paint your prayers...

This post is largely inspired by Geninne Zlatkis, one of my earliest flickr and blogging friends. She is an extremely talented lady, who illustrates, draws, sketches, paints, carves stamps, crafts, cooks, home schools and also paints on pebbles!

Yes, in her beautiful homes in Mexico (designed by her architect husband) one of the ways in which she adds cheer and beauty is by painting natural motifs on collected pebbles, an interest that I share with her:-)

I always bring back pebbles and stones from our various travels.

I was inspired to try my hand in painting those lovely pebbles. I gave it an Indian twist by painting the traditional 'Kolam' or painted prayers...

Tiny Lord Krishna's feet, for Janmashtami...

Some painted prayers give company to my succulents....

Why restrict yourself to just Kolams, let your creativity flow~ Try Alpanas, Blockprint motifs or any symbol that holds a special meaning for you:-)

Do paint your prayers and see them answered in the form of cheerful corners in your home:-)

(images by Arch)

Decorating with Little Details

...here's a quick little post to share a few interesting before and after pics I stumbled upon over at Design Indulgence this morning.

I've always been a big believer in the power of home styling. Now, I don't mean 'styling' as in 'staging' (like when you see a pic of a bedroom in a magazine with a beautifully laden breakfast tray sitting on the bed), I mean 'styling' as in 'accessorising'.

It's amazing the difference a few thoughtful touches can make, and whilst the rooms below have been a little more than just accessorised, you can still grasp the sigh-worthy personality some clever styling can add to a space.

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

My Sunny Balcony

If you too, like me love to hang out in balconies and want to make it that perfect place to relax and rejuvenate, here are 4 highly creative individuals from My Sunny Balcony, who will transform your balconies into a beautiful retreat:-)
These individuals are Sriram Aravamudan, Shailesh Deshpande, Athreya Chidambi and Reena Chengappa. They are not only passionate about their work but also about the environment. This aspect is reflected in all the stages of their work.Whether it is getting eco-friendly garden options or to the organic manure that they use for their plants, everything is well thought out. Their knowledge about various species of plants and how well they grow in different environments is commendable.
You can choose from various themes like Zen, Traditional, European, Mexican etc. They will transform even a small space to a work of art:-)
They collaborate with various artists to enhance the theme of their gardens.
Here is one such artist painting a Bodhi tree for one of their clients.The earthern pots are custom-made for each client based on their requirements and theme.An old world charm incorporated in one of their many balcony transformations:-)
So if you are in Bangalore and have even a small balcony space, do contact them. They will come with their green thumbs & eco-friendly optimism and transform your space into one sunny balcony:-)

(Photos from My Sunny Balcony.com, Anita Bora)

bring on the festivities...

It's that time of the year again. A certain festive anticipation takes hold of me.

Mr. Sun decides to illuminate certain corners with his geometrical rays. Love that fragrance of a season in transition. A season of festivals.

The festive season propels me towards adding that little extra which transforms the home and gets you ready for new events, happy changes and cheerful living!

As promised, sharing few joyful corners of our home...

Jai Hanuman!

Allamanda flower on his open palm...

My shiny silk cushion covers in bright colours & borders...

Mangalgiri borders give a traditional look...

Some tealights in a glazed glass holders...

Fresh fresh flowers in my copper tea kettle...

Bedside chest with a tower of books and flowers...

A Panjurli (Boar Mask) from Udupi...

Roses on my dressing table, kept in little bowls of water placed inside woven palm leaf basket...

Hope all of you enjoyed a virtual tour of few corners of our home.

Eid Mubarak & Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all my readers! Have a great week!

(Images by Arch)

Client Consultation....Living Room Dilemma

Hey girls and guys!
Today I thought I'd do something a bit different and share an abridged version of one of my most recent e-decorating consults.

Christine, who mind you, is one of the most loveliest people ever, was having some trouble deciding what to do in her living room:

"Hi Kristine!

I’m in the process of decorating the 1927 Dutch Colonial that my husband and I moved into in January. It’s been great so far but I have to admit that the living room is quite daunting. It’s got sooooo much potential that I’m afraid of screwing it up; built in floor to ceiling bookcases, great big brick fireplace, large picture window, and everything is painted a cozy, cottagey white right now. I would love to know what you would do if this was your room.
Christine"

Well, she was certainly right about the room having a tonne of potential. I couldn't have been happier with my new little play space!

Here are some of the pics she sent me:

And the criteria:

- Retain existing colour palette of sage, chocolate and white.
- Retain paint scheme.
- Sofa and armchairs need to stay.
- TV to stay in current location.
- More purposeful bookcase display.
- Immediate budget of $500-$1000.
- Practical and attractive storage solution for TV components.
- Needs to be family and pet friendly.
- Inviting modern cottage theme in keeping with the style of the house.

