Making a toran for your entrance/pooja room

 In the month of April we celebrated Tamil New year and Vishu. I decided to make a toran for my pooja mandap with Mango leaves to celebrate this festival.

To make this remember to have Mango leaves almost of the same size and with a little bit of stem to make the loops easily.
Also, in between you can insert big flowers like marigolds to have a colourful toran.

Sharing a video for easy reference. 

If you like this and decide to make it anytime, do share with me. I will be happy to share your creation with my audience.
You can also connect with me thru my instagram page.
www.instagram.com/sajavatdecorblog
Sharing ideas helps! We grow thru our experiences and learning from each other 😊

Enchancing a corner with a simple DIY

 

This corner does look beautiful what with the lights from the lamp and fresh gerberas and floating flowers. But the only eye sore I felt was the marble stand on which the stone uruli is placed. That does put me off! 

But is there anything that can't be tackled with a little DIY? And what better if it's a simple one.😊

Okay so now have a look at the next image. 

Tell me, does it look pretty now? To tell you the truth the marble stand is actually a roti maker or what we call chakla in Hindi.

So how did I pretty it up. The answer is in the following images.

Some peel and stick ons left over from an earlier project.

Chose the black and red one as it would go with the vase and flowers too!

The remaining edges were painted in red colour and tada you have a pretty good looking stand ready!

Wasn't that super easy and it was ready in flat 15 minutes!

Pour in your comments,  I would love to hear from you all.

Also, I really want you all to look at my instagram handle if you are not there yet. 

Look up for @sajavatdecorblog on instagram for my handle or follow the below mentioned link

https://www.instagram.com/sajavatdecorblog

Home tour

This is the first home tour of the year. Home tours are always special because they give us a fresh perspective on housekeeping and decorating.

Today, we visit Jumpi's home. She has a background in textiles and also has a degree in Botany. The love for both reflects in her home. Most of the furnishings  at her place, have been designed by her. 

Then there are plants in various corners of her home that lend such a warm look. I have always believed that plants help in highlighting a given space, which is again very evident in the way Jumpi has styled them.

I have been following Jumpi on Instagram for a long time now and what pulled me towards her feed and home are the personal touches that she has managed to give her home by way of  various DIY's  A house becomes a home only when one takes genuine interest and efforts in the upkeep of the home.  Then the vibe is unmistakable.

These are some of the paintings done by her. She sure has a great hand.

These again are worn out frying pans which were to be discarded and given away to the kabadi waala but she saw the potential in those pans and see how beautifully they have been transformed!

Another genuinity...

These Amaltas pods have been given this vibrant look and does it look any less than an art installation?

Okay for some more eye candy corners...

The last image will sum up Jumpi's love for her space and also is the mantra for all home decor lovers.

Did you enjoy this home tour. Will be soon presenting you with another happy space! 

Till then, take care, stay safe and healthy at home  🏡 

DIY : Packaging material converted to a tray

I always try to judge the recycling/ upcycling potential of stuff that we sometimes receive as packaging material for the items that we buy. Such was this light weight wooden box that held  my son's toy blocks.

For many years, I just held on to it, in the hope of upcycling it and one fine day during this pandemic, it finally happened.  

Pichwai painting has always captivated me. Cow and some lotus motifs is what I had in my mind. Traced out the design, painted it and applied a coat of varnish. That's it! Am using it as a tray but this can also be hanged on the wall and used as a pretty shelf.

Let me know, do you like it? How have you been spending your time these days. Creative pursuits amidst all the chaos is good for the brain, I tell you!

Keep inspiring and be inspired! Life is all about these little pleasure.  Have a great day👍😊

DIY on a terracotta planter

I have a huge bougainvillea pot which was very plain. Often I thought of painting a bloom or make a warli scene on it but somehow it never materialized.  Then came this Corona disaster accompanied with lockdown.  Though we are handling more work than usual now, it is also the time that we keep ourselves well occupied and sane.

What can be better than a DIY?

Also, had saved a few tile pieces and and some glass bits from some other DIY kit which came in very handy now for the transformation of the pot.

The images will show you how the whole process came about from start to finish. I had a garden themed idea to decorate the pot and as I proceeded,  made some changes and arrived at the final look. I have covered only the front portion of the pot since it is a bulky one and has already been planted, which makes it immovable. If you like the DIY and intend to try out , you can cover the entire surface. 

I have used fevicol to stick the bits. For plastic pots, you can use stronger adhesives like quick fix.

The balcony with pots lined up and the mosaic-ed pot in the centre looks like this now. A Bulbul graced my space as I was clicking pics... that made me super happy!!!

Hope you liked this creative way to decorate your planter and take up the decor quotient a notch high ...
Stay safe, stay home and most importantly stay happy folks

Restroom makeover

Makeovers are real fun to execute. First, you have to come up with a solid foolproof idea, then comes the planning stage which includes buying the required materials and finally the execution of the project. Recently, i did a small addition/ change to our common restroom and all those who have seen the 'Before' and 'After' have liked these changes.

