That cosy,dreamy home!

 I have always been very selective about the homes that we feature here on sajavat. Spaces that convey the personality of the home owner are my kind of spaces! The home that I bring for you today, drew my instant attention.

Asha's home has a strong Indian element to it but somewhere I could see that she has a very global approach when it comes to designing her space. Asha currently resides in the silicon vallley of India.
Being an avid traveler, nature lover and a decor enthusiast her design style is earthy and nature inspired with a love for unique, hancrafted artifacts and textiles.She believes good design be truly global where art and craft from all over the world blend seamlessly. 

Let us invite ourselves to her abode and you will appreciate how she has kept it simple, a no-fuss decor simultaneously creating a zen like atmosphere for her loving folks.The home boasts of a traditional Kerala style architecture

Her living area  has a very beautiful earthy feel to it with sofas made of banana fibre. The wall decor has a striking mural with the wooden spoon holder on either sides.  A tribal art (mask) adorns another wall. If you are a keen observer you would have noticed a Buddha head, Madhubani basket , a bowl with some green arrangement placed on the shelf in the corner.

Another beauty that caught my eye is the wooden palankuzhi, a traditional game placed on the centre table.Asha says it has found an alternative use and she decks it up as a tea light holder too!

Her furniture are a mix of earthy, rustic wood and natural materials like cane and bamboo.

Her textiles are a collection from their various travels across Indonesia, Thailand, different places in India and good old Ikea. As you can make out Asha loves dhurries and tries to use them wherever possible. These kilim cushions she tell me, are from AmazonIndia

This home is very well laid out and Asha and her family have the luxury of  a central courtyard and a lovely garden and beautiful verandahs with red oxide flooring. She feels blessed to have found this place that has embraced their furniture and her design sensibilities.

Now, isn't that a wonderful piece? I had seen this boat shaped furniture piece used as a  seater in a hotel in Tanjore recently. Here Asha has used it as a bar cabinet.

A very Indian baithak . The coffee table that you see is an old door that has been re purposed.This whole setting gives a very zen like feel. As is evident by now Asha loves pottery and collects them in all shapes and forms.

 

I remember drooling over the next image when I first saw this in Pinterest. These cushions are from Chiang mail in Thailand.

 The next few images are from her verandah and outdoor spaces.They are sure to cast a spell on you. The thatched roof, red oxide flooring, greens and other knick knacks in the form of pottery, masks,wall art and the plantation chair, (how can I ever miss mentioning that! )are all tell tale signs of the classy decor that Asha enjoys in her home!

I wouldn't mind sitting here all day, doing nothing but day dreaming! I know, you all want to join me too!

Again, the Buddha here is a very special one, made of stone and  bought from Singapore which travels with them whenever they move houses.

I love her bedrooms with fabrics taking the centre stage.If you are lucky enough to own a four poster bed, you need not accessorize your bedroom with anything else! Who else agrees with me ?

With this, we come to the end of this post.Craving for more?

I have been going over the images again and again with endless rounds of tea and coffee, that's the kind of magic, Asha's home had on me!

You enjoy the tour and see you all real soon with  more such endearing posts.

Handmade and vibrant- Athangudi tiles

When my seven year old son, was told that we are about to visit a tile factory, he wasn't a bit enthusiastic about it but the sheer experience of seeing deft hands at work left him mesmerized and then he wasn't ready to return! Such was our thrill of visiting the factory at Athangudi which is world famous for making handmade tiles.

Four tiles assembled to form one pattern!

A single colourful tile

 Since these tiles are handmade, each piece is unique. The patterns on Athangudi tiles are as a result of the design frames which have to be made first. The person in charge of the factory told us that there are very less number of artisans now, who make these design frames. As a craft it is probably dying a slow death.

Frame for making the design

Let me give you a glimpse of how these tiles are made in the form of pictures and videos.

Have a look at the video to understand how a plain tile is made...

The tiles are made from a mixture of cement and sand.All the impurities from the sand are first filtered. Then a running dough of cement,sand, water and colour is prepared by mixing these together.

Square glass slabs form the base for the tile. A metal frame is placed on the glass slab. For a plain single coloured tile, the above running mixture is poured over the frame.Sand, cement mix is sprinkled all over to absorb moisture.
Incase of design tiles, another designed frame is placed to form the design.Then the colour solution is poured in the different compartments of the frame.

There are skilled artisans too, who sometimes don't use these designed frames! Instead they pour the colour manually on the glass slab and stir it manually to create a design. But such is their expertise in this craft that batch after batch they churn out innumerable quantities of exactly the same tiles!

Now, the border frame is removed and the tile is left to dry at room temperature for a few hours and later cured in water by keeping it soaked in a water tank for about 6-7 days.

Watch another short video to see how the tile is seperated from the glass with ease and then the corners and edges are filed to a smoother surface.

Tiles left in a water tank for curing

Then  the tiles are dried in the sun. The glass eases out from the tile smoothly and a perfect glossy finished Athangudi tiles are created.

A well laid out floor with Atahngudi tiles

These tiles apparently are hassle free to maintain and remains glossy without any polishing. Am completely floored by the wonderful patterns and the eye catchy colours!

So how did you find this post? The next post is a small makeover that I attempted recently...So catch you soon.

