House Beautiful: At Home with Meena Sriram

For flickr users and fans, Meena Sriram needs no introduction. I have been following her work for a long time now and love the way she uses calligraphy around her beautiful home. Hopping over to her place for a cup of tea and a lively chat with the lovely lady.  :)

A little about the abode
Hi, My name is Meena Sriram, and I live in a three bedroom home in Ottawa, I have moved two homes now, and this is my third.

Decor and Style inspirations
I would say my decor has become more simplified than it seems in the pictures or maybe it comes across that way too. Its hard to use one word to describe my decor style, since I go mostly by instinct and don't follow any particular style,.I ruthlessly edit, and prefer an airy laid back feel to the room with pops of color through textiles. I was hugely inspired by Archana Srinivas who run the decor blog Rang decor, I think she was one of the reason's I was inspired to try my hand at photography as well. My mother is an amazingly talented person when it comes to design and decor, and I learn a lot from her.

Favourite room or corner in the house
I have no favourite corner, or room, every place is as cosy or comfortable as the other, I love playing lego or board games on the floor with my daughter or cuddling up and reading to her in one of the reading nooks or making tea in the kitchen or cooking while listening to music or talks. I especially love to bask in any sunlit corner of my home.

Your favourite piece of item / furniture or accessory
My favourite accessories would be chalk boards, and cork boards. I find these very versatile, you can change what you have on them seasonally or even otherwise, I do like to have inspiring quotes all over my home, and I like reflecting on them every time I glance at them .. sometimes I even just tape my own art or daughter's art to the wall directly..it works in an odd way. I like pretty tea and coffee mugs but am careful not to let my collection grow.

Proudest DIY 

I think I am alright at creative lettering and I love to dabble in art so I sort of put all this up all over the home, which adds a cheerfulness that I like and makes it feel more homey.

Favourite shopping  (for design and decor) destinations
I love Ikea, for its affordability and its creative and funky storage solution, textiles, furniture, and ideas.

Priced possessions
I work hard at not having any priced possession, but having said that I do love having plants around the house , they help tie the room together more cohesively and harmoniously.

Anything you would add or change in design(layout) or decor
No, nothing that i would like to add or change, i sort of work with what i have but, I would like to do better with backyard gardening or any gardening for that matter.

Your secret mantra and tips for a cozy home
My secret mantra and tips for a cozy home,.. Have a few accent colours that you could repeat a few times over, this ties the room together easily, plants, and try your hand at art,its easier than it looks, and anything handmade has its own special charm.

Read a lot, so you 're justified in having plenty of books around the house, they can be your best friend and make your home look homey as well. 

Try to bring in colour and creativity with storage so this contributes to your decor and you don't have to pick up pieces that are only purely decorative. And its easier to work with less than more, .. just a few well thought out pieces and accessories, and there's a lot of inspiration when it comes to colour and ideas on various decor blogs, just be careful to balance it out with who you are. Your decor does not have to be perfect, it just needs to feel happy and be home.. a place to express yourself creatively, but more importantly to nurture all the loving bonds in your life..

Thank you Meena, for taking time  out to share your beautiful home on the Design enthusiast. 

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Have been a great fan of her clicks and loved her and her mothers home. So delighted to have featured her lovely home. :)

House Beautiful ~ At home with Kamini

A great start to 2012 ...A visit to a beautiful home in my hometown, Hyderabad. :-) I have been following Kamini around ever since she started her blogs. Her decor and travel blogs are a  must read. 


