Real Homes I - Poorni, KG and Adi's house

This post has been pending for the longest time ever! I know! Without further delay presenting to you *Drumroll please* - the first home in the Real Homes series, which belongs to Poorni, KG and their son Adi.
Lets start with a tour of the house and then I will tell you about the owners :)

For me, these first two pictures sum up their home, they are the essence, the soul of their home.  These pictures are a preview of what the owners love!

Poorni is learning to play a guitar. Music, books, collectibles, eclectic stuff, mixed furniture, it all finds a place in their home and makes it warm and inviting. 

Both Poorni and KG are book lovers and yes they pick up books even if they have lots in the to-be-read list. I do that too, do you?

One of the many things I love about their home is the lived-in, casual feeling one gets as you walk in.

Those are tiny paper lights strung around the bigger hanging lamp and they look oh so pretty when lit up!

The Dhalls are a travel loving family and their trips all over the world have resulted in a lovely collection of artifacts displayed all over the house.

Ladies and Gentlemen presenting to you the Starbucks coffee mug collection :) 

This lamp was picked up from Delhi on a trip to source lights for their current house when the interiors were being done. 

Wall art picked from Purple Turtles, Indiranagar. The art is by Aarti Karwayun Chawda of ispaceart. 

Very soothing and long lasting natural fiber blinds from BlindLove, Indiranagar.

Their house has soothing colours, mostly neutrals or earthy colours like this brick wall here. 

Art and various art forms can be seen throughout the house, like the aboriginal art from Australia above. 

The blend of the traditional with the modern, you think?? Love the antique finish mirror, again from Purple Turtles. The fridge magnets are souvenirs picked from everywhere they have been. 

The love for music has passed on to Adi, who is learning to play the drums. 

Poorni is an ex IT professional. She loves to travel, read, try new things and explore the world, one bit at a time! She is also a photographer and does assignments professionally. Check her photography page here. She is the owner/creator of Beantree, which uses natural and locally sourced ingredients to produce food free from preservatives and additives. Their lovely, finger licking hummus is available in multiple stores. My personal favourite is the lemon coriander hummus. 

KG apart from his corporate world/IT career which takes him around the world more than often, loves to read and run. He is now preparing for his first 50K run. 

Let me know if you would like to know anything about the things featured in the post - what, from where, et all. I shall ask the owners and let you know. 

Happy Friday and hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

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How to go about planning your wardrobe?

Before you think this is a post on 10 wardrobe must haves for the summer-fall fashion scene, let me warn you, it IS NOT.
It deals with a comparatively boring topic - wardrobes, closet interiors, design, shelves.
So there, now that the expectations are set, lets begin :)

I have moved across cities for a pretty large part of my life. Every new house we would move into would require me and my sister to choose cupboards or rather sides of a cupboard. The power struggles over "the better side" are a thing of the past.
Now it is between the husband and me. Who gets which cupboard and how many shelves. In the end he always needs and gets more space than me. Stop snickering you men! You know it, you guys use a lot of space. I know some women who might be nodding at this ;)

When it came to thinking of wardrobes for the new/own place, I drew a blank initially. I mean like, what's there to think about. It is simple right? A few shelves and some hanging space. Anything would do.
Well,  I was wrong. There are, like anything else in the world, hazaar (a thousand) options. From the plywood used for the structure, to the laminate stuck on top, the style and colour of shutters (doors for the uninitiated), the shelves, accessories. You name it!

So then I went on my research hunt guided by the questions -
1. What are my needs for storage?
2. Who is going to use the wardrobes?
3. Maintenance capability? *Laziness is a huge factor here.
4. Space available in the house

Storage needs - First you need basic wardrobes to keep every day clothes. Then there is the stuff like bedsheets, bed spreads, comforters/rajais, pillows, cushions, all your other linen for the house. You also would have luggage that you would like to stow away when not needed - suitcases, duffel bags, carry on bags and the likes. Think of all the other accessories, make up, bags, purses, shoes, hats, caps, sports/hobby related clothes, accessories.

For the bedroom, I would like something basic like these, with one change. I would prefer the top shelf to be moved to the bottom. In my opinion the top shelf is often at a height much more than the average person and thus becomes a hard to reach place. Good for stuff you want to hide from the kids but not to keep things you might need on a daily basis. A hanging rod is better there.
Ladies - If possible try to make space for a longer hanging shelf too, for all those summer dresses, skirts, long kurtas that are longer than the standard hanging shelf height of about 42 inches or 3.5 feet.

