Styled with warmth & passion-the home of Swetha Sajjalgud

 We have come to the end  of yet another year and let us bid adieu with a bang! How about a visual treat  covering the home tour of Swetha's home.

Swetha Sajjalgud and her husband Mayank, live in Bangalore with their 16 month old baby girl in a 3 bhk apartment. She works as a product manager in an MNC and states that with a full time job and a toddler, giving time to the house and its upkeep becomes challenging.

But, you will soon realize that Swetha has managed to create a cosy heaven for herself and family in spite of being time challenged and this can happen only when you have an underlying passion for decor.

The living area where we entertain guests and spend most of the time is the cynosure in Swetha's home is what I believe.

She has sent us some images of her drawing room over a period of time. Just a little variation in  the arrangement of cushions and decor accents, and you can make out how it never ceases to impress!

I loved the earthy tones in her home. The solid wood furniture and the warmth extended thru the various fabric shades keeps you gazing at the cosy set up.

Minimalistic , functional and user friendly furniture with the right dosage of decor elements thrown  around, in a brightly lit space is the safest route to a splendid home! And Swetha seems to have decoded this mantra!!!


Swetha says, "My inspiration for my design sense and aesthetics comes from my mom. She has always had this great taste when it comes to doing up a home and as a child i would watch wide eyed as she would go scouting for upholstery or knick- knacks for the home. Her design sense is mostly Indian and our home used to be mostly setup in bright earthy tones. Even today, when I visit my parents in Pune, i end up shamelessly stealing some brass knick knacks from my mum's place.

I would also like to mention that I am hugely inspired and in awe of some talented Indian decor bloggers Archana Srinivas (Rang Decor), Shruti Singh ( The east coast desi), Chandan Dubey (I am fortunate to own some of her creations), Shivangi Dogra  and Kamini Raghavan ( Saffron and silk) its a pity she doesnt blog as much nowadays, but she is a huge inspiration."

Let us hear what Swetha's has to share about her design sensibility...

"I have been very fortunate to have a husband who supports my passion for decor. He is the man behind the lens who takes these great shots of our home.We love travelling a lot and i make it a point to get something for the home wherever we go.Our home has a lot of pieces we picked on our various travels in India and across the globe. I generally lean towards warm and earthy tones, because that is the kind of setup i grew up in and it reminds me of my parent's home. My design inspiration is mostly Indian and we have invested in dark solid wood furniture sourced from Fabindia and Mother earth across the home. I believe it tends to give the home a warm and cozy vibe. I tend to keep the upholstery neutral, so i that i can play around with colorful accents. The antique bench at the entry way is from Oshiwara in Mumbai. It was a huge task having it transported from Mumbai to Bangalore given that it was antique and I had my heart in my mouth when the packers unpacked it as i was so afraid that it would have been roughly handled in transport and it would be damaged ! The Pichwai painting was a gift and i totally love the colour combination and how it makes a plain white background stand out.The pictures above the sofa are prints of the tholu bommalata ( leather puppet art) which i picked from Karnataka chitra kala parishat in Bangalore. The brass vessels belonged to my grandparents which i have converted into planters.

The hanging bell and lamp are brass which my mom gifted . The angels are from Netherlands and Prague . The Gouri mukut is from Chor bazar in Mumbai."



Every corner adds to the overall character of her space

 It is  relatively easier to collect beautiful, heartwarming knick knacks for your home but requires passionate effort to display the same in a manner that entices all.

wonderful addition to any coffee table

where reflections are captured...

Vignettes that have been placed lovingly in Swetha's home...

  The  white and blue bedroom is this guest room and the three small paintings above the bed are water color postcards from Pondicherry.

The master bedroom cum study is also blue themed with blue pottery from Jaipur above the side table and ceramics from Prague.

This is the third room which is work in progress where in Swetha is trying to create a fun room for her baby girl.

This yellow trunk in the patio is a DIY and it gives a nice bright feel coupled with the greens.

I have some more pics from her home that will be up on sajavat's Facebook and Instagram page. Are you following me there as well?

Now folks, what do you have to say about this beautiful abode?

Every corner is done up amazingly well and gives an overall cheerful vibe. 

The conclusion i make from this home tour is, that if one wants to have a traditional Indian inspired home, earthy colour tones and finish can never go wrong!

Thank you so much Swetha for being a part of sajavat.

We started 2018 with Snigdha's home tour  (click to view ) and conclude the year with Swetha's space.
Any decor related  resolutions that you have made for this year? I want to add one more permanent seating area to my existing space. Have to really brain storm in this regard. Let's see how it works out! Well, you tell me yours, its fun and interesting to note the changes and improvisations that others make. Isnt it?

Happy New beginnings my sajavat family.Let our tribe of creative people and ideas grow !

Tackle the exposed nails on the walls in style !

Am sure, every decor lover has this constant tussle with their partner over drilling nails on the wall! And to top it, as we change the decor scheme, the nails pose a concern due to allignment issues of the new frames or hanging on the walls.

This happens with me quite often and a particular frame hanged on to the wall doesn't expose the nail head but then as I change the frame which I keep doing quite so often, the nail head is exposed..And yes, it looks baddd....

I have now found a simple solution to this...Have a look...

The exposed nail head...

Now...

Cleverly concealed using a butterfly magnet...you can opt for the magnet that best suits the hanging!

Again, the same ugly nail showing it's head!

A butterfly glittery sticker does the job here...
And it can be removed easily, without leaving another ugly mark...Now, I know you have seen those marks on the wall as well...My darling kids had pasted something on the wall and when it came off, the plaster came along too!
This is how I have tackled them!

Sometimes there is already a nail on the wall and then you decide that you are going to swap the frames on the wall, what happens is this...

Here again, do you notice that small butterfly between the frames, yes! That conceals another nail head!

These are small but nonetheless botherations that come along which we can easily tackle.
Hope this brief post did make some sense!
Stay happy and blessed!

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!