Glimpses from the abode of Veena Murali

I have always maintained that every home gives out the personality of the home owner. When you enter a home for the first time, the feel and appeal of the place says a lot about the people residing in there.A warm and welcoming space can give you positive vibes like none other! To soak in that energy a complete house tour is not necessary. A certain peek here and a glimpse there can do the needful.And that's what precisely we are about to do today.

This home that we are about to enter belongs to Veena Murali and her lovely family!

This is her take on Home and interiors...

Home is where we all feel comfortable. According to me, it shouldn't be considered just as the place you sleep at night", but should have a theme and  neatly arranged irrespective of  whether the home is big or small. Design your home on your own to make sure it caters to your needs. For example I like lot of natural light in the rooms and also try to keep it simple in terms of the way I organize my rooms. I always strive to keep my house neat and clean (this is not easy when you have a toddler in the house) rather than stocking expensive artifacts and showpieces. A neat and well organized home spreads a lot of positive energy. 

So, so true isn't it?

Veena loves the traditional Indian style of decor which can be very much seen in every corner that she has designed.We are going to see her home in bits and pieces but at the end you will have a clear picture of the beautiful home she has created for herself and her family!

My heart swings along with the brass hanging!

Intricate jaali work on the seater...

Get a close look...

Appreciation for all things Indian is so so evident. Another aspect that I wanted to stress upon is, this is Veena's rented place and you know rented places can come with a lot of limitation.But as it is said rightly there can be no limitation to one's own creativity and ideas!

Have a look at the arrangements on her coffee table and consoles...

She encourages you to bring nature inside.In her words,"Do keep lot of greens, make it Eco friendly. There are some indoor plants available in the market which can give a very natural feel to the whole set-up. Be a keen observer where ever you go. Observations and creativity results in new ideas and designs."

The presence of  wood in her decor is ubiquitous. The dining table, the cot in her bedroom, the furniture in the living room are enriched with  Indian craftsmanship.

Once again the work on the chairs has me enthralled!

I loved the coziness that fills her space, that comes only when you put your heart and soul, while you design your home.I am glad she opened her home for me and the readers of sajavat.Hope you loved her home too!

Veena worked as a telecom engineer and resigned when her son was born. But now that he is 3 years old, she is lucky to find some time to work as a freelance interior designer, share ideas on to her blog on her travel experiences and all about decor & art. You can find more of her work on her Blog and Facebook Page  

Home tour - Prameela Nair's AbuDhabi abode part-I

Let us start the first post of the year with an amazing home tour.Today, we shall cover the lovely home of Prameela Nair based out of AbuDhabi. I came across some images of her home in a common community of which we are members of! I could gather from those few images that her home is one which belongs to decor magazines! To be precise, absolutely stunning, drool worthy and inspirational! You will soon see this for yourself! I requested her for a home tour on sajavat, and she sweetly obliged !
Be aware, this is going to be a picture heavy post and you are going to spend a lot of time on each image, am sure about that!

Prameela says,

"My home is the place that I call my “inner space” which is an extension of who we are as individuals. My husband Rahul and I have created our home with  lot of care since we both have equal passion for decor and art.  we seem to have collected many pieces from our various travels to different parts of the world. We always bring back something from our travels to remind us of the time we shared together.

My home in Abu Dhabi is truly Indian in every sense and the decor style I would like to call it as vibrant, eclectic and warm ……very much and true to the way we are as individuals. UAE is such a welcoming and beautiful country….and with so many Indians living here it is truly a home away from home. I have always wanted to retain the Indian aesthetics as it is my way of staying bonded to my place….and my roots."

There are statement pieces to the house right from the furniture which are all made from rose wood and bought from stores bought locally in the UAE. This sofa as you can see has lovely hand carvings These are made in Pakistan by a very reputed furniture store who deals in quality furniture which are unique with intrinsic work that stand apart.

If you carefully observe the above pics, you will notice multiple seating arrangements created in one room! This is such a thoughtful space and perfect for entertaining. Isn't it?

 Collecting traditional art has always been her passion. The Tanjore paintings are antique pieces which she carted with a great deal of effort from an  art collector  in Palakkad that works on restoring and maintaining old art pieces from the villages of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.


"We have always bought our items with the view of owning them for life so the plan is to take these back home when we do move back to India one day. I love adding colour using silk cushions, brass artefacts and some green elements."

Lets shift our focus to some close-up shots...

Do you notice the red door frame there? I fell in love with it...

She tells me that the  red door is  done by a renowned artist called K R Santhana Krishnan
http://www.doorpaintings.com .(Check out the link folks)

Prameela's plan is to buy more doors in various sizes and colours and have one wall only of different doors...That would make it a gorgeous wall Prameela!

Such a beautiful assortment of brass and bronze artifacts!

The home is a melange of colours! I love her use of embroidered cushions & textiles and the brass artifacts interspersed in the decor creates a very ethnic vibe to the space.
I have a weakness for traditional decor and I love the fact that Prameela has so beautifully created a very Indian space for herself and her family outside India!

There is more to see ofcourse! and that I have saved for another post which will cover her dining area, the murals painted on walls and other spaces.
Stay tuned in..We shall see each other soon!