Picture courtesy Furniture123.co.uk

Picture courtesy Furniture123.co.uk

Person using the wardrobe - I feel the shelf style should be different for a wardrobe meant for a grown up vs a child. If you want the kid to be independent, that is. If you are the kinds who choose and lay out clothes, right from t shirt to the inner wear and socks and even help your 6 year old wear them then you can design the shelves as per your needs rather than the kids. For kids the shelves should be easy to reach, easy to see and safe rounded edges. There should also be a lot of toy, book, sports equipment and other accessories storage, but we will deal with that in a separate post.

Maintenance - From what I have learnt so far, laminates are easier to wipe off and clean compared to veneers. Wipe off with a damp, not wet, cloth and you are all done. Then there is Duco (the car paint sprayed over finish), glossy acrylics or lacquered glass (glass painted on one side) and other fancy materials for the wardrobe interior and exterior finish. Choose based on need from the material - looks, durability, functionality and also based on how would you maintain things in the house. If you are blessed with the time and patience to give tender love and care to things in the house then do go ahead and choose material that needs attention and upkeep. So a veneer finish would look rich, smooth and classy, say in the living room. But the kids room can do with a functional yet aesthetic looking laminate.

Space availability - Based on space in the house you could add lofts on top of the wardrobes (if you need extra space). Use sliding doors instead of traditional pull open doors if there is a space crunch. Sliding doors look modern too. We have under-the-stair space too at our place which we will be using as storage to keep those travel suitcases or sports equipment or other knick knacks which always manage to make way into the house and you wonder where did that come from or why did I ever buy that? :)

Picture courtesy Houzz.com and Billinkoff Architecture

And anyways, I am more of a there-is-a-place-for-everything and ALSO a clean-up-the-place-in-15-minutes-before-someone-is-coming-over person so I need enough storage to dump stuff in away from view :)

Hope this information sharing helps! Do write in for any specific questions, queries you would like to discuss or ideas you would like to bounce off.
Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week ahead.

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Colours!

Making a new house or re-doing an existing one for that matter, comes with its own set of challenges, learning and mental blocks that you need to get over sometimes.
In the process of choosing colours for the house (the process is not complete yet!), I realized that I have a colour commitment phobia.

So for instance I love the colour on this wall and the resulting look of this room. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?

Pic courtesy An Indian Summer, Thiru S, Elle Decor  India

BUT will I go ahead and paint a wall at my place in that colour??? Umm, errr, ahem.... no.
Why not, you ask?
I am too scared to commit to it. How will it tie in with the look and style of the rest of the house? What if it doesn't look good after it is done?
Paint over it. Simple!
Not that easy. What about the cost, budget overshoot and extra time to change it? What if the next colour I choose doesn't look good either?
Ughh! Frustrating thought process.

So what do I do to steer clear of this phobia? I decide to stick to neutrals and bring in the colour with the soft furnishings and accessories. All you brave colour lovers must be going "Scaredy-cat", "Chicken". I know!

But the neutral camp ain't bad at all. It's got its advantages, charm and lovely options. Must add flexibility as a trait.
Take the room below for instance, Neutral, minimalistic, colour added via art work, the carpet, the cushions, accessories.
What's not to love I say!

Pic courtesy Bluekrit

That said, my heart still tugs me towards the colour loving party! Maybe an accent wall, a niche that stands out with a favourite colour, a ceiling done in a bold hue. I can always change it right?

These pictures below make it tougher for me to decide. Colour or Neutral?

Pic courtesy Houzz.com

Pic courtesy Houzz.com

What path did you take? How did you decide? Any advice, learning or sharing of experience is welcome.

This post is a part of the Blog-a-Prompt week at Marathon Bloggers. Today's prompt is Colours.

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My philosophy of a home...

... has been stated perfectly by Nicole Paulus here! She says "I think your home should be constantly evolving with you. Decorating should never be over."
I want my home to reflect me, my likes, my loves, my comfort. I want it to become my haven and feel more comfortable and warm every time I add something to it. 

You could use a designer, carpenter or DIY, what matters, at the end, is - when you step in, stay, settle down, does it make you happy? If it does, then everything is worth it!!

Since the last few months I have been drooling over home websites, furniture, decor, soft furnishings, fixtures, whatever-else-home-related-you-can-think-of. Came across some lovely inspirations, incorporated a few into my design. Today I will share some of my favourites with you :) 
Here we go - 

Love this swing. Pic and design courtesy Bluekrit

Yes! I am getting a swing in my living room. I have wanted one for ages and this was my chance to get it. More on that when the swing is ready :)

Picture courtesy Houzz.com

I love how calming and serene this master bedroom is! I like this picture for the overall look and effect than any individual element. The white trim and the pastel wall and ceiling colour is beautiful. Designing our master bedroom on similar lines with the space for the two chairs. Will keep you posted.

