A House of Eternal Spring!

I know it has been so long since I wrote on...I missed it! And now....I no more want to wait. I have been wanting to show you this home...our family home which has spring in it all year round. It is also a home full of art and colour...

It all starts with a beautiful lush green garden and a pretty dainty entrance full of knick knacks. Our family is a strange mixture of artists who sing, paint, sew etc...and you shall see that pretty soon. 

From the porch we enter a small entrance which is always decorated differently. Bipin's mother is one of the most creative women I have ever see. Right from the garden into her antiques, she mixes her knick knacks and displays them beautifully.

This house is designed in such a way that everything looks spacious. The living room has two arched entrances, the ceiling is about 22ft high. Even its staircase is as wide as ever! Warm hanging lamps light up the space making the white wall look fresh and serene. It also brings out the colour and beauty of all the artwork displayed in this home.

This wall hanging a patchwork made by the lady of this house. The fall colours inspired her to make such a beautiful work of art. 

A low seating with its upholstery made with the pieces of cloth she salvages from her sewing makes this corner in the living room look lovely. There are fresh flowers and white desi print curtains...just always around here... 

She also painted this little low coffee table and made something so bright and wonderful out of a plain white table!

One other beautiful feature that has been sketched and painted is a wall in a small corner room of this house. This was has been made for all the 3 grandchildren they have. Its a wall where all kids gaze and learn so much.

There is so much more in this home...our home. I won't bother explaining things, just scroll down and take a look!

Some more of her artwork, her hobbies which translates into a wonderful home...

And yes...this is that very half bucket which Bhoole Bisre makes where the milkman put the milk in. Its always safe from stray cats! 

Isn't this home cozy, artistic, lovely and beautiful....we love how every bit of it is worked on...we love how it is green and flowers everyday...and thats why we call it " a house of Eternal Spring...its wonderful!

Its a Twin Thing!

My twins are born on Aug 01, 2013....I know, its quite recent. But before they were born, I had a lot of work which needed to be done at home. Of course, I had no idea about how much I would need to do after they were born....Gosh!!! :O

Anyway,  a part of my twin project was making their room ready. I didn't know if I was going to deliver 2 boys or 2 girls or a boy-girl combo. Hence, wanted to create a space which would cater to any pair that would be born to us.

A lot of my friends suggested I make ample storage. A toy trunk, some drawers for their little clothes, etc. One of my architect friends called Aloka even suggested that I make a diaper changing station. I knew I had to plan this well. I needed enough storage and at the same time make arrangements to have all the above. 

This diaper changing station below is simple. I also use it as an iron board. It is just a simple folded shelf which I pull out and unfold....it gives me a a whole long platform of 4ft. Voila...my babies get a changing space and I get a pain-free back! :)

Just recently, I also got my kitchen done. It had some old baskets which were in good condition. I didn't have the heart to throw them. I wondered what could be done with them....until then, I realized that they could be a part of the wardrobes in the baby room. I was so happy, I could reuse so much!

I believe in hand-made things. After I got the room painted white and blue, I wondered what could go up the wall. I decided to make some wall frames myself. I wanted to use some basic material and have delightful picture frames mounted on the wall. Since the room was going to be shared by twins...similar frames were made. In this whole little craft making session, I did very less while my friends Aditi & Tanu, relished cutting, pasting and organizing these little newspaper hearts cuttings....

The twins being so little, still do not have their own beds. I decided to retain my futon for the time being. This futon is low and ideal for both of them. I turn it up into a sofa during the day and as the day ends, we convert it into a bed.

The kiddie room has long windows which overlook beautiful tall dense trees which is swamped with lovely birds, we decided to make a bench alongside the window. We designed it in a way, that kids can sit and enjoy their meals a little later at age. Since the window was 5ft long, we even decided to make small drawers for slender storage. 

