Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Repurposed..!

How have you been? while I have been missing in action at virtual world for past few weeks, (or was it months...?) work related stuff kept me on my toes. All the time..!

We had a good Dasara, followed by quiet Diwali .I know I owe you a Dasara Gombe post. A post would follow, very soon. I know I am late, but I guess you would like it late than never :)

Yesterday, just to get a break from my never ending work, I decided to clean a cupboard & store away all my Diwali buys. (I know that's the weirdest way of taking break, well I cannot help it, I am wired that way !)While I could manage to pack most of the stuff, I could not get myself to pack a pair of tea light holders. I found them too beautiful to be stored away, I know you understand that feeling :)

So couple of  tiny plants from balcony were brought in. Now the tea light holders are the new home for them!


 


 


 





See you as soon as I can! Till then love sunshine!



 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Shubha Deepawali

How is the festival season treating you?

At our end, hubby is busy working.  I am neck deep immersed, chasing something and babies are enjoying the mini break.

Deepawali has been a low key affair, us being busy. At least for today. Hopefully we will get  more festive tomorrow.

With the babies around, we were kind of forced to have .ini celebration at the least. So, the lights have been lit, marigold has been hung around the corners, tea lights have been brought, brass has been polished & fairy lights have been put up, with some festive dinner planned.

Here are some corners from our home. Wish you a very happy & safe Deepawali..!




 

Monday, September 8, 2014

For the Love of Festive Seasons...

With Dasara round the corner, we are an excited lot at home. In spite of being high tension mid year assessment season for A1, babies are super excited as we go for Gombe V0.2, this Dasara :) Here is the link for  last year's Gombe.

Lot of planning & discussion happening into what new ideas should we bring in this year. The dolls/ toys babies can spare for 10 days are being listed & put in Dasara gombe (doll) box for this year's display. There is a festive air at home in spite of exams being round the corner. Babies have started the count-down for the last day of school before vacation & Dasara :)

Some minor projects around the houses are picked up & completed, as we wait for Ma to walk into our humble home.

 



 

 
Season's greetings guys! see you next week!

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Life is What You Make It....

As the wise people say, life is what you make it...
  
I picked a beautiful neem comb at Mango Collective by A  Hundred Hands in June this year. I was at work, late in the evening near this location. I visited the place for about 10 minutes or so & I quickly grabbed this one before I moved out in haste. I knew that I would never ever use it to comb hair but still had to have it! I had many ideas as to what I wanted to do with this one as I travelled back home.
 
As all other things in my life, this beauty also had to wait for a long time, before  she could see the day-light. One day A1 generously donated one of his used craft canvas. I re-painted the canvas board in mustard & promptly handed it along with the comb to my favourite framer at Jaynagar 9th block! As soon as he saw the piece & the canvas, he enthusiastically discussed what we could do with them! We soon finalized the design. Three days later, this is what he handed me! The moment I saw it, I knew why I travel 6 kms one way to have every little thing framed!
 
 
 
 
 
He also did a fab job of framing my blue tiny  tile from Jaipur, it was 6" * 6" tile with pretty shade of blue. It was displayed on the kitchen shelf, I always feared that the "A" duo found it too attractive not to throw a ball at! I could not use it as coaster, as the edges were fairly sharp/ rough, which scratched the wooden surfaces. When it came back framed, I could not stop staring it for sometime...!
 
 

 
 
 
Now they stand pretty, together in the red room.
 
Have great week ahead guys!

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Monsoon

It has been raining off and on in my part of the world, mostly it is cloudy.  How is it at your end?

As a child, in large terrace of a old home in a small town of interior Karnataka, I found that the sky was most colourful & interesting during this season. I would watch the clouds, make up my own stories and imagine all the clouds to be some or other characters of my story. I loved to stare at the sky lying down on a mat on this terrace, until I was forced to run into the portico for protection from huge drops of rain.

