From House to Home- Manisha Kapoor's residence

A thing of beauty is joy forever! - John Keats

This rings absolutely true every time, you visit Manisha's home in Central Mumbai. From converting the house to a warm and vibrant home, it took Manisha about 6 months to do up the interiors completely. She took her time, was in no hurry because she had imagined a certain look for her home and wanted to turn her imagination into reality.

Her family of five, including her two adorable dogs occupy this space, which is contemporary but with a touch of traditional elements like brass and wood.
As, I take you, through a visual treat, you will agree that 'modern marries the traditional' is followed through out, with one area effortlessly merging with the other.

I discovered her home in a facebook group and was itching since then to showcase her space to all. So, here we go...

The entrance...

Does the not so neutral colour scheme surprise you? well...this is what pushed me, to give her home a second glance because i understand that when you choose a dark coloured wall paper, the onus of carrying off this look is not easy!

I asked Manisha,on how she finalised on this. And this is what she had to say,

"While we had always wanted a slightly darkish grey look, we only got the confidence to go really dark when we picked the wall paper for my daughter’s room (silver-black) and then the matching paint with it. We tried a lighter grey but it just didn’t look good with the wall paper. So we went dark, with a little apprehension, but once we put a patch on the wall, we were convinced how gorgeous it looked.

I went through so many pinterest  pics to convince myself, and eventually just decided to take the plunge. Am so glad because everything really stands out against a dark color. In fact, my designer who was helping me, also said that she had never done anything dark like this, and she was so glad that I took the decision. We have a lot of natural light in our home, and also high ceilings, so we could carry off dark walls very well I feel."

Moving on to the living room...

There is a bold use of colours and patterns. And a confident putting together of disparate things that go together. The final effect is impactful, elegant and inviting.  Friends and family who have visited have immediately been enthralled by the interiors, and  are noticing every single detail.

Those chandeliers...fine detailing with pearls and crystals

There is gold leaf bordering done on the wall that run through out and sandpapered to create a distressed wooden look.

Do you notice the antique finish console out there ?

 

Bedroom Goals  

I found it difficult to rest my eyes on one particular object, such is the impactful presence of bold n beautiful elements in all her bedrooms, whether it is the classic wooden jaali worked cots, the banana botanical on the walls or the subtly laid flooring giving a very cohesive look to the entire set up.

Vintage cot

The other areas...

Hexagonal tiles with snowflakes and lotus motifs

Stunner...

Brass and wood.. ever together!

Artistic ... I say!

Manisha says, "I believe that design is successful when every detail is thought through. This doesn’t mean that every single thing has to be totally coordinated as that makes things very flat. At the end of the day, a home represents your past, present and future and everything in your home should say the story of your life.

Everyday when you get back to your house, it must feel like home. Comforting, pleasing  to look at, and functional for smooth living.

I am a Bombay girl, and a brand and marketing strategist by profession. But I have always had an eye for beautiful spaces and designs. Whether it’s my saree collection or my home, everything is a celebration of beauty."

The view from her balcony... Somethings can never have a comparison and I believe Manisha's home is one such. Unparalleled beauty !

One can draw many inspirations from her home. To follow one's heart and never be too shy to experiment is what I conclude after virtually visiting her abode. Tell me what draws you to her place. Manisha and myself will be glad to hear from you.

You can follow her Instagram handle here

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.