Travel inspired design and decor tales

 As you travel and explore a place you gain a different perspective. The experience that you acquire thru visiting a new land is like none other!

We traveled to Bhutan this summer and this post will cover the various design inspiration and styling tips I gathered  during the stay. As one who is interested in decor and art, I felt I was lucky to be here.

Bhutan has beautiful dzongs or forts and the architectural detailing on each of them is very much similar. In spite of that, each one was eye catchy and we looked forward to seeing more of them each day! Add to that, the traditional homes in Bhutan have a certain pattern and they are supposed to follow that even for the newer construction.This gives a uniformity in design. The windows are expected to be built with arches on them.The size of the windows may vary but the arches remain. Have a look at the following pics and it will all make sense...

The patterned arch that you see in this window design is very typical in Bhutanese architecture.

 The melange of colours and painted art on doors and windows mesmerizes you. some of the bigger motifs that you see on the bottom most part are the sacred symbols in their religion denoting peace and prosperity.

The arch is invariably present in each one !

This is within a dzong

These doors and windows use a wooden panel with intricate carving and detailed motifs painted onto them. The colours are generally rust,golden yellow,green and a royal shade of blue. On many of them an extra square block of wood with art work was attached and this lifted the design and styling a notch above the rest.

 

 

Notice the wooden block on the topmost part of the frame with a 'shankh' or conch painted on it. I felt these are such beautiful design inspirations to take away and can be experimented on our very own console tables and the like, lending a very rich and unique feel to the entire set-up!

A closer look at the neat and vibrant design

Let us take a look at some more of these...

This is a  wooden box with enchanting wood work on it, concealing wires and all the other hardware stuff inside the box!

DOORS... Literally welcoming!

 When there are no doors, you will find these pretty applique worked screens obstructing direct view.

 

A typical sit out...

Are you sold out on these cute storage cum coffee tables? I sure am! 

perking up a mundane space...

Let us peek more into their furniture range for some more design inspiration...

Dragon motifs on the sides of the settee...We can perhaps follow suit with some of our very traditional motifs or simply a floral pattern

These mandala designs are very popular in Bhutan

Such an elegant looking seater!

 What struck me here was the Bhutanese textile used for the cushions. We can again implement one in khunn or ikkat weave

Apart from these I shared pics of  some beautiful planters from this ' Land of Thunder Dragon' on Sajavat's Facebook and Instagram feeds. You can check them out regularly for more inspirations on design and decor.

 

Let me end the post with a Buddha figure beautifully positioned inside a stupa. I felt the same would look great as a jharokha on the walls emanating peace and calmness!

The above ideas were some of the decor inspiration that I got, while traveling to Bhutan. Hope it helps you in some way while decorating your space. Signing off for the time being.

Happy decorating!

Home tour from Penang, Malaysia

As the geographical boundaries cease to cause any limitation and there is a global approach to designing one's home it becomes thrilling for me as a decor blogger to feature a home that's a true blend of traditional and the modern!
 Today sajavat takes you across to Malaysia where our very sweet Geetha resides with her hubby in the island of Penang. They are ethnic Tamils, but draw their home-deco influences, from a mix of cultures within Malaysia.
She is attached to the Inland Revenue Department, while her husband works as an Engineer in the private sector. A young married couple for 3 years are our inspiration today, for a home built with love, warmth and care!

Let's straight way get inside their spacious abode...

Now, that's an impressive structure! isn't it? The above image shows the front main gate entrance, with 2 medium-height Bucida trees planted on the right side.

As we make our entry inside...

There is a modern air inside Geetha's home but the artifacts are traditionally inclined. Some of the decor elements that have marked their presence and taken the decor a notch above are the kathakali mask,the thorans and the big urn planter! The horses and candles placed in the entry way creates another focal point.Simple lines, highlighted wall and ample lighting fixtures are other take away inspirations from this space.

The living area:

There is another living area on the first floor which we can say would be one for the very close family.This area is starkly different from the one you see at the ground floor.

