ODD

Organize De-clutter Display

Taking a break from the colour stories to write about little things. A forgotten corner of the bed room. A tiny spot of space by the window. Have used to organize stuff that would not fit into the closet.. most of it is too pretty to sit inside a closet any way!

The corner is utilised to store and display a collection of junk jewellery, old bags, the few books that I am reading right now, scarves, bags and shoes, family photographs and a whole lot of other things, that left alone would be a complete mess.

The few things that can be done to de-clutter and store things well, is to sort the objects and unify the look of a space using interesting things to store them..

Bags and Baskets: Antique Rattan basket from Green Lantern, HK. Tribal applique dowry bag from Matsya Here.

Baskets of different sizes, shapes and types can be used to serve as catch-alls for jewelery, old textiles, remote controls, books, keys, CDs and random odds and ends.

Pegs and hooks:Pegs from British India- Singapore, Silk and potli Key chains, turquoise necklace from Stanley Market HK and Polka Dot woolen Scarf from Kashmir Handicrafts- Mumbai.

Instead of stashing interesting bags, scarves key chains and jewellery out of sight, I use clothes pegs and hooks to hang stuff as I please. The display keeps changing to suit mood and convenience...

Antique Burmese embellished bag I inherited from my Grandmother, assorted jewelry from Jade Market HK, and Baskets from all over..

Assorted bangles and more baskets

Woolen scarf from Kashmir Handicrafts and

Potli scarf from the lovely Kanika's Anek Designs Here

The Colour post...

India assaults the senses with colour texture, noise and smells. The surfeit of colour and brash celebration of kitsch is a revelation to those exposed to the country for the first time. I can sense that awe in the reaction of my kids to their new home. They are overwhelmed on a daily basis by the sights and sounds .. My little girls cannot get over their bangles, and shimmering kurtas, overdose of colour in the local markets, the splendorous sarees and clothing, loud colours of festivals -Holi, Diwali, Ganesha- brashly painted faces of the behrupias sometimes seen roaming streets....

For me, moving back to India was rediscovering the familiar. For the kids on the other hand, it has been about the creation of a brand new memory bank.. I see them fill it up with colour and language and experience each day. It is hard not to be taken by their wide eyed innocent excitement for the mundane.

Naturally, the house needed to have more colours as a reflection of the excitement..! Albeit still with a little restraint, for all the red and green and blue we have up on the walls, there is black, beige, taupe and plenty of white neutral space too.. all that marries our existing, Chinese, oriental and contemporary possessions into an Indian space.

Here's is a general colour palette used around the house..

Next up pictures of the finished product by colour... do come back !

1,2,3 : About Inspiration

Three quirky uses of pictures hurriedly taken with my phone camera. A word about inspiration, when one really looks , it is everywhere... Travelling, browsing through books, mags, wonderful blogs and sites online. Thing about ideas is that they strike when one is not even looking for them... quite pensive hectic days, driving through congested roads, shopping at local bazaars, peaceful contemplative moments, fragments of dreams and in recesses of long lost memories.

What inspires you? Where do you seek that initial spark of an idea? When does it strike? How do you keep in touch with an idea and utilise it when the moment arises...

Good thing that with a camera in the mobile phone, one is always ready to pin that flash down.. listing three quirky inspirations and how they got utilised around the house.

Taking a break from reading Charle's Correa's `A place in the shade' one quite afternoon. I noticed the graphic monochromatic pattern on the jacket against a red silk cushion. We had our wall!

Even attempted playing with the texture with the help of my painter bhau before painting it solid black :)

An arrangement on a coffee table inspired by the days adornments placed in a startling red ceramic dish on the bed side table.. ( Pic above: Silver plated platter from Goodearth, Lapis and coral Buddha heads from the Jade market in Kowloon, Hongkong, Burmese lacquer tray from Kinnari, Hong Kong)

Finally, window dressing and a jute lamp shade against a terracotta wall inspired by a familiar sight at local bazaars. (Pic Left: Lamp and shade from Contemporary arts and crafts, Mumbai)

Reblogging!!

Girl about home has moved. Yet again. Countless times in ten years. Pitching tent, folding all parts of a movable household and moving on- comes easily by now. This time, I am back home, to a city I love - Mumbai.

A lot has happened. I have had no time although all the inclination to sit and go over the going-ons of last year. As I try to put it together on the blog, a sense of panic grips me, a familiar fear of the blank page. I have in the process of finding my feet in a new city and a new country with a much large family, neglected this space and there is just too much to share.

Where does one begin? Maybe like Lewis Carol says in his Alice in the wonderland, ``it is best to begin at the beginning,’’

So I shall start with pictures of the skeleton of an apartment that I stepped into exactly the same time -first week of July-last year. It was instant love. The space has transformed into our home over the course of a year.

Setting up home has to be the most enjoyable experience I have had in this exciting and super challenging city this far. Making it mine with colour texture, pattern, material and yeah, love..lots of it..has been a ride. And what a ride! Meeting wonderfully talented people, discovering exciting places to shop at, working with painters, masons and contractors, learning new things and not to miss the problems and lessons learnt for life !

This house was a first in many regards, the first one my babies moved in to, the first one that I supervised from start to finish, the first one with so much colour, and at least one room that I took upon myself to paint myself....

Will keep adding the various elements that have gone into dressing the space in subsequent posts. Also stories from Mumbai, my hugely fascinating new home. There is much I have encountered and learned… More later. Have a great day folks :).

The beautiful Ganpati belongs to the previous occupants of the house.. of course we keep it.

The area that I took upon myself to paint ..!