To make the room look happy, bright and cheerful, I decided to decorate with little things. Things like bright bold knobs on the wardrobes, cascading red jute lights and some pillows which would make their tiny room full of life! They say "It's double the giggles and double the grins...And double the trouble if you're blessed with twins." I think I am blessed! :)

Heritage Home in the Himalayas

I just came back from a wonderful vacation from the Himalayas. I have visited different places in these glorious mountains so many times but every time I reach out to them, I bring back wonderful memories and a sense of serenity. This time, I brought back peace and a little treasure built by my friends Dipti & Partha Roy.

Bipin and I decided to visit Partha & Dipti in Dalhousie this summer. We needed to cool off a bit. What could be as exciting as travelling into the Himalayas and spending time with your best ol' pals? We both were really looking forward to see them and their little girls. I was also looking forward to see how both my friends had put their creative levels into various things they do. Let me tell ya, being innovative is in their genes and I was sure I would see a lot of it here.

So let me start with who these dear friends of mine are. Partha is the most fun loving friend I have ever had. He is a dedicated army officer or rather he is called Partha Roy, an artist who makes the best caricatures in the world and a very devoted father. He is one person who strives hard to learn new things and loves to explore everything. You can see it in his eyes, his work, his home which is so splendidly put together.

 Dipti is my college buddy and I guess we have been friends for almost 17 years. She is a pass out from NIFT and graduates in accessory designing. She has an eye to create beautiful things from the smallest of objects. A talent which comes out when I see her fabricate things around her home, a talent when I see her bring up her children or a talent when I read her prose and poems! Splendid!

I knew when I would be back, I would carry something home with me, I knew they would give me a whole bunch of ideas to write and share things with you. I brought back some beautiful pictures of their home. I couldn't have not written about it and shared it here on my blog.

So Partha and his wife are posted in this little town of Dalhousie deep in into the Himachali mountains. They have a home with 12 rooms which is recorded to be a 100 years old. It is a white washed angelic home sown into the Himalayan terrain with a pretty backyard charmed by their 3 dogs.

What made us love it the moment we entered was the porch or the lobby area of their home. Dipti created a beautiful partition with embroidery rings and lit them brightly. It spread a warmth at the entrance and partially hid the view of the long lingering porch which eventually became her dinning area. When I asked her why she used embroidery rings, she said she had heaps of them from her college days. She wasn't making much use of them and what could be better than making them a part of her home?

I decided to walk through this lobby, first into a very comfortable seating space which led into the the dining area. This leeway had a comfy bench covered with a pretty bedcover. Me being inquisitive, I tucked under the it and saw how creatively she had arranged her enormous army trunks and made it in to a long seat. She explained that they leave stations every 2 years and have so many of them to pack their stuff in. Instead of  dumping these trunks, she thought it would be wise to use them around the house with her little clever touch! Indeed...it was smart! :)

Slowly, as we walked into the room, we realized that this place was a labyrinth of rooms and doors all connected to each other. It took us a while to figure out that almost every room leads into another. Then...I walked into an area of high indulgence....an area which Partha could be at ease! As soon as Bipin saw this space, a huge smile occurred on his face. A smile that brought instant comfort to him and our hosts. Well guess what, it had a lovely drum set, a guitar and a synthesizer. To add to the excitement, it also had a lovely bar. Just like our home, the Roys made their "Leisure Lounge' as well. I named this room the "Musical Indulgence"!

Yet another room that I loved was their living room. This room was a little bigger and had a lot of artwork done by Partha. The walls were beautifully decorated with some lovely portraits he made. The ceiling of the entertainment centre was garnished with hand-made bamboo lamps made by Ditpi.

Coffee table and runners were adorned by little artifacts collected from their travels all over the country. Paper lamps trimmed the corners of this room making it cozy. What caught my eye was an exquisite red fireplace which was lit with a radiant bamboo lamp which made it look like a lit fireplace. All was so well kept and thought out.

