Our New Sitting Room ...

Greetings, friends!

Thanks again so much for your kind comments about our new foyer!  Since we're still hanging out here in our entry, I thought I'd share our sitting room.

While we appreciated the builder "upgrading" the sitting area off of the foyer by enclosing it and making it a "study," we decided to somewhat undo that upgrade by opening it back up a bit.

TA DAAAA!  We had a local contractor widen the opening and add columns:

You see, because we have a two story foyer, we just felt that having one simple door really didn't do anything for the space ... we wanted it to have a bit more impact to balance the soaring ceilings.  

THERE, that's better, isn't it?! We're LOVING the change, and it made me excited to really get going to finish the room!  So, come on in our little sitting room, already splashed with Fall!

I've loved the 4 chair configuration for a long time and was happy to be able to do that in this space!  Of course, I have to thank IKEA because of their extremely budget-friendly Ektorp Jennylund chairs!  

They're really comfy and the additional slipcovers (in a variety of colors) are beyond reasonably priced, as well, making it easy to change them out to suit the seasons or your mood!  And, because you're saving so much moola, it makes it easier to add new curtains in a pretty fabric, without the guilt!  

You might remember our bookcase from the sitting room in our old house.  We thought about putting it in the office upstairs in this house, BUT, it's such a great focal point, that we decided to go ahead and keep it downstairs in this room.

Plus, it's a great place to add our Fall goodies!

Our postcard art still flanks the bookcase, with added sconces this time around:

Another piece making an encore appearance from the sitting room in our old house is our accent chest (from Kirkland's):

We look forward to eventually adding art to each side:

A cute, Fall printable added to a frame I had on hand (am locating the source):

Finally, a simple vase full of cotton (from Kirkland's) completes our seasonal look:

And, there you have it ... our little sitting room!  I look forward to continuing our new home tour with you soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by,

I'm partying with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

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MN Home Feature: Spring is here to stay.

Our Minnesota home is slowly coming together as we experiment with the colour palette, furnishings, textiles and vintage finds.

As promised earlier this year about sharing glimpses of our home as we make progress on various projects planned for it. MN Home Feature will be the heading under which you will find posts about our home.

I shared this frame of Dithi's painting of Maa flanked by the spring green coloured chairs recently on Rang Decor's Facebook page and I was completely overwhelmed by the encouraging response from the readers.
The act of buying Retro, Mid-Century-ish accent chairs from Macy's was a daring act for us design wise. We did have a choice of rust colour, but this delightful colour Mustard Yellow-ish, Spring Green-ish {call it whatever;-)} just made my heart sing!

We came home with these and they blended in beautifully with our other traditional wooden Indian furniture and furnishings!

Afternoon light on our vintage find: Candelabra placed on the coffee table.

The next part of the story gets more interesting. The accent chairs become the inspiration for highlighting our Tanjore painting & Oleography gallery wall in the Living Room.


Will it work?
Will it not work?
We weren't sure until the perfect coloured furnishing seemed to pull everything together and unify it.