Shabby . Chic. Weird. Creative.

Can you think of the strangest things that can make your place look lovely? Things that perhaps are essential and you obviously can't throw them and things that really do not have much to offer! Well lets see how your home can be arranged aesthetically with "what should I do with this?"

Be Creative... Think Strange!

You have a vase at home? Perhaps a big bulky one which is not of use. And certainly you may have some towels lying around. Put it all together, it could be a nice decor for your bathroom while entertaining guests!

A Pot in the Sun!

Whether you want your garden to be formal or wild and rambling, decide on the style, then follow it through with appropriate plants and materials.I planted some fern in a funnel... got it all painted and hung it in my window! 

Trunk it up!

This aluminium chest was lying around the house. It was a perfect thing to store toys. It certainly gives a vintage look to the children's room!

The Old Fan Club!

Do you have an old fan? Just use it!

Mug it Up!

We often have so many mugs and small containers in our kitchen which don't make sense but we wouldn't want to throw them either. So here is a deal... cactus and small ferns do wonders to such container. My nephew has his lovely set of cactus he nurtures. Thanks to his mom who offers him the most unwanted stuff from her kitchen!

The 'not so cool' Wine Rack!

When you just shifted in a rented home and you had nowhere to stack your wine bottles, you perhaps bought this wine rack which was just a cheap buy. Now you own a home and have a wonderful bar and you still have this rack which causes dilemma.... so what do you do? Don't worry... look how it fits perfectly in your bathroom and look how it all makes sense!

Decorating with Pots - Jazzing up empty Spaces!

Just delight your senses with a little container garden designed to bloom or feel green and fresh at home. Not a lot of us live in houses with gardens but some greenery around can make it fun and pleasant! Put a quirky spin on container just lying around at home or get more creative....want to know how? Here are some ideas I use to bring in the outdoors into my home. 

Go Rustic & Informal

One of the main attractions of container gardening is its versatility. You can plant almost anything in a pot and use almost any vessel as a container, to produce an infinite range of possibilities.  Keep the look informal by arranging them none too neatly.

A Gravy Bowl

A cracked gravy bowl becomes a cactus pot. It looks surprising pretty!

Cottage Style

Just outside my door I created a cottage-garden feel with terra-cotta ornaments. I used a small distressed-looking tub and re-used it as a planter. I planted some old-fashioned plants....the more unusual the better. 

Go Creative!

Al plastic plant pot can easily be replaced for a funnel. Not too many flowers grow in my apartment, I usually stick with the non-flowering category. But somehow I needed colour in my window and I love hanging plants, so, voila...I coloured a funnel bold red and hung it out there! 

Little Landscapes

Create a scene....yes...do it! This centerpiece mixes cactus and succulents with pebbles and toys to add a little fun to the garden. 

Conch Shell - What a find!

My mother picked up this conch shell she found on one of her trips to the beach. She loves gardening and gets extremely creative there! Looks what she did!

Bhoole Bisre

I love colour. I know I say it all the time! But here is how I bought it from Bhoole Bisre who make these lovely buckets into planter. 

Just @ Home!

Bringing the gardens indoor also helps in changing your decor at home. I always change my decor according to the seasons and here is how I add my focal point at home!

The Famous Matka!

I always emphasize on having the cool water from the matka over the refrigerator. Nevertheless I had a broken one at home! Look what I did!

Keep the earthy themes and greens around. It brings freshness at home and around. Soak up in the inspiration from gardens and bring it home and enjoy an ever changing collage at home! 

The Lively-wood Studio

It has been a four years since I started Lively-wood. Nurturing and flowing with it made these years go by and I thought it was time to gift this endeavor a little something. It was time to progress a little! So a shabby little workshop turned into the Lively-wood Studio. A place to display my work, colour, ideas and every little thing that helps me create something new!!



To start with the mirrors, I needed a place to display each and every one of them so that I keep the artwork intact and at one glance, my customers or visitors have a chance to see them all. It also meant, having all the floor space for other things.



A desk with knick-knacks that motivate me, was an important element. I had preserved these mementos from my college days which had abundant memories yet were packed in boxes. I had to get all of it out along with some recycled clocks and put it up right there. I had a artwork, lying around from a project, that I didn't want to throw and was wondering how best to put it to use. So this leftover work turns into a bright bold red grid with the mementos and all my paper gets a display on the soft board hung over my desk!








Like I mentioned in one of my earlier post, I am going crazy recycling! Yes, I went crazy re-using as much as possible even this time! I started with using two steel cut outs which were lying around from Bipin's Dad's factory in the scrap heap. I coloured them and displayed them at the entrance of my studio. For now, I think they look great there! The next I re-used was a window grid made with very good quality sagwan or teak wood. I decided to paint it deep blue and used it as my little chandelier! The list like that, goes on and on...