The restroom appeared dark with black/brown coloured tiles on the walls. These tiled walls looked classy when we moved in  but soon with usage and water stains that refused to go away even after multiple attempts prompted me to take up this makeover.

 Some time back, i had transformed the window pane from 'boring' to 'interesting' which  I have shared here.
So, now lets start with this one...

Before...

 I chose these vinyl wall adhesives -Moroccan styled mosaics which are waterproof and especially designed for bathrooms and kitchens. My main aim here was to give a cheerful look to the space which i think is achieved with these colourful ones.

This is the link if you choose to buy the same.

I chose to place these adhesives in a random manner. I only, had to visualize which one to place where but you know that's the trickiest of all!

This is how it progressed. Then i felt, the window sill too looked ugly. So another one cut to size, peeled and pasted. Now the look is complete. Am at peace with myself now. I feel it has added the necessary vibrancy needed in the restroom. what do you think folks?  Let me know in the comments.

The final look...

A home where re-purposing is a way of life!

As a blogger, i have always enjoyed covering homes that have a distinct character of its own.The home tour of this month is supposed to be just that! A sailor's home and how the wife lovingly takes care of the brick and mortar and turns it into a dream abode for the family, is what draws and pulls me to feature it on my blog.

Ankita... The name behind this lovely home is travel inspired and many of the corners at her home adorns the souvenirs, she has fondly collected during her travel with her sailor hubby.
She is the mother of a toddler, 2 furry babies and in numerous plants. Around 35 years old with just some renovation in the wiring and flooring, the rest of the house is untouched as Ankita and her hubby appreciate the love and sweat gone behind constructing the home by their parents and would like it to exude the old world charm.

 Ankita says, she loves playing with colour schemes and you will notice the same corners being styled differently in each image. I love this passion in home owners who try and give a new look to their homes every now and then. To tell you all, her home caught the fancy of another popular home decor blogger who has already featured her home. To keep the freshness alive, Ankita went ahead as suggested and changed the soft furnishings and other decor elements to give a whole new look to her living space.
Here, Ankita shares a little secret with us. She has used nails on the walls such that she can easily switch frames and other artifacts whenever needed.

 Let me take you all to her living area. The colour scheme for the moment is all pink and blue as opposed to the earlier one which had a tinge of rust in it.The furniture is cane which is durable, lightweight and relatively easier to maintain.

I shall also share the image of her earlier decor scheme, so that one can  observe the change and notice how a mere change of furnishings can entirely alter the look and feel of a given space.

Earlier...Decor scheme with earthy orange

Ankita feels she canot stick to any one particular decor style but loves changing her home decor according to festivals and seasons. At the same time, modern homes with false ceilings and fixtures is a big no to her.


Now for the image, that captivated me to get in touch with Ankita for a home feature.

The blues and whites remindes me of waves and fluffy clouds...a sailor's companion😊

 Tell me folks, isn't that four poster bed just too inviting? This room radiates the perfect dose of class and calmness essential in a bedroom. Wont you agree with me here?

I think being a sailor's wife the colour blue holds a special meaning for Ankita, as you can see some corners and a wall decorated with blue.

The striking blue wall gives the perfect backdrop to all the cherished artifacts

Breath taking...

Greens enhancing the corner

As is evident from the pictures, Ankita loves plants. She has been adding more and more of them in her decor to bring liveliness and happiness around home. She adds that, spending time with the greens is her favourite activity and she loves doing this with her kiddo.

Moving on to the staircase gallery wall which is the most talked about wall in her home, establishes the strong influence of a sailor's life in the decor. "It has so many memories of different port cities, we have visited during sailing" says Ankita

Delightful to look at!

The staircase landing made special with thoughtful knick knacks

In Ankita's words, "Art is my passion which you can see in my decor as well. I love watching DIY videos and implementing them in my home. Re purposing old stuff and giving them a new lease of life is something am genuinely fond of!
I have used window frames to enhance vertical gardens, old bottles are used to propagate new plants and this headboard from my mother in laws cot, adds visual interest to this wall, when placed alongside the jharokas.Nothing goes waste! Reusing and re cycling is the mantra i follow always!"

Love the framed DIY

Fab idea!

Elegance at it's best!

The other bedrooms...

Creating vignette around home give us a scope to exhibit our skill as a "Decorista". Aren't you all with me on this?
Some more wonderful styling from Ankita's place.

With this, we come to the end of this home tour. Hope this taste fully done abode, inspires and gives you many ideas, to do your home!

Homes tours not only let us peep into the lives of like minded people but influences us to create cozy and well maintained spaces for our loved ones too!

Thanks a ton Ankita for inviting us to your favorite place- A place simply called "HOME"