating and storage .........all packed compactly in a single box...

Nidhi's PARTITION CUM SEATING is a beautiful addition to your homes and plays handy when you have a lot of guests. It is otherwise a partition either in your living rooms, bedrooms or bathrooms.

Likitha's PARTITION BOX (DRESSER and STUDY TABLE) would be a great idea to separate a kids bedroom. Imagine you have 2 of these. Place both next to each other ...but in opposite directions. This means that on each side you will have a dresser and a study table....

Hope you all enjoyed this....PART 2 in Progress.......

Design of the week....All for FREE!!!! ....a new series.

2011-04-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a treat to all my dedicated readers. With mails pouring in from various parts of the world requesting decor ideas, I decided to come up with something unique on my blog. This is a sincere attempt to share my creativity. All suggestions and ideas are most welcome.

This series aims at sharing some of my designs with my readers. This will be mostly residential....unless.... ofcourse....i get a special request from somebody for a commercial design. The idea behind this series is that...I would post one design for a room in a residence every often based on a particular inspiration or a theme........ofcourse, my lovely readers are always welcome to give in their ideas and suggestions. The motive is to enable everyone to have a designer home without having to visit a designer.

So, if you are rethinking of doing your house or possibly buying a new house.... irrespective of the size.....the general questions are.... what colours should we go in for? what furniture to buy? how big or small should the accessories be? and how many should I buy? blah...blah...blah...

Now, you have a ready made solution to your problem. You could also use this as a reference picture to tell your architect or your interior designer how you want your room to be. This makes things a lot easier. So, without too much talking........here's the design for the weekend !!!!!!

DESIGN INSPIRATION - The warm colours Maroon and Golden Yellow of the Marigold Flower.

With due credit to http://www.photographersdirect.com/ for the above photo, let me begin with describing the design for this week. This is inspired by the warm colours of this beautiful flower. which has a fantastic balance of maroon and golden yellow. Inspired by these colours, I have created this living room on my software.

I personally feel that a living room is a place where every member of the family meets to bond over after a tiring day. With warm colours, the place is automatically filled with conversations and induces a feeling of oneness. Here are a few views of the same room. I would like to explain some finishes as well.

WALLS: Base rail or skirting of about 4" in wood-painted white, upto 3ft wainscot panelling in yellow, a chair rail of 1.5", and then a wallpaper in a maroon subtle texture upto the ceiling with a crown rail on the top(match it with the base rail)

FLOORING: a dark coloured flooring of preferably wood or alternatively tiles with a colourful carpet.CEILING: Keep it in golden yellow. You could add some decorative plaster of paris mouldings.

FURNITURE: Prefarably all white in subtle textures.

ACCESSORIES: Minimal but obvious . for eg., a huge abstract paintingWINDOW TREATMENTS: Since there are too many details on the wall, my suggestion is to go for simple roman blinds in white.

You are free to ask me any questions on this. I will be more than happy to answer them.

I hope you all enjoy this series.

Classroom Makeover in WARLI ART FORM

2011-03-29T02:11:00.000-07:00

After the stress involved in relocating, one definitely needs a reward. I chose to watch a movie. Coincidently... it happened to be Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I definitely knew about this book....,but was not aware that this was about blogging. As I sat watching the movie, tears rolled down my eyes and I began to realise...how much I missed blogging. That is when I decided to write and update my blog continuously. This post is dedicated to Julie Powell and Julia Child.

This post is about how we transformed an interior design classroom into a fascinating world of warli art. I thank all my students wholeheartedly for extending their support and showing interest in this project of mine.

As you can see, its a normal white boring classroom. Unfortunately, in an excitement to re-do the room, I forgot to take any before images of the room. This is the only one that I have and you can see a student working here.

Many blogs have already spoken about warli art. So, I think I will not venture deep into it. But a small note for the novice. Warli art form is a kind of painting found on the mud houses of some tribal groups in Maharashtra. The paint forms depict their daily life scenes in an attempt to showcase their culture. I found a lovely blog titled http://warlipaintingsart.blogspot.com/. Please check this for an extensive research on warli paintings.

So, after the makeover......

the beams that run through the room..........

While the beams and one wall were painted with warli, we chose to keep the other walls in a light green colour and adorned the walls with some colour boards.