I'll spare you the 33 page document Christine ended up with though will share some of the suggestions, hints and ideas I offered her.

FLOOR PLANS
Suggested Layout
(click to enlarge)

Alternate Layouts

It's easy to get stuck in a floor plan rut. How many of us have positioned furniture a certain way just because 'that's how the previous owners had it'. Although a particular layout will sometimes work best for a space, it pays to keep an open mind and consider other options.

As long as balance is retained a room may work well in any number of ways.

 Think outside the square and spend some time moving existing furniture around. Use cardboard or paper to mimic the scale of any pieces you don't currently own to help gauge the best possible layout for the room.

Alternate Layout 1

(click to enlarge)

Alternate Layout 2

(click to enlarge)

INSPIRATION BOARD

 Christine is about to replace her carpet with dark timber floorboards so I suggested using a large area rug to provide an anchor for her furniture. I recommended a woven natural material (like jute or seagrass) to add warmth and texture, or a subtle pattern (such as the ticking stripe above or a trellis or quatrefoil) to add some depth and interest. Because she's on a budget (and open to putting in a bit of elbow grease!), I also suggested the option of painting her own inexpensive sisal or jute rug (you can see some tutorials for that here, here and here).

I liked the softness and neutrality of Christine's current white curtains.

Though to showcase that gorgeous picture window they just needed a bit of tweaking. I recommended she place a thin black rod towards the top of her wall near the cornice, making sure it extended slightly either side of the window frame, then hang full drop curtains on the windows extremities only. If she requires privacy, bamboo blinds can be added too.

The Lettered Cottage

Young House Love

Christine was happy with the white brickwork around her fireplace though wasn't too keen on the brass surround. I suggested she just paint it herself (you can see some tutorials for that here, here and here).

To remedy the dilemma of housing for her television components, I suggested placing a little white console table or cabinet in the wall nook to the left of the fireplace and running any cables through the wall or hiding them with a cord concealer. To create the illusion of symmetry I also recommended hanging or resting a largish white-framed mirror above the console table to mimic the doorway on the right side of the fireplace.

 

Because the TV is staying in place above the mantel, I suggested a little decor tweaking to create more impact without detracting from TV viewing.

One of Christine's biggest annoyances was the bookcase wall.

She wasn't sure how to go about decorating the cases to look 'designery'. In my response to her this was covered extensively so rather than jam-pack this one post I've decided to do a whole 'Decorating With...' series focusing entirely on bookcases (so if you're after some advice keep an eye out!).
One suggestion I made which I will mention now however was the possibility of using a decal in the nook above the door frame rather than ornamentation, kinda like this:

Lone armchairs can sometimes look a little, well, lonely. To give Christine's single chairs a bit more definition and purpose in her room I suggested partnering them with a small side table and standard lamp or even a little cane basket or stack of vintage cases.

A great way to add instant charm and extra dimension to a living room is with a character-filled, personality-packed coffee table. For Christine's space I suggested a box-style piece, like a steamer trunk, old blanket box or textural cane chest, to fit in with the size of the room and scale of existing furniture. Because new reproductions of pieces like this can be just a tad (read; ridiculously!) expensive I suggested Christine check out Craig's List, eBay, thrift and charity stores, along with yard sales, for an original piece in need of a loving new home.

Pottery Barn

 

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Decorpad

Pottery Barn

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Pottery Barn

Christine's self-described 'blah' wall (with the bird silhouettes) needed a bit of a lift.

 Due to the amount of visual interest the nearby bookcase projects, I suggested avoiding anything too small, busy or asymmetrical. Instead I recommended placing one large object centrally on the wall, like a big starburst mirror or clock, or an ordered collection of three or four prints hung vertically, horizontally or in a block.

TEXTILES AND TEXTURES MOOD BOARD

Along with floor plan layouts and an inspiration board a textiles and textures mood board also helps keep you on track when deciding what to incorporate into a space.

I recommended keeping things natural, textural and neutral by sticking with flat colours (like plain linen, burlap and leather) and incorporating one stripe and one floral/feminine pattern in keeping with the existing sage, chocolate and white colour scheme.

So, whadda ya think?

Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg - Christine got a tonne of extra info, more in-depth explanations and additional pics - though I didn't wanna bore all you guys with too many project specific details.

And here's part of the sweet response I got from her:

"LOVE you. Seriously. I can't wait to get started! It all looks FAB-U-LOUS. I am so ready to take everything off of those bookshelves and re-do them. I'm going to be a very busy/happy girl."

 Christine is now slowly working on implementing changes to her room. She has been kind enough to allow me to blog about it along the way so as she shares her 'afters' with me I'll keep you all updated too.

If you're interested in a design consultation for your home, view this page for some further information and feel free to contact me at any time.