Traditional Paisley Settee by Horchow

I love love love this settee! Traditional yet packs a punch. I have a weakness for paisleys and the yellow is bright, uplifting yet doesn't overwhelm. This could be put in a room with neutral furniture and wall colours. *Note to self - Look out for fabric like this or the one below. 

Another favourite is this Ikat slipper chair!

Indigo Ikat Slipper chair sold by Urban Outfitters

Leaving you with this one - which appeals to the organized (OCD as some call it, but it is not) part of my brain. How cute is this. Need to source this and make a place for something like this. Enthucutlets are you listening?? 

By Pottery Barn Kids. Pic courtesy Houzz.com

Next post, next week - Electrical and Plumbing and what I learnt about them. Sounds boring? Let's make it fun shall we :) 
Feel free to send in queries, bounce off ideas, share thoughts, inspirations and ideas!! 

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Architects/Interior Designers/Contractors/Carpenters - Figuring out which one works for you

After my previous post, I got suggestions, links and help in multiple ways! Love the online world at times like this - help at your finger tips and super quick at that :) 

A friend suggested this blog, which he found during his make-a-home project - Home Design Ideas by Nandita Manwani. Nandita has put together some very important and practical info in a very easy to understand manner. She realized the work involved and the learning curve in making a house when she made her own in Bangalore and started collating the info on her blog! Good for people like us :) 

Do check out her posts on 

Sliding doors - Bet you did not know some of the practical tips she has mentioned.

Types of Wood for Home Interiors - The ABCs of different kinds of wood used in home construction.

What is the right material for woodwork? - Which wood should you use for the carcass/boxes, the shutters and wardrobes? It is all explained in this post. 

Moving back to the topic for this post. The 2nd step in the make a house your home project is deciding whether you want help with doing up the house and what kind of help. 

I would like to refer to one of Nandita's post again (why reinvent the wheel) - Do you really need an Interior Designer?

S and I decided to check out all the options we had at hand. That meant checking out the architects, interior designers and contractors that we knew about. We collected references from our friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, ex-neighbours, people who had done their houses recently. I re-visited homes that I remembered for that special touch, or the soothing wall colour, the TV unit, furniture, furnishing, lights, general layout. Jotted down notes, names of shops they visited, any practical tips, dos and don'ts they had. Yes, I have a diary with hand written notes. A scribble here, a note there.

Getting all the gyaan from real people has helped! I know more than I did a month back. I can talk the language of MDF board, crown moulding, trim, laminate, acrylic, LEDs and a whole lot more. I still am no expert but at least it is a start and a HUGE learning. 

In our search we came across some firms for interiors. I am listing the names linked to their websites. My intention is not to promote any particular firm, this is just a list of firms we came across during our search. If you would like to know specific feedback about any of these, or what information I have about these, whom we chose and why, please feel free to send me and email at simrand@gmail.com 

Savio and Rupa

Duke Richards Interiors

Design Cafe

Deep and Hana Architecture

The Karighars

Morph Design Co.

Mathew & Ghosh Architects Pvt. Ltd

Nilay Patalia Architects
Bluekrit

What did we discover during this process?

We realized that if you have the money there is no end to what you can do. 
There are designers in the market who provide end-to-end services to suit different budgets. 
There are contractors who provide the same set of services but for your designs. 
It is a pick and choose, mix and match.  You need to pick what works for you, your sense of style, your  need for freedom, flexibility and the biggest factor - your BUDGET. 

And the grass always seems greener on the other side. So if you go with a designer, you might feel "What if I had gone with the other one?" Or "How I wish I had the freedom to just get this table made the way I want to from the carpenter." 
It is okay to feel that way. Very normal!! :) 

If you go with your own designs and get them done via a contractor/carpenter then the thoughts might be "What would a designer have done with this place?" "What if there is better material out there for this space? A designer would have known about all those options!" 
That is okay too!

So I would suggest explore, research (in your own way), prepare a budget, then choose based on gut feel. There will be issues as in any project, there will second, third and many more thoughts while you are doing it and even after ;) But in the end you will come out wiser and experienced and am sure still have a lovely home. 

Ah and one more thing, I would suggest leaving a few things to be done later or in a phase 2, 3 or N. Especially soft furnishings, some of the furniture, knick knacks. Once you move into the house it gives you a better perspective of what you really need, what colour throw will go well with that neutral sofa and beige walls. Also provides opportunities to keep you busy with mini projects if you love doing interiors like me :) 

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