As a teenager, new to Bangalore, happy making new friends, longing for old ones, learning to live away from home, enjoying the hostel and missing the home, I fell in love with "Bangalore" weather in monsoon - cloudy, chilly & light showers. It was sheer bliss to walk around in MG road, Brigade road & Commercials in this weather, with a cup of hot chocolate in hand or munching on the salted peanuts/ spicy puffed rice.

Yes, things have changed, some for bad & most for good. Though it is still a pleasure to watch the cloud, about to melt down in the sky & the meltdown it self, somewhere I have stopped, slowing down & enjoying it. Today I did slowdown & what I saw out of window was just beautiful...

Some moments before the meltdown today, as I saw out of my window...





 
 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

For the Love of Ceramics & Glassware...

For last few weeks, I am not able to spend time on home. It kind of makes  me feel guilty. A viral, A1's tests are the excuses this time! I plan to do a deep cleaning of home over weekend. That definitely will make me feel good all over again!
 
I am also starting a personal improvement project that I have chickened out from in past, more then once :( More details, if I survive the 10 day duration of the project & have something good to talk about.!
 
I have always loved ceramic, glassware, stoneware in all forms. Well then, who does not? I was running through some of my archived photos. (Obviously meant for some posts, which never happened!). These are some of the absolutely ordinary but extraordinarily loved stuff at home.
 
Cook Book Nook!
 

I go crazy when I see white & blue, don't you?

Some more white & blue!

 

A cut glass decanter brought God knows when & Shot glasses bought from previous life time's visit to US!

Rajastani mini pickle jars

Some  more blue & white love
Have a great weekend guys!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A Prayer

Yes, this is the fourth abode for the lord of rhythm at home  in last year :) We would want him to grace every corner of the home & bring in rhythm in every aspect of our lives. Here is signing off with a little prayer...
 
Dear God,  
May we grow wiser;
May we grow patient;
May we get calmer;
May we grow tolerant,
with every new dawn please.

 

You have good week guys!

 

Thursday, June 26, 2014

For the Love of Pre-loved Things..

I have always had a thing for pre-loved stuff. I feel a feel for them.. you got the drift, right..?

I have always scouted for pre-loved stuff. I never really like the gleaming brand new stuff  at showroom, show me a pawn shop full of pre-loved stuff. I can spend hours there...!

This is first of the series in Pre-loved stories. The red enamel containers were picked from a lady who sells stuff from old Chettinad houses & the glass bottle was picked from last year's visit to Chor Bazaar.


Are you as crazy about pre-loved stuff, do let me know!
 

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Home Tour - Uma Chellappa

Things have been super busy for couple of months now. New client at work, grand parents' visit, little A turning 3 & starting the big school, a career awareness program for high school kids at MSS Bangalore for my work partner's NGO, hubster's job movement , his travel to meet his grand mom, big A's school re-opening  & his new teachers were some of the good things that kept us busy & happy.
 
MIL had to go through an emergency surgery during this visit. A good outcome of this unfortunate incident is that babies, in-between-job hubster and grand parents are having a great time together as grandparents were forced to stay back in Bangalore for recovery for a month more than what they had initially planned..!
 
That's my excuse to stay away from blogging for last few weeks...!
 
I had been reading fantabulously talented Uma of My musings for long. When I saw her new home pictures in her blog, I was super fast to request for a home tour for us. Uma has been extremely nice & sent all those gorgeous corners of her new -house-turned-warm- home along with the stories of how it became one. here we start..!
 
Tell us about the wonderful people at your home

 

Home comprises of my husband, I and our 4.5 year son. The husband is the cool cucumber while I’m the firebrand in terms of temperament. Jokes apart, he’s completely my support factor; encourages me to pursue my interests and also eggs me on to do better in my chosen field when I tend to slack.
Our son, an inquisitive, bright and energetic pre-schooler, is the light of our lives. Both, my husband and I, are equally involved when it comes to parenting and parenting decisions.