A lot other things I cherished from my travel to this place besides this delightful home. I loved their clumsy dogs, their little angels who helped their mother maintain such a lovely home, the lovely barbecue that was made one night in the courtyard and above all, the love, warmth and the happiness my friends showered upon us!

A Teacher’s Philosophy & Dancers’ Delight

You might wonder, why I have such a strange name for this bedroom project for the Bhupatkar residence! Well as much as I like my friend Maithily & her dear mother, I loved working in these spacious, well-lit and clean bedrooms of theirs. I am glad I got to work on two extreme diverse concepts; one eccentric and eclectic while the other was contemporary with a smack of family heritage!

Now let me start making by making the title clear. When I say Teacher’s Philosophy, I simply mean the way a teacher thinks. The family are a bunch of extraordinary teachers. When I worked with Mrs. Bhupatkar, I was surprised to see how careful and observant she was. She didn’t miss out a single detail when it came to little things like handles, curtains, her picture frames, to the extent of switch boards! The first time I met her, she made it clear that she wanted something in straight lines, and it all had to look clean! That’s when I knew she wanted to go contemporary in her room.





Whites & greens, basic and minimalistic was her choice. Long curtains, patterned bedspread and bold pillows made her happy. We refurbished the existing wardrobes and built a little entertainment centre for her antique TV.





Since all members of this family are ardent readers, creating a corner where they can unwind was important. The advantage of working in this house was that the rooms are good sized. I did get a nice cosy corner to change the focus of the bedroom, which was previously unattended.



Well to my good fortune, they owned a 100 year old antique gorgeously made chair with an even better old trunk lying around. They certainly valued it but really didn’t know how it could be incorporated into their home. When I suggested it’s place, they were truly delighted and happy that these antiques could be a part of their decor. So, this unattended corner became a reader’s haven. I placed good amount of lighting behind it with a few abstract shelves which made the room look cool and contemporary with a splash of the old.



Lastly, I did want to provide a little dressing area. Even though reading was a highlight of the room, I didn’t want to forget that it was after all a bedroom. In a small space beside the bathroom, just on your way out, a simple peek-a-boo mirror cabinet was fixed.

Hence ending the story of the Teachers’ Philosophy, keeping it straight and simple!
Now let us talk about the eccentric dancers’ delight. My friend, who is an outstanding dancer, wanted her room to be eclectic and on one hand and on the other wanted to bring some form of dance into the decor. So let me start by explaining how we went about doing it.

The corner of this spacious bedroom was a bit neglected. I knew not much could be done with it since accessibility to the corner wasn’t convenient. But without doubt, I could make it a focal point of the room and yet give some functionality to it. Hence, we hung some kandeels or lamps from the ceiling and arranged a beautiful old cabinet to display her Natraj (God of dance) statue on it. The lower cabinets could be used to store her books and other brass items. The cabinet was refurbished and glass was put on 2 sides to showcase her collection of antiques.



The next very important part of her room was her beautiful dresser named Surya. We scrubbed and rubbed to make it look old, frayed and antique. The contrast of yellows and blues with ornate brass handles made the corner look brilliantly distinctive. Since that little dance element had to be added, hand-made handles with ghoongroos or bells were installed on the drawers. We also added a touch of golden wrot iron embossing on the deep, rich blue full length mirror with some ghoongroos to match the dresser below. Since all my products have a name, I call this mirror Lavanya because it came out very graceful! With ample storage of 3 drawers, the corner looks exquisite!





To match and balance colours, a similar side unit I call Turmerica was made. It stands next to the bed and has sturdy carved teak wood legs.



Along with these two features, arranging and refurbishing her existing bed and wardrobes, lighting and entertainment centre had to have their place. Below are the placement of the wall mounted entertainment centre opposite the bed and the overall view of the room.





Lastly, I want to thank my dear friend Vikrant for helping me take such wonderful photos of my work. He has been helping me do so always!! :)