Festivity ~~ Navarathri

Wishing everyone wonderful Navarathri festivities and oodles of happiness

Friday Finds: Brazilian Designer: Semana Carlos and his Reclaimed Wood Furniture

This week's Friday Find is a Furniture Designer who believes in being Environmentally responsible...(me likes!!!).  After I had posted about Thomas Wold and his super creative work>> HERE, Divya of Sound Horn Please shared her find with me. (Thanks Divya)...:-). I immediately created a draft post and somehow forgot to publish it the next time. Sorry about that...

So here I go...

“Good design has a social and environmental responsibility,” says Motta, who makes many of his chairs, benches, tables and desks from wood salvaged from demolition sites. “A piece of furniture has to last for a long, long time, because we don’t change how we sit, sleep, eat, write, and so on, so the overall attitude should stay the same.” Motta, who says he likes to design for people who have the same basic needs as he does, calls the use of reclaimed wood in furniture “a simple matter of sustainability.” To follow is a selection of furniture that will be shown at the exhibition. 

Read more: source

A few of his creations

Motta’s Butantã bench, which he says is “made of reclaimed wood from an old bridge demolition."

Motta calls this Aroeira-wood table Jaraguá—“another beautiful Brazilian Indian name,” he says. “This wood was once part of a post used by the English company Light, when they came to Brazil in 1910 to install power lines from São Paulo to inland towns.” 

The Mantiqueiras sofa, designed in 2001 of peroba rosa. “This is a very low sofa, so you sit very close to the floor,” says Motta. “I made the first one for my house in the mountains, to go right in front the fireplace.

Designed in 2009, the Butantã bench is held together by small, patinaed iron I beams.

Horizonte desk in waxed peroba rosa and cabriúva wood, iron and leather, from 2009

Named after a surf spot on the São Paulo coast, Taguaíba was designed in 2008 of peroba wood. Motta says that he strives to “stay far away from the ephemeral and what is en vogue,” in his designs, which he hopes “fulfill their utilitarian function and are comfortable and durable, with a good aesthetic

I really loved his wholisitc approach to using reclaimed wood and mixing it with other reclaimed material...Isn't he an artist :-)

Read more about his work >>Here and >>Here

Images and quotes : dwell 

Vintage Love ~ Teak Lounge Chairs

I have had this chair in my inspirations folder forever now..:)...Have been trying to find more about them ever since I saw them. Any input would be highly appreciated!!

beautiful detail

source: ebay

And the winner is .......

I thank each one of you for your participation and support in the giveaway sponsored by IndyaKaleidoscope. The deadline to enter ended 16th Sept 2011 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

All of 45 comments later, Random.org chose the comment number 28

and the winner is Disha ....Congratulations Disha....please contact me so that I can arrange for Mr.Gajraj to reach you. :)

House Beautiful ~ At Home with the Pappus

Today's house beautiful is in my hometown, Hyderabad, India. I had showcased a tour of Rama's inspiring home, from Bengaluru, India. Now, for a sneak peak into a very neat Courtyard house. 

Mrs. Chanda and Dr Pappu were kind enough to let me click pictures. It was a cloudy /rainy day, and my photography skills are still a WIP..so here we go!! This 2000 sq ft home has a very well groomed entrance

we walk into the porch, and onto the right is this terracota Ganesha surrounded by greens

A close up of the Ganesha (elephant god)..with a terracota bell

The porch overlooks a very neat swing and the holy basil prayer area 

I was in such awe of the entryway that i forgot to click pictures of the main door. This is the foyer and that granite mosaic ganesha was made by the contractor. :)

The foyer leads you to a meshed entryway (the contractor on the right..he was the contractor for my parents-in-law's home as well)

A huge open courtyard greets you as soon as you enter the house

The Pappus have a lovely Krishna statue under the tree and the whole house has painted rangoli

The living area with bedrooms and kitchen on all four sides of the courtyard

What i liked about the master bedroom - concrete seating, reminded me of really old Indian homes..:)

the prayer room 

I wish I could share more of this lovely home, but it was time to leave

Hope you enjoyed the house as much as I did...until next time...take care and have a great weekend!

(Click on any pic for a slideshow)

Do check out home tours on the design enthusiast >>HERE

Its Raining Giveaways

I announced my giveaway a few days ago. Thank you to each one of you for being a part of it. I have a small request, Please do let others know of the giveaway, and if you are a blogger please make a small mention in your blog if possible. And a post on the facebook and a small tweet would be great too..the giveaway ends on 16th Sept 2011. So do hurry up..Link to the post:: HERE

And here is the elephant you can win via my giveaway

I also wanted to blog about the giveaway at Anuradha's Dream Canvas 

Anuradha is celebrating her 500th post 

And over at Priya's blog - Once upon a tea time...Design Stories,  is another giveaway...