I promise all my readers and followers who have been patiently mailing me everyday to update my blog that I will regularly update this blog with more and more interesting and useful articles. I also encourage every reader of mine to send me a message on what you would like to know from me with respect to interior design and decoration.

Linking this post to the July Carnival at The Key Bunch....

How I Surprised my Spouse !!!!!!

2011-01-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers!!!!
WISH YOU ALL A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 !!!!!

This is the time of the year when people in my house are busy exchanging gifts. The reason being... all of us are capricorns. While it is easy for my hubby to think of a gift for me.... It is really hard for me to think of a suitable gift for him. I have surpassed the usual watches, phones, perfumes, shirts, T-shirts, wallets etc., I was desperate for an unusual gifing idea. This was when I saw the ad of asian paints royale play - SURPRISE YOUR SPOUSE on TLC Channel.

My hubby has always been complaining about the wall paint of one of the rooms in our house. It was mint green. Our intention of painting this colour was to give the room a refreshing feel...something that blends in with nature. Unfortunately after this exercise, we realised that no matter what shade or tint of green you paint....it can never look natural. One of the reasons could be that we are so used to seeing the leaves in nature and each of the leaf comprises of various shades and tints of green. Try holding a leaf in your hand and you will agree with me on this.

I decided to surprise my husband by giving this room a whole new look. I had a very short time and this whole process had to be done without the knowledge of my husband. Now, this was the tough part. This meant that the whole makeover had to happen on the same day. I then contacted asian paints helpline. They first took my contact details. The closest asian paints home solutions representative then called me to find out my requirement. The representative visited my home with all the catalogues of asian paints royale play. I really appreciate their professional approach.

Since I wanted some kind of a textured effect. I chose combing technique with base coat as MANGO YELLOW and topcoat as GREENERY. You can see the pictures of the step by step makeover of the room. My husband returned home from office and was shocked and surprised at the same time. He never expected to see something change all of a sudden. He had seen a green wall in the morning and to see a completely changed wall in the evening is definitely a surprise. Initially he refused to believe that it was the paint effect as paint generally takes a long time. He convinced himself that it could be a wallpaper. Honestly, the effect is marvellous and it indeed looks like a wallpaper.

Yahoo.............I successfully surprised my spouse. I am so happy and thank asian paints for the quick makeover. Here are a few pictures of the makeover........

The mint Green wall getting ready for the makeover

The base coat in Mango Yellow

Combing effect being done on the wall
A closer look of the same

The wall after the effect resembled a wallpaper

Loved the whole process which happened so effortlessly.............

ALL THANKS TO ASIAN PAINTS

Hope you all enjoyed this post.......

Please do leave your comments.....

Diwali Inspired Post.....

2010-11-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers !!!!
WISH YOU A VERY VERY HAPPY DIWALI. MAY THIS DIWALI BRING IN LOADS AND LOADS OF HAPPINESS THROUGH HEALTH & WEALTH.

Here are a few pictures of diwali celebrations at my home.

Inspired by the same....I have created a diwali inspired decor for your living rooms. Please take a look...

Clockwise from top left:

"Gold Mosaic" from Bisazza, "Tanjore painting" from Tarang Gallery, "Red silk" brought from a local store can be stitched into drapes, "Carpet" from First impressions, " Wooden jaali or lattice" can be done by a skilled carpenter, "Silk cushions", "Striped glass tile" from rdwglass, "Handpainted diyas" from rural handicrafts, "Perlato gold tile" from marbonite, "Gold coloured candles" from crafted candles, "Vases" from asian design house, "Paints" from asian paints.

Marquetry....or Wood inlay work....

2010-09-02T04:51:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to Mysore, I stopped by at a place called Srirangapatna. It had been years since I visited this old and famous temple. Although I had admired this town...this time more from a designer's perspective. Today, I would like to discuss about an artwork, that I have grownup seeing in most of the traditionaly decorated houses in Mysore and around. This artwork by the local artisans is called MARQUETRY. In simple words...we call it the wood inlay work. This is similiar to Marble inlay work. Traditionally, Mysore artisans were known to work with rose wood and ivory. Lovely rosewood doors with ivory inlay are still preserved at Mysore Palace and is a treat to the eyes. These doors have won many accolades at the international fairs all over the world. Today, rosewood and ivory are very expensive and so is subsituted by other compressed woods. The artisans have to spend hours of work to detail out a master piece with intricate patterns. Marquetry is the art of inlaying wood or ivory on another wooden surface to form a pattern. Generally, themes such as elephants, florals or a nature scene are typical of Mysore artisans. I spotted a few such pieces from a street artist here. Please take a look at them. Sleek bed side tables, center tables, art frames, coasters, Polster beds are an excellent choice for Marquetry.

