Mad About Indian design

I started with Mexico, now it's India. A place where I'm hoping to visit one day with my Mr Special... I've been collecting photos from everywhere but the text in particular has been taken from An Indian Summer Design blog.

via wwArtnlight.blogspot.com

How to recreate Indian Style in your home - to begin with, you can play with the furniture, furnishings, walls and decor knick-knacks to get an Indian styled room.

~ Furniture:

If you can source or buy Indian furniture [traditional or contemporary], nothing like it. You don't need to do up the entire room with Indian furniture; just a couple of well placed accent pieces would also do.

~ Furnishings:

The right textiles and fabrics will immediately transform your room into a mini India! Indian/Indian style furnishings work work very well with regular furniture too, so you don't need to worry about first picking up Indian furniture before you do up your room. You can define the mood and genre of your room, and go for kitschy and colorful furnishings or pick up a more subtle color palette of Indian fabrics and prints. Sarees, used as decor accessory [window drape, bed drape, canopy, framed on the wall], instantly brighten up a room

~ Walls:


Color them bright - mustard, ochre, saffron, peacock blue; or use Indian print fabric drapes; or use Indian wall art, specially paintings from Indian folk art like madhubani, warli, tanjore, mughal etc; or take a wooden block and block print your favorite Indian motif on the walls; or hang your favorite Indian rug or kilim up on the wall!


~ Decor knick-knacks


Sky is the limit here! Though moderation is equally important so that your room does not end up looking like a museum or an Indian fair ;)


Given below is an example of use of Indian furnishings, ornate mirror and a bunch of peacock feathers to add an Indian feel to the room

Still wondering how you could get your own India inspired room? Well, if you look at the following images, I have tried to create some options using rooms from Pottery Barn and Ikea. You just need to replace or add some touches that will help give your interiors a feel of India!

Changes to the room: Mughal painting on the wall, cushions/pillows covered with Indian fabric, small painted chest instead of the small table, a rich rug below the table, table accessorized with Indian/Asian artefacts, raw silk throw and andhra leather lamp shade

Changes to the room: Block print fabrics! Curtain, bedspread and duvet all block prints with Indian motifs. Ornate lamp can be nice touch to an otherwise simple room. Wall can block printed with a motif from the fabric

Changes to the room: The same bedroom now in more vibrant colors. The white cupboard can be replaced by a handpainted armoire. The bedspread and cushions are made from sarees. Curtain is block printed cotton- voile, that allows sunlight to filter in. Wooden 'jharokha' above the bed completes the look

Now for list of some online stores from where you can source the magic to turn your room or home into India:
Pier, Pier1 Imports, Zara Home, ABCHome, SaffronMarigold, John Robshaw, Les Iniennes, Bhatik, Lombok, Myakka, Anthropologie, Kerry Cassill, Malabar Trading, Christ International, East of here, Ten thousand villages, Anupama, Sundance, Yellow Sunrise, Haveli Home, National Geographic Home

Here some more inspirational photos:

Via www.lotushaus.typepad.com

Via www.Rangedecor.blogspot.com

Mexican Interior

As you have noticed, summer makes me want to travel so I’ve decided that I’ll post ideas from all over the world weekly…if I can. If you have some photos from your holidays of interiors or accessories, please send them to me, I’ll be happy to post them on this blog.

I’ve always been fascinated by Mexican decors so I’m sharing with you some ideas on how to replicate that style.

The following text has been adapted from what I’ve read on Lux Interior.

During the invasion of the Conquistadors in the XVI century, Spanish culture has interacted with local traditions in Mexico and this has created a very unexpected, expressive and extravagant baroque style.


Mexico is also known for the cult of the dead. Figures dressed in multicoloured clothes are often used in decoration of interiors and they are placed in a very important area of the room.


The colours of Mexico are more provocative than those used in the Mediterranean and you can often encounter, like in the paintings of Frida Kahlo, tropical green, bloody red, lemon yellow and bright blue.

The typical Mexican blue, Azul Anil, is widely used in the House of the great painter Frida Kahlo that is now a museum and it has largely characterized her style.


Mexican style fits particularly well in today’s form of interior decoration. Even the most modern apartment fits perfectly the roughness of old wooden doors, wooden or brick arches across the ceiling and rugs.


The nature of this style is not difficult to achieve, but must follow some basic rules. It is important to know that Mexican style cannot be achieved in a room with carpet or rugs. Nor a place where the walls are covered with wallpaper. To be able to achieve the atmosphere of Mexico the walls should be whitewashed or neizmazan brick wall. If you have that basis, you only need the typical dazzling colours, collections of handicrafts like vases, rugs and masks on the walls.

(Photos via Lux Interior and Hacienda Style. I think I got some from google to so if you know where they are from let me know and I'll post the link)

Wedding time freebie

Hello, after reading a nice post from Angie, the writer of Big Hill Goddess ,that is planning a wedding, I've remembered something I saw on a great blog Benign Objetc. They are faboulous cd covers that she could use for party favours.

Click here to download

Dear Angie, I hope you like them!

Tutorial with style: Pocket mirror

It has been a while since I last posted a tutorial.

I found this inspiring one reading a great blog: I hearth Linen, go and check it out.

I can assure you it's worth it! I think that not only the photos are great but it’s also well explained.

Please click here to download the pdf file with instructions and post me some photos if you make it.
I’ll definitely try it very shortly. My handbag is desperately missing a decent pocket mirror.

Another idea?
 

Happy Crafting!