Lastly, I wanted to display whatever was left behind. A ceramic bell, paper lights, a bird cage and so many little knick-knacks!







Its so nice when some loved ones visit you. I loved taking them to my studio and also felt good to be appreciated.

GoodHomes & Fab India Re-Use aftermath....

I am sorry for not really writing about the aftermath of "The Re-use Workshop by Good Homes". Well I thought I should not leave anything incomplete. So here are some pictures and a little note of the happenings that followed...



Event was conducted by GoodHomes editor Ronitaa Italia-Dhanu were in she took the participants through different vignettes where we highlighted the whole ‘recycle and reuse' aspects of decor. The whole point in doing this brand building exercise was to establish GoodHomes as “decor expert” and encourage interaction with readers.



Conducted on Sept 23rd at the Kalaghoda store of Fabindia, 48 walk-ins enjoyed the "REVAMP" theme of the workshop, which meant utilize existing material which are available at homes and recreate things at home without changing the original format.



The workshop also ended with bright ideas and participation from participants. BBC GoodHomes also had a little contest with where 5 best reuse ideas won little gift baskets. Overall I think it is a very cool initiative taken by Good Homes to make all of us realize how waste or unwanted things can make a a whole lot of difference!

I am going crazy with Re-using!

Yes yes yes...I am going crazy with re-using and re-furbishing!! My carpenters think I have lost my mind because I want to re-use everything! Let me start by showing you all things I re-used and refurbished and yet made them all look pretty and completely usable!

I call it "Colour Recycled"



Well this is one piece of mirror that looked different and was sold off in a jiffy! Every time my carpenter scrapped off wood shavings, I wanted to use them. But of course, I couldn't use it anywhere and everywhere keeping its fragility in mind, hence I decided to use them on this mirror.



Time for my Sunflower Cats & Barrel Chairs



I had some paint barrels lying around in my workshop. I wanted to do something with them desperately since they were sturdy and would take good amount of weight. Voila, they became colourful, vibrant and strong stools!

Old is Gold



Yes...indeed...old is gold....While I was re-modelling my friend Maithily's home, I discovered the treasures she had. They were just lying around and accumulating dust. She was aware but had no idea what to do with it! An old-fashioned chair rested in a corner of her room which was more or less used as an extra seating. Another little piece of treasure, a stationary teak wood trunk was kept under a TV set. I grabbed them both, refurbished every bit, upholstered the chair, and made them a focal point of the remodeled room!



Beady Wines



I have this little wine rack in a corner of my kitchen where I store the never ending supply of my wine bottles. I just love the way they look when they are racked. Since this one was in the corner for a long time and I had started getting bored of it and was wondering how I could make it look a little different and fresh, I decided to bead it! I had a broken junky necklace which came to my help...I beaded the little rack and now it looks gorgeous! I couldn't even let my junk jewelry go!

Tick Tock goes my Clock!



Some extra pieces of well cut round ply sat occupying some space in my workshop....so, I decided to make some clocks....hand-painted and with lots of craft and beads on them. I have chosen the best ones from my collection :).



How can I forget fabric?



My grandmother had a lot of embroidery rings and pieces of patterned fabrics that she salvaged from the pretty little things she made for us. One day, she got her old trunk out and was asking our maid to take or dispose them off. Again..how could I let it go...it came on in the form of wall art and a curtain in 2 of my remodeling projects - Eatmosphere & Balloooooni Balloon Doctors Clinic!



This month the mania of re-using got instigated because of Good Homes who are conducting their workshop called 'Re-Use' this month in Mumbai on Sept 23rd at Fabindia. Lately the fad of re-using is in the air. I not only try to re-use, re-cycle and re-furbish but also, encourage my clients and friends to do their bit.

The Re-use Workshop by Good Homes

Re-use, Be Green, Recycle....all these terms have been heard of, almost everyday. We have old sarees or some tins and jars or a whole lot of things in our house which goes straight to garbage cans. Have we once thought of what can be done with it? How can it be re-used? Yes, all of it can be!! And if you want to know how, join us at Fab India on Sept 23rd in Mumbai.

Good Homes - my favorite decor magazine in association with Fab India is conducting a workshop on 23rd Sept in Mumbai to unveil various creative techniques to "Re-use".



I strongly believe that "Re-use Materials" should be a part of everyone's lifestyle. How cool would it be to see your old shirt / Saree as a beautiful pillow cover? I think it is a very cool initiative taken by Good Homes to make all of realize how waste or unwanted things can make a difference and be a part of your decor!

I am really looking forward to this workshop, come along and make a small change.....