My Design Choices

My design style leans towards being Vintage Scandinavian/Danish with heavy Indian influences. My kind of decor may not pop out of an interior magazine or a design catalog. I love furniture from the mid century (1950's) with  few colourful accent pieces to break the monotony of clean lines. English country and cottage styles are not my cup of tea. Laces and floral don't work for me. When it comes to design and accessories for my tiny apartment, geometric patterns in a blend of primary pastels and earthy tones and indoor plants make me happy.

Like anyone else, I love a cosy home with small artifacts adorning every nook and corner of the house.

My sister -in-law (my hubby's sister) has been a major go-to-gal in my design choices. I admire her sense to pick real cool things to go with one's personality. Her keen eye for Indian Handicraft impressed me when I visited her house for the first time. It is but obvious that I ask for her opinion before make I some serious purchases, and then work my way into choosing things for my house. Another very creative person in the family is my brother's wife, i.e. my other Sister-in-law. She is a classical dancer, sculptor and an artist who works with various media, such as canvas, glass etc. One of her best pieces is a Lakshmi devi's Thanjavur painting she made a few months back. I intend to write about her work in the coming posts. As of now, before this post turns out to be "An Ode to my Sisters-in-law", let me get back to what I was intending to jot down...lol

My affinity to danish furniture, minimalism, and mid century modernism is quite obvious when you walk into  our apartment.  I bought a bentwood (clean lines) lounge chair and ottoman from IKEA.  There is another adorable thonet's bentwood rocker as well. I have plans to dedicate an entire post to each of these exquisite furniture pieces in my future posts.

Latest addition to my MCM mania were two really great wood and brass lamps. Here's one of them...

We bought a cane sunroom set when we first moved into the apartment. It works well with the size and feel of the place. Another great thing about most of my furniture and fixtures is that they were bought on craigslist. I have a side table from Uttar Pradesh in India. It a beautifully carved piece made of Indian Rosewood (seesam) and brass inlays in beautiful hand carved patterns.

Walls and corners are dressed up with Indian Handicrafts bought by my sister-in-law and/or me during our various visits to Melas and exhibitions. I framed a set of "Madhubani" paintings, originally meant to be greeting cards. I really love the Durga ma's face idol, a gift from my little brother for my first (post-wedding) dassera. It came all the way from Kolkata.

I plan to dedicate a post to the set of accessories collected in the last six years of being married. Here is a peak into my living room.

I started collecting small utility based handicraft items even before my wedding and most of those pieces are with my amma. However, my budget limit has increased compared to my earlier buys...guilty! 

My kind of dream house would be a small cosy home with everything in the house having its place. Living in a clutter free home is like living in heaven. We need not fill them with expensive furniture and antiques or the latest electronic gadget, but our home has to reflect who we are and be a place where we can be ourselves and create wonderful memories with the family. Home is where the heart is, right!