Hurry up everyone...the best part about Anuradha's and Priya's Giveaway - Its open to readers worldwide....all the best everyone :)

Images: Preethi, Anuradha, Priya

Friday finds ~ Antique Foot Scrubbers

Been a while since I went to my thrift and antique stores, hence the lack of friday finds on the blog...this time around it was an interesting dicovery online..and it is all about keeping your feet clean!!

Yes, it is about Foot scrubbers. I had a brush with this very beautiful piece recently. A fellow blogger recently held a contest where readers were asked to guess what the antique piece was :).

and the base

michaelbackmanltd.com

Amazing isnt it...

A little more digging later (phew!! thanks to google).. I found that  this object, called  "vajri", was from India  and probably from the early 18th and 19th C. to be These lovely pieces were used as foot scrubbers by women bathing in a local pond or the river. These vajris have bearings (tiny metal balls) inside and were designed to jingle or rattle while in use. This was to let people know to respect the bathing women's privacy and stay away from that area (source: a friend's grandmother :))!!! I wish she had one and i could have it from her :P 

rillajaggia.blogspot.com

( I am sure there must be similar ones in existence long before the 17th century. India had a flourishing civilization with indoor plumbing etc almost 5000 years ago!- remember Indus civilization - Mohenjadaro and Haraapa!)

Antique brass ones seem to have been quite popular and were made in many shapes and decorated with an animal motif, for e.g. peacock, elephant, lion, etc.  The sculpted base are what makes them functional and gentle to use. 

A few other shapes :-)

lots more!!

michaelbackmanltd.com

Having such pretty foot scrubbers indicate the exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail in Indian Handicraft...I am swept off my feet :P


Not sure if it related...but Vajri in Sanskrith means Thunder or even Lord Indra ..Let me know if you have any idea how the name for the foot scrubber must have been derived :) 




Before I say adios! a reminder about the giveaway : Here



PS: silly me..i asked for the paati's inputs after i posted my answer on the co-blog.:). 

First Giveaway on My Blog :): via Indyakaleidoscope

Hey Guys, Announcing The First ever Personal Giveaway on The Design Enthusiast....

Home tours, sneak peeks and Design and Decor ideas on various blogs, flickr etc are a major source of inspiration for me. I have always wanted to ask people about their decor sources, what, where and how they shop for such amazing things in their homes?  Wouldnt it be great if these talented bloggers and photographers manage to source amazing decor items and open up their own online stores for you! Amazing isn't it :-).

IndyaKaleidoscope: Blog, Store

Let me introduce you Preethi Prabhu's store on Indyakaleidoscope. If you are a regular on the decor blog circuit, you would be familiar with her super cool blog, and must have visited her wonderful store already. If not, I highly recommend that you do and see her exclusive picks - handcrafted and handmade by Artist across India, for your home. 

And now, the Giveaway: The First ever on The Design Enthusiast

Preethi celebrated the second anniversary of her blog - Indyakaleidoscope and has decided to organize a Giveaway via The Design Enthusiast. (sweet)

Here is what you could win

Isn't he the cutest!!! Who wouldnt want to have him at home :-)

All you need to do

• Leave me comment here on the Design Enthusiast to participate in the Giveaway
• Visit her store and the blog via here ; Indyakaleidoscope and tell me here on the Design Enthusiast: what draws you to her blog and her store. 
• Everyone is allowed a maximum of two comments on this post (here). (you can leave as many comments as you like on her blog though)
• And one very important thing, this Giveaway is open to readers in India and to all those who can provide an Indian Shipping address (sorry about that guys)
• The Contest is open until 16th Sept 2011. A winner will be announced on 17th Sept 2011..Do participate and inform your friends about the giveaway!!

Before I wrap up, I need to mention that this is the first ever giveaway on the Design Enthusiast!!

 All thanks to Preethi :-)


Images: Preethi Prabhu 

DIY time

I am so proud of my dear H. This trip to India meant a lot of family time and some DIY (only by my Ma-in-law and hubby dearest). I wrote about the Ikea Poang cushion makeover by my ma-in-law, last year. 2011 look for the living room is ...

and

I am so proud of him :)