 
Tell us about your home and the love involved in making the house a home.
When we bought our home in 2011 ideas to do up my home began to take shape in my head and as the house started to near completion, I began to chisel those ideas at a more concrete level. The internet and Facebook groups like Bangalore craft lovers were my messiah. I’d spend hours at the lovely home décor blogs, yours included, to zero down on my idea of a home. The home tours and tips helped immensely to understand my own taste and refine my needs.
 
I did not have the bandwidth to go all the way in designing my home, hence took the help of an able designer, Neelu. Read more about Uma's experience in working with Neelu here.

My house had to be Indian ethnic-warm and cozy with a lot of warm colours –that’s what I told my designer when I first met her. I was completely involved in the process and loved every part of it. I’m glad that my designer was super cooperative and tried to accommodate all my needs and suggestions. There were many mini-projects that were handled by a creative set of people (at the Spinning Wheel) that truly gave a personal touch to my home.
Look at some gorgeous mini projects of hers, they are truly inspiring..!



The tiles on the doors & the ceramic knobs are such a beautiful idea..!


Some more tile in-lay projects..!
 
 
 


Her puja nook..!


 
What did you like about in doing up a home?
Everything! From scouring the net to find the best possible rates for a particular material to finding the right kind of store that matched my budget, to discussing every detail with my designer, all of it gave me great satisfaction and happiness. There was one DIY project (a stencil wall art) that my designer and I got it done on a wall. It was my very first DIY project and was pretty kicked to have my hands on it.
Uma's DIY paisleys! Beautiful..!
Isn't that a beautiful wall decor?
 
I tried to get every furniture and accessory customized to suit my taste and of course budget. For example, the sofas came all the way from Jodhpur. I had a painting which I didn’t like and viola; it got transformed into a table top! Similarly the curtains are all custom-made by a creative person I found on FB. The creative head of The Spinning Wheel who has now become a good friend helped me put together a lot of conversational pieces around the house from existing old stuff. (The coffee table with a painting as a table top, a weaved pot, customized large mirror, the swing and many more). The swing was actually my son’s cradle that I got converted to an adult jhoola.

 
I love those sofas, don't you?
 
 
That is an awesome idea!

Which is your favourite place at your home & why..?
It’s difficult to pick one corner since I’ve mulled over in great detail over most nooks and corners. However, if I had to pick one, it would be the swing in my balcony. The openness of the space, the lovely view and chance to be with nature makes me feel blessed. Even 5 minutes of a quiet morning spent here energizes me to take on the day.
 
 
 A lovely reading nook by the breezy balcony, wow how gorgeous is that ...?





Love the muted colours of this room..!

I saved my favourite pic for last, isn't that most uncluttered, awesome kid's room you have ever seen? Love the breezy feel of the room. Gorgeous curtains, aren't they?
 


 I had loads of fun seeing through Uma's world & talking to her. Hope you did too!
If you have a gorgeous home to be shared with our readers, please write to padmamanasa@gmail.com;  I will be super excited to feature your homes.
 
 
 

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Thank you CommonFloor & My Sunny Balcony!

Yes, as usual I am not regular on blog space, and as usual here are my excuses... It has been a happening month! Many work related stuff kept me on my toes.. home front is happening  & happy! Visitors, summer vacation, grand parents are making babies happy. The littlest turning three & she starting the school kept us super busy!

Common Floor in association with My Sunny Balcony hosted an event - My Balcony Tales to share balcony moments. I was pleasantly surprised when our tiny little nook won the first prize!

Please go check all the gorgeous, gorgeous balcony moments at My Balcony Tales  @ FB



The other winning entries were




And guess what our prize was, a working antique His Master's Voice gramophone! We were thrilled beyond words! Now it majestically occupies an all important corner!

What a pleasure it is to hear to old Bengali songs in an antique gramophone. It is a sheer bliss transporting us to re-independence era, I tell you!


Thank you CommonFloorMy Sunny Balcony!

Images 2,3,4 belongs to respective contestants

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