Monochromatic Scheme....

2010-08-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,
Back after a long hiatus and hope to stay inspired for sometime. I have loads of articles to update but have very less time these days. When I started this blog....little did I know that I would get so busy. Anyways, this is an interesting writeup about my favourite topic - "COLOUR". I want to share some info on the different colour schemes possible. To begin with...I want to talk about a simple yet complex colour scheme which is Monochromatic. "Mono" means one and "Chroma" means Colour. This scheme is all about handling a single colour in various tints...tones and shades. To make this more clear, let us take an example from nature. Please see this picture below, notice the variations in colour. A close observation will reveal the different tints, tones and shades of green. This is the best example to demonstrate a monochromatic scheme.

I created a collage of some of the green things I had at home. This exercise helps in understanding this scheme better.

Now to derive the colour palette from the above pictures..... (Photo Courtesy: click here)

Now for some examples of interiors in the same monochromatic green colour.

(Photo Courtesy: Click here)

(Photo courtesy: click here)

Hope you all enjoyed this post. Will post some interesting works of my students shortly.....

Colourful Tiling Ideas...

2010-06-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

Sunset Books Inc. based in California have a series of books on interior designing. They have this series called "ideas for Great" which hosts a lovely collection of books ranging from different ways of Tiling, Wall systems, window treatments, Kitchens, home offices, patios etc., Their books are filled with lovely pictures, easy to understand and teaches the basics to any novice in this field. I cherish this book "ideas for Great TILE" and here are a few pictures of creative tiling from this book. ISBN 0-376-01677-9

Have a great day ahead!!!!!!!

How to choose your colour palette from something you have liked..

2010-06-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

After reading the post on My inspirations from Maddur....many of you have written to me asking how to make use of the inspirations....the simplest answer to this is....you can choose the colour palette from something that has attracted your attention.

Assume that you have liked something ........it could be a landscape or simply a group of objects. If you have captured it on your camera....it means you have liked it. This post focuses on using your picture (any photograph of your choice) to derive your colour palette.

Please take a look at the following examples:

This is a simple picture of a terracotta duck against a grass background that I captured on my tour to Mangalore. If I had to pick out my colour palette from this picture.... then it would be.....Shades and tints of green and ofcourse terracotta brown. It is very important to note the proportions of the colour. How much of what colour is in the picture?. In this picture, the proportion of green colour is more than that of brown. Green is acting as a background colour. Keeping all this in mind, I have created this picture from my architectural software. Please do not mind the slight difference in the colours as the 3D image differs slightly fromt the intended colours.

From this picture, I derived the following colours: Black, Rust Brown and Majenta or Pink.

Since Pink in the picture is against a black background and is focal point of the picture, I decided to use this on my sofa and the carpet. If you have noticed the above picture...there is a tinge of rustic brown on the vessels...I decided to use this on my bookcase and the vase....you can ofcourse extend this to the door and window frames as well.

I hope you all liked this post. If you have any pictures and want my assistance in deriving a colour palette for the same....I would love to do it. Do query me about any info you need on this post.

My inspirations from Maddur

2010-05-17T23:58:00.001-07:00

The normal human tendency is to praise and aspire for something that is not so easily accessible and overlook & ignore somethings that are right next to you. I strongly felt this when I was on a day tour last week to a place called Maddur. Maddur is a town in Mandya district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It lies on the banks of the river Shimsha. A famous stop over place for people traveling from Bangalore to Mysore for Vada (a delicacy). For the recipe of the same, please click here. Maddur is also famous for its 2 beautiful historic temples Sri UgraNarasimha Swamy Temple and the Sri Varadaraja Swamy Temple.