 Orange and green colours are predominant in this space. The elephant cushion covers, Buddha frames, the brass bells suspended from corbels and the prabhavali act as the cynosures in these well captured images.

Bedroom:

The other end...

Lets have a peek at her dining and kitchen space...

Am loving the burst of colours in her bedroom and dining room.What about you folks?

 Prayer room...

I can sense the peace and calmness one can achieve in a well designed space like this.

Certain other thoughtfully captured  and striking vignettes...

In Geetha's words...

Inspirations for our Home:
"Our house is a triple-storey terrace, with a tinge of neo-colonial touch to it.
We draw influences from a myriad of ethnic and modern contemporary ideas.
The premise of the exterior and interior " grooming" lies on the concept of
simplicity and a clutter-free environment. Nevertheless, there's still room for splashes
of chic modern touches, neatly tucked within essential corners/areas of the house. Both me and my husband have contrasting hobbies; I like to travel and collect decorative items, while my husband simply likes to collect star war TOYS!!!
While the synergy might be slightly an oddball one, yet we do still share similar passion when adorning our humble abode."

Thanks so much Geetha for letting me and the readers of sajavat in for such a visual delight!
To further get inspired with Geetha's ideas of a beautiful home, you can check out her Instagram handle at geetha8402

Home Canvas -your home decor buddy!

When the home is your canvas, you sure want to paint a beautiful picture, right?

Our homes are our priced possessions and when we start out to decorate our cosy nest, we would want to go for the best! All said and done, in today’s fast paced life we are sometimes short of time and at various times find ourselves a little helpless on the decor front with multitude of choices. Whether to go for the decor that is eye catchy or to follow the trend or be a tad bit different from the rest is actually like a maze where one tends to get lost!

But here is where Home Canvas can come to our rescue. Home Canvas is an online discovery platform for the best in furniture and décor. There are experts out there in Home Canvas who curate stores, artisans and suppliers from all over the country. Their expertise lies in bringing together furnishings, furniture and accessories that range across styles, materials and price to deliver the world of décor right into your living room and mind you, all this can actually happen over the click of a mouse.

All this started when Sandeep Sridhar and Radhika set out to do up their abode and faced challenges in locating the right store for the kind of décor they had in mind! That led Sridhar to set up the online space Home Canvas.

Sridhar says, “ whether you are doing up only a room in your house or setting up a new home, we are a one-stop destination to help you discover furniture collections, find styles that resonate with your tastes and lead you to finding products in the easiest and most convenient manner possible. We have searched the length and breadth of the country and curated the most exquisite and lust worthy products, so you can have fun discovering perfect pieces- that you would have never been able to find before.”

Now, as I closely look up the site of Home Canvas, the kind of products and stores on the list are impressive and it is only growing up by the day!

The home page is very easy to browse through and is divided into two major sections.

1.       Products

The products are sorted category wise, room wise and according to the prices as well! That definitely makes the task easy. You have all the known brands and more on their list like Gulmohar Lane, India Circus, Address home, copper, H2H shop, GoodEarth, Nicobar, The décor Kart etc

Some products across the page of Home Canvas that caught my eye …

2.      Collections

Now, in addition to product wise listing, Home Canvas also has another option tab ‘collections’. This is again a very useful one. You just have to decide the theme for your home.

Whether you would want to go with a quirky décor or give a very ethnic feel to your home, accordingly in the collections section they have teamed up products to suit the theme.

Boho chic, seaside, tropical, pastels, vintage chic, farmhouse décor, heritage the options are many! The products in the collections act as a reference for you to easily visualize and feel the overall look!

Do you get the idea now? Whether you are searching for glass décor or wood weaves, one can find them grouped under one heading.

So, come on now let your dream of having a stunning and breathtaking home become a reality!

You can have a look at their website here

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I spotted some pretty artwork and rugs while creating this post and am straight away heading to Home Canvas... Do you want to join me too??