Kamini's decor blog:
Kamini is an Interior Designer by profession. After a degree in Economics from St.Francis college in Begumpet, Hyderabad, she moved to the US in 1984 and a few years later in 1994 went back to school for 3 years and pursued her real passion - Interior Design.
Kamini says "I practiced in the commercial/retail field for 10 years before moving back to India in 2006. My jobs over the 10 years included marine/boat design, retail store design for J.Crew, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sun Microsystems, Nordstorm and my last job was store designer for Starbucks Coffee Inc for 4 years." Impressive right! Now you know what to expect from her home :). 
She was gracious to give me access to her albums. Every nook and corner is so drool worthy that I decided to plan our visit in series of posts. 
Lets start with her entry way. Did I mention she is a wonderful artist and a DIYer..I could do a separate post on...:)

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

Tuesday Treat ~ Dana's Guest Post

Having toured her beautiful home via a previous guest post, I craved for more...So, I brought Dana back to write about her design choices and accessories which make her home, so inviting and homey!!..Now ...over to Dana, of mid2mod.com, and mid2mod, the blog...

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When Sudha asked me to write a guest post, I couldn't decide at first what to write about. My blog is focuses on mid-century modern decor and history, and I know her beautiful blog is somewhat more eclectic. Then I had an idea! I'd take this opportunity to showcase the decorator accessories and art in my house that I love most, even though some of it isn't mid-century modern at all.

Some of it I love for sentimental reasons, like this large vase that my great-grandmother received as a wedding gift over 100 years ago. The piece is quite large, and the detail in the swans' feathers is stunning.

My Mama Dell's vase, circa 1900

My daughter Jennifer is quite an accomplished photographer, although with a couple of sons under two years of age, she doesn't have much time for photography anymore. She did a series of images of doors which were magical, because they left you wondering what was happening...or had happened over the years...behind them. Here are two examples, taken in New Orleans, a city she and I visited often when she was a teenager.

Jenn's photo No. 723

Jenn's photo No. 622

I also really like a few pieces of art that I did myself. One is a grouping of six 6" x 6" canvases on which I layered colors of acrylic paint. I scraped or rubbed off sections before the paint dried. Then I fired silver medallions out of precious metal clay, which I affixed to the pictures and have allowed to oxidize over time. Another grouping of three was inspired by a cover of Elle Decor.

Acrylic with PMC medallions

Inspired by Elle Decor

I also love art by Brian Andreas. I have a pair of his prints in my entry hall, and I have one of his wood sculptures in a bedroom. Andreas's work always speaks to my heart, whether it makes me laugh or cry. The print is particularly meaningful to me, because it is the story of the wonderful life I shared with my late partner Carl, who died in 2006.

I don't think of it as working for world peace, he said. I think of it as trying to get along in a really big strange family.

There was a boy with skin as dark as the earth & a girl with eyes as blue as the deep & they loved each other so well that people could not tell them apart for in their hearts there was no difference between them.

And speaking of Carl...I love this trio of Danish candlesticks and the set of rustic, hand-dipped candles that he bought for me on one of the wonderful trips we made together.

The sleekness of Danish design paired with handcrafted candles

And finally, one of my favorite pieces of pewter is a vintage Castor Cooper vase with a horse motif. It was an eBay find a few years ago.

Castor Cooper pewter vase

Thank you, Sudha, for allowing me to share some of the personal items I treasure most. I hope they do your delightful blog justice.

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A guest post so well done! All I had to do was copy paste her content and hit publish :)..Thank you Dana, for the wonderful write up and lovely images. And thank you for sharing your thoughts and pictures of your treasured items 


I am a Danish and Scandinavian Modern crazy design enthusiast who is influenced by her Indian roots!! Dana and other wonderful bloggers are a serious source of inspiration for my design know-whats!!

Picture source/copyright: Dana

wish list :)

I am a minimalist and have always maintained a very simple home. My husband and I make it a point to bring home only pre-loved items which have a story to tell. Everything we own currently is either vintage or just pre-loved (ok, except for two new pieces).

We have a long way to go before we make our dream home a reality. In the mean while, we are constantly updating our wish list.

Here is one set for the list...yum!

source

Left to right : A teak rocker, credenza for the TV, a sofa, and dining chairs...cool isnt it! I have a similar looking teak rocker already, just waiting for other beauties to come home. I would love to see you all share your inspirations too.. expanding my wish/choice list is always good, right!.