HISTORY OF SRI UGRANARASIMHASWAMY TEMPLE

In the final days of Mahabharatha, Arjuna requested Lord Sri Krishna to give him a darshan of Lord Sri Narasimha. Lord Sri Krishna mentioned that this would not be possible as the Narasimha was a Ugra (angry) avatar. He requested Lord Brahma to craft a stone replica of Ugra Narasimha. This was installed in Maddur temple. In earlier days Maddur was called "Arjunapuri" as Arjuna worshipped in this temple. Later, Kadamba rishi worshipped here using the waters from a nearby river stream. The place was called "Kadambha nadhi kshetram" because of this. This place later became Maddur owing to kings using the place for making bombs for warfare. Maddu means bomb in Kannada. (text courtesy: Wikipedia)

Sri Varadaraja Swamy Temple

This temple was constructed by the King Vishnuvardhan. His mother was blind and Ramanuja requested him to take his mother to Kanchipuram Varadarajaswamy temple for curing her blindness. As she was very old for travel and Sri Varadaraja came in the dream of the king to construct one temple in Maddur itself. The king got sculpture craftsmen from Kanchipuram and created the idol of Sri Varadaraja. After the installation of the idol, a mandala pooja (48 days pooja) was done to the God. On the forty eighth day when the king's mother came to worship to the God her eye sight was restored. And henceforth the God got another name as "Nethra Narayanan". (text courtesy: Wikipedia)

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London

I so truly believe this quote....and religiously follow it too.....

MY INSPIRATIONS FROM MADDUR.........

For a simple country decor, get inspired by this turquoise blue country house.

Loved the irregularly shaped, roughly textured stone pillars and the front sitting bank...look at the display of colours and the lovely textures here. Imagine using them in your decor......

Observe the hues of yellow and the various proportions here.....

Do you also believe in this quote...............then do share your inspirations with me......

Second panel of Decoupage for the terrace partition

2010-05-17T23:34:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers,

Excuse me for the long absence from blogging. I had been extremely busy with work and I now have a lot of things to share with you. Continuing the theme of Radha Krishna decoupage which were in progress when i last left you. Here is a glimpse of the second panel. Just in case you have forgotten. These are asbestos panels on the terrace used as partition and for privacy. To make the terrace more interesting, we have decoupaged the panels. The theme is strictly followed.....therefore finding it difficult to source such big pictures of Radha Krishna for decoupage. To take a look at the previous post on this........please click here....

I hope you liked them......please send in your comments...

Using leftover Paints to create beautiful vases....

2010-04-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

Thinking of what to do with all the left over paints in your containers. Then this is what you should do. Try this technique of using your last few drops of paint creatively. This is solely for non-artistic people.

Call this Modern or Contemporary art or an item of dramaticism..................

Things you will need:

a few flavoured milk bottles (Nandini milk bottles to be precise)
1 round paint brush
Oil enamel paint- Base colour of your choice...(here it would be whichever colour is more in quantity)
Oil enamel paint- a few droplets of all the leftover paints
a litre of water
a waste cloth
20 mins of your time.

Method:

Clean the bottles and wipe them dry.
Apply a base coat (oil enamel) in any colour of your choice.
Ensure that you either apply the paint to the bottom half or top half of the bottle for two reasons. One, it looks nice to create a pattern with bottles if you have many. Two, If you paint the whole bottle, you may end up leaving finger prints. If you still want to paint the complete bottle, ensure that you do the top half first and then do the bottom half.
Now take a large bowl of water, add a few drops of different colours of paint. Do not worry about being precise...remember, i already mentioned that this needs no skills of art.
Use a toothpick to stir the paint in order to create random patterns. To give some punch to this lets call this retro pattern.
Without wasting any time, you have to dip the painted portion of the bottle into this water carefully without stirring the water. Slowly immerse the bottle once and take it out. Do not repeat this step.
Allow the bottle to dry.

VOILA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!your vases are ready and it takes only a few minutes..........LITERALLY!!!!

Please write to me if you have any queries before doing this.

Easy Kitchen Artwork.....

2010-04-12T01:15:00.000-07:00

As I promised, this is the second post for the day. I recently bought some stickers from a stationery shop (not with any intention...but... just because it looked nice on the shelf). It was a pack of soft stickers which had a 3D look. I then found a canvas board (10"x12") in my shelf. I decided to make use of the canvas and the stickers to create this art piece for my kitchen.

Things you need to do this:

1 canvas board, a few stickers to suit your theme or concept, 1 round brush, 1 black Acrylic paint tube, 1 red acrylic pain tube, 1 white acrylic paint tube, a cup of water and 30 mins of your time.

