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! :)

Doctors Office gets a Makeover - Ballooooonni Balloon Library & Children's Work Space!

My doctor client now has a consulting room, a waiting area, a small reception and a pretty little library with loads of goodies and space for toddlers to teenagers. When I met her, she was in great dilemma, she has a lot of books, little therapy sessions for kids and young patients, so how could she accommodate all this in her spare area? The room needed to look cute, bright, cheerful on one hand and on the other, demanded space for her books and work area for children. So here it goes.....



A central view of the room, a wash basin, a nice display of children's work on a push pin board and a study on the side.



I thought of displaying children's inspirational handy-work on the central wall of the room. It made the room very warm and welcoming.



Making the room comfortable to sit and work was also important. In case of sessions, a spare examination bed was essential. Hence we gave it enough storage for books underneath and threw pillows to make it warm and inviting.

So far, the view of the library has been hidden. Ardent readers often have problems, they can't resist buying books and then, there is no place to stack them. Small open & closed shelving was made to display some interesting books and the stack the other reference books below them.



However, a desk, toy trunk and toys were important ingredients of this space. Yet everything needed to be compact and comfortable.



A Ballooooonni Trunk was made with a fluffy foam seating, with ample space which serves well as a bench for the table and fits perfectly under it, saving space and making it compact. A lot of people asked me if the cushion came off the trunk while opening it. The answer to this is no, it is completely removable with a removable cover as well and yet attached well to the trunk top.



The biggest highlight of the room were the Balloooonnni balloons on the wall. The light blue wall with a variety of air balloons painted on it made the room look colourful and alluring for not only kids but even adults.

I even thought of making a frilly light curtain to cover a small window. It did wonders to the wall and to the face of the entire room.