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"

Interesting twist to ordinary jars

‪#‎Reduce‬ ‪#‎Reuse‬ ‪#‎Recycle‬

Yesterday, as I was cleaning my kitchen shelves, I came across a huge stash of jars and bottles.You know those jam bottles and pickle jars variety.Some of them come in  nice shapes  and sizes, so I never had the heart to throw them away.At the same time, over a period of time we collect so many apart from the jars that we are lured into buying.

Now, my suggestion... do not throw them away. Put them into good use by simply giving them a little DIY tweak.

Remember the three R'S ...Reduce,Reuse, Recycle (Up cycle)

Ordinary jars?

, 

Step 1: Give the jars a good wash.Remove the label.

Step 2:Scout for old fabric scrap.

Step 3: Here we are going to revamp the lid of the jar

Step 4: Cover the lid with your choicest fabric.It can be printed, plain, striped anything that you like.

Step 5: Cut  one size bigger in dimension to the actual lid. Now on the inner side of the lid, just stick it with glue.

Step 6: You can leave it at that too! I have gone one step further by cutting some floral patterns on felt craft and tied it atop the jar lid.You can even use this jar to gift your loved one with home made cookies and treats!

Transformed...

Similarly,for the second jar, I simply painted the lid with acyrlic colours. Give a coat of varnish by applying modpodge or a mix made of equal quantity of water and fevicol. As far as possible store dry snack.so that you do not have to wash the lid often.

Do you find this worth experimenting?

You can read more on Reduce,Reuse and Recycle here and here.

As the festival season is fast approaching watch for more DIY tips and tricks.

Re used & Re cycled Furniture

As more and more awareness in environmental issues arise, we do come up with solutions to match the problems. The Three R ’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the first step towards it. Many organizations have come up with brilliant ideas to work around this. Even as an individual one can contribute to this cause and take baby steps to save mother Earth from unnecessary damage.
Today let us have a look at some Recycled furniture pieces that are in no way inferior to their new factory made counterparts.
We all need furniture that is sturdy, looks trendy yet one that does not dig a deep hole in the pocket. Apart from all the regular furniture that we need in our day to day lives, are those that we seek as décor accessories. Storage shelves, display shelves, centre tables and side tables are certain furniture pieces that we can even do without. But to induce an aesthetic appeal to our home, we do include them in the list of must haves.
Long lasting and value for money are the two prime factors that we look forward while deciding on a furniture piece. The idea to follow here is to go for a DIY. There is nothing flashy here, just simple designs that work in a variety of ways and complement a variety of styles, such that you can utilize them in different corners of your home. This concept is widely popular in western countries and is even catching up fast here in India. You need to have a basic idea of the stuff you are about to make, (may be a picture) basic carpentry skills and loads of patience apart from the raw material required for each project.
Let me take you on a DIY ride across some furniture pieces that are basic, simple and easy .By using a little skill and creativity one can have multipurpose usage of the same items.

An old door converted into a coffee table

Isn’t this a masterpiece? I loved the idea and the effort to put it together is minimal. You might have one of your own doors that you so badly wanted to give away but saved it as an afterthought or you can always buy one from the local’ kabaadi’ store who sells second hand doors & windows. So with the top of the centre table ready, you only have to fix the legs. 
Now, what you can do to source the legs is, visit the wood work shop in your area. Even if they don’t have it ready they can always make these legs for you. Isn’t this fun? And you have a sturdy table ready. Not only will it last for a lifetime, you now have the satisfaction of recycling your old door and putting it to good use.

A book shelf with casters

This can be a multi utility furniture piece. It can be used in your bedroom as a night stand or as a bookshelf too. You have the choice to keep it anywhere in your home and it will look stunning. These are just wooden planks of various length and breadth assembled together. Go ahead and make them your conversation starters and when your guests realize, it is not a branded pricey stuff; they will admire you for your ingenuity.

Coca-cola crates put to excellent use

This is a brilliant example to reuse these coca cola crates. The idea is definitely a must try. Collect four such crates. You can assemble them yourself or source a small time carpenter. Buy an appropriate sized glass top to cover these crates but do not forget to fill the crates with some of your best travel souvenirs. Attach legs and you are good to go!

For a better effect still, give a fresh coat of paint so that the crates are lifted from their raw appeal to an awesome décor piece and then probably a coat of varnish too, to protect the surface.
It is completely your call, whether you want your furniture bold and bright or like to give them a distressed look.

Do you want to see more of this fun stuff? Okay few more …Let’s look into some garden furniture.

A pallet swing

Do you get the idea here? This swing is made out of wooden pallets and is ideal for a lazy afternoon outdoors. 
According to Wikipedia, ‘A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiency. Goods or shipping containers are often placed on a pallet secured with strapping, stretch wrap or shrink wrap and shipped’. This makes it cheaper and easily available too.
Just make the frame with pallets a little bigger than the mattress. These pallets come cheap too! Some clean bed spread over it. Pep it up with cushions and give yourself a good time.

Pallet as planter walls

This is relatively a very easy way to use a pallet to make a planter. Sometimes you only need a strong idea to back it up with your experiments and make unique and interesting furniture. You can even hang these pallets in your patio walls with hooks and you not only have an interesting way to place your pots but it also gives a new look to your walls.

An ideal outdoor table

Everybody may not want to spend heavily on furniture pieces that are for the outdoors. In such cases too, a DIY or an assembly of used wood planks or pallets may serve as a useful option here. This coffee table is also large enough to accommodate for food and drinks for your guests too!
Recently I came across an extremely useful Eco Friendly online store for DIY furniture enthusiast. It is Bangalore based but they cater anywhere in India. Here is the link. Just in case you would want to check it out.http://www.ubyld.com

Once you get started with this DIY furniture activity, there can be no stopping you. Have fun and stay tuned for the next post.

Image source: Pinterest 

**** This post was written by me for a community /online forum of designers, technical experts and creative masters engaged in the field of decor and interiors called Designerboard