Sharing some easy garden deco ideas from Tessa Evelegh's book

2010-04-12T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,
Ya...I know that I have been away from blogging for a while now...and I am very sorry about it. I received mails from so many of my regular visitors requesting updates on my blog. I am extremely sorry about this as I got busy with work. However, as a compensation to my absence, I will publish 2 posts today. Both the posts are some easy and faster DIY ideas. I am sure you will love them as much as I do...

This post features some simple garden decor ideas from the book 50 fabulous ways to decorate your garden by Tessa Evelegh. As I always emphasise, I prefer more of re-invention from old stuff. Considering the Global warming that is happening, I strongly feel that one can do a lot by re-using the old stuff in many creative ways. Some easy to do ideas for your garden are here for you to see....

Mexican Painted Pots
Plants in Containers

Stick broken tiles and create small Mosaic art for your Garden......big or small

I just loved this.....TIN CAN...Plant Nursery...

I hope you all liked this post and I am sure you will try some simple ideas like this from most of your throw away products at home. If you do try...please mail me a picture and I would love to showcase your work here.

(All pictures on this post are from the book 50 fabulous ways to decorate your garden by Tessa Evelegh)

Featured on Colours Dekor by Patricia Torres.....

2010-03-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

It is soon going to be a year since I started blogging. What I have experienced here is immense... in terms of learning, knowing people, understanding the cultures of various places etc., I have come across many bloggers who with little recognition consider themselves celebrities. On the other hand, I have also met some people who inspite of all the fame are still humble and have an aura of motivaton around them. Hats off to them. From my list of such people, I would like to introduce Patricia whom we all lovingly call Pat. She is a person filled with honesty, love and humbleness. She has travelled all around the globe and her blogs reflect her experiences. I simply adore her simple, subtle nature. She shares a high level of genuity and this can be seen in her comments. She patiently answers all your queries. She is immensely talented and writes very well. Appreciating her down to earth nature, I request all my readers to visit her blogs http://coloursdekor.blogspot.com/ where she passionately writes about decorating homes and http://amitpatty.blogspot.com/ where she writes about her travels. I am happy and surprised to be featured on her blog. Please visit this link to see my blog featured. Thank you so much Pat.....

Concept Ideas for Bathrooms....

2010-03-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

I am currently working on some bathroom designs. I have lined up a few concept ideas here. The client is insisting on colourful, bright and unique bathrooms.

Master Bathroom: Concept Idea:

Romantic, Cosy and based on the complimentary colour scheme of the Purple Iris Flower.

Son's Bathroom: Concept idea:
Retro with Graphical Patterns in mosaic, Cool colour Scheme...mostly in Aqua, yellow and white.

Daughter's Bathroom: Concept Idea:

Achromatic colour scheme with red accents...bright and vibrant...

All comments and suggestions are most welcome....

(picture courtesy for boards: internet)

Decorating bland asbestos panels with some easy artwork......

2010-03-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

From the day these asbestos panels were put up on the terrace of my in-laws, my hands were itching to do something on them. To personalise the space, I wanted to decorate them myself and I took 2 days to complete this work and by this I mean that I just completed 1 panel out of the 6 panels. I was very eager to share this with all my readers. As a professional designer and a decorator, I am against the idea of spending a lot just because you want to beautify a space. I believe the real challenge is when you can decorate a given space with the least of expenses. With this whole idea in mind, I discussed with my father-in-law who was more interested than me to work out something for this space. After identifying that he was interested in something traditional and ethnic, I scouted around for some old calendars. To my surprise I found lovely calendars with motifs of Radha & Krishna. I decided to keep this as my theme and worked on a Decoupage technique with Oil medium. Here are a few pictures of the same.

Radha & Krishna sheltering themselves from the rain......

View of the individual panel measuring 61/2' x 41/2'

One finished panel. 5 more to go.

Fortunately, I found a few calendars with Radha & Krishna in different moods. I hope to finish all the panels as soon as possible and showcase them on my blog. Before I forget, I spent only Rs.250 to do this panel. I still have the paints and the rest of the materials left to finish 1 more panel. Eagerly wanting to do the next one....

Hope you enjoyed this post.................have a great day ahead !!!!!!

Knowing an Artist...RUKMINI KARLAPALEM ....by chance

2010-02-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

What can excite a blogger more ???? Somebody mailed me to say that she was very happy to see her paintings on my blog (the posts on chitrasante). It came to me as a surprise. It shows how small the world can get. At the same time......gives me a high to even think about that somebody who just happened to scroll through some blogs and when she just happened to see my blog..........she sees her works.........her works of art.......her passion. I am sure if I was in her place...I would have jumped allover with joy. On the other side of the coin....it gives me a sheer sense of pride or a deep thrill to know that it was my blog that is the cause of her happiness. Let me introduce you to Rukmini Karlapalem from Hyderabad. She is an artist who exhibited at Chitrasanthe. I admired her paintings a lot at Chitrasanthe...but unfortunately did not spot her there due to the crowd. She has a very different thought in every piece of her art. Her primary focus includes situations from the normal happenings in day-today lives of common people. Although the pictures depict a lot of emotions and feelings...her style of painting emotes the same in the form of happiness by the use of vibrant bold colours. Some pictures for you to see.

Can you spot the artworks of Rukmini in the posts on Chitra Santhe.......?????

New to my Brass Collection.........A contemporary ganesha

2010-02-16T22:09:00.000-08:00

Ganesha also spelled Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deity by the Hindus. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles. For more, read here.

Because of his special appearance, every artist will carve out, paint or draw a Ganesha in their own style. I think most of the artists will agree with me when I say that Ganesha is the most flexible diety when it comes to an artists imagination.

I have one such Brass Ganesha Idol that I recently added to my collection. This is a very contemporary style ganesha and can add instant touch and gilded look to a contemporary setting. While the body of this Ganesha has a brass finish, the rest of it has a lovely blue-green oxidised effect. I bought this at the recently held cottage mela in Safina Plaza, Bangalore.

Do share some unsual Ganesha Pictures or some sculptures if you have any......

CHITRASANTHE .....PART 2

2010-02-16T20:17:00.001-08:00

In this post on Chitrasanthe, I would like to introduce you to my sister Vedavathi who is also a blogger and has 2 blogs to her credit. One is http://kaikriye.blogspot.com/ where she blogs about her art and the other is http://iyengarskitchen.blogspot.com/ where she blogs about various iyengar recipes. She exhibited her talent at the Chitrasanthe 2010 and here are a few pictures of her art. I am very proud of her success in the art fair. Wish you all the best Veda.

Some more pictures from various artists at the chitrasanthe 2010.....

Don't miss the Chitrasanthe next year !!!!!

CHITRASANTHE 2010.....ART FAIR in Bangalore

2010-02-11T04:51:00.000-08:00

Chitrakala Parishath is an art institution and cultural organisation located in the city of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, India. Its main aim is the promotion of art and culture and it is well known for the various art exhibitions that it conducts both at the state and the National levels.

Chitra Santhe is an annual event organised by the Parishath that attracts artists from all over India who showcase their artwork for sale to the public. It is held along the footpaths of the Kumara Krupa Road which gets occupied by artists selling items like paintings, porcelain, sculptures and other art objects. Some artists even offer on-the-spot portrait sketches of people interested in them. To read more, click here.

Here are some pictures from the Chitra Santhe 2010. The beauty about this fair is that there are no fancies and whimps, all artists are treated the same way. Artists....rich and famous, novices and students, are under one roof for a day. Call it a treat to the eyes !!!!

This is a single piece carved out of a coconut and allowed to dry...

WAIT FOR CHITRA SANTHE - PART 2.............Have a great weekend !!!!

MOSAIC Mural Execution

2010-02-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. This art which was traditonally seen in Roman Cathedrals has now become very popular in interior designing and can be seen in restaurants, hotels, residences, bathrooms etc., As a designer, I love this art and feel that any place can be instantly transformed to create a colourful and bright look. Suits all styles of decor.... be it country, dramatic or classic....

I am proud to feature a mosaic mural work by my students. They have designed and executed this work at the college premises. Here are a few pictures of the same.

This is a contemporary style Ganesh measuring 4' x 4'.

I must say, I am proud of my students for working on this for 2 whole days from start to finish. Hope you all liked it !!!!

Experience France in India.....PONDICHERRY

2010-02-10T03:09:00.000-08:00

Pondicherry, is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four regions, and named after the largest region, Puducherry.

Take a close look at the names of all the streets...........they start with Rue De La ....

French influence

Pondicherry still retains much evidence of its history as a French colony. The design of the city was based on the French (originally Dutch, the plans of Pondicherry dating from the end of the seventeenth century (1693-1694) are preserved in the National Archives at The Hague) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The entire town is divided into two sections, the French Quarter ('Ville Blanche' or 'White town') and the Indian quarter ('Ville Noire' or 'Black Town').

I loved the use of colours. While you can see bright hues of yellow on one side, you will also see the subtle and subdues hues of grey and blue. The stone floored steets look truly french

Notice the shape of the windows with the close knit railings in blue. To read more on Pondicherry, please click here.

Sir Terence Conran.....and maximum utility

2010-02-01T02:48:00.000-08:00

When designing a piece of furniture or deco accessory, it is but natural for a designer like me to quickly browse through some important books to draw inspiration from. I am currently working with students of interior designing guiding them through the design process of some multi-utility products....to be more elaborate.....thinking on how to maximise the utility of a piece of furniture or an accessory and make it more multi-purpose rather than single utility. When doing this, the first thing that struck my mind was that I have to give due respect and credit to this amazing personality Sir Terence Conran, whose books I would rather call holy.

For most people in this industry, Sir Terence Conran is a very familiar name.....but for those who dont know..............here is a bit...

Sir Terence Orby Conran, FCSD, (born 4 October 1931) is an English designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer.

Conran's first professional work came when he worked in the Festival of Britain on the main South Bank site, he left his college education to take up a job with Dennis Lennon's architectural company, they had been commissioned to make a 1/4 scale interior of a Princess Flying Boat.
Conran started his own design practice in 1956 with the Summa furniture range and designing a shop for Mary Quant. In 1964 he opened the first Habitat shop in Chelsea with his third wife Caroline Herbert, which grew into a large chain selling household goods and furniture in contemporary designs. In the mid-1980s, Conran expanded Habitat into the Storehouse plc group of companies that included Mothercare and Heals but in 1990 he lost control of the company. His later retail companies include the Conran Shop and FSC-certified wood furniture maker Benchmark Furniture, which he co-founded in 1983. To read more, please click here

I specially love his style of writing. Any common man with absolutely no knowledge of designing can understand his clear and precise sense of writing. Pictures are big and clear. I love his books namely; How to live in small spaces, Storage, DIY, Kitchens and many more... He has made contemporary designs seem so light and easy. All the accessories, furniture and design layout that you see in this post are personally done by Sir Terence Conran. his post

This is just a bird's eye view of his works......... it is humanly impossible for me to showcase his works in a single blog post. His books illustrate the maximum use of small spaces. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I was excited writing this.

CHITRSANTHE 2010 today ...... at the Chitrakala Parishat

2010-01-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

Hi Readers,

For all those who reside in Bangalore and are únaware of the happening of today..... here is some news !!!!! If you are an art lover and want to have a colourful day today...........please visit the Chitrasanthe, which is an exhibition organised by Chitrakala Parishat. This exhibition showcases various mediums of art under one roof. Artists young and old, students and professionals, rich and famous will exhibit their talent here. If you are lucky, you might get a wonderful piece of art which you were dying for at a very affordable price. So, Join in and enjoy.............!!!!!!

CHITRA SANTHE – “ART FOR ALL”

VENUE: Chitrakala Parishath on Sunday, the 31st January 2010 at Kumara Krupa Road, adjacent to Hotel Ashok, Bangalore.

Time: 9:00 am to 8:00 pm

For more info & pictures of Chitrasanthe, please log onto http://chitrasanthe.com/

STOP !!!!! don't decorate.....just take a bite of these Cushions & Accessories.....

2010-01-28T05:02:00.000-08:00

Everytime, you visit my blog......you are always reading something about interiors. But this time... hold your breadth to some unusual stuff. What you will witness now are some ordinary cakes in extraordinary designs.....take a look at it yourself !!!!!!

This post of mine is only to show that creativity has no bounds....... Dr. Seuss once said "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!"

CAKES, CAKES, EVERYWHERE ...............................but don't feel like taking a bite......... admiration is the word....

Pablo Picasso once quoted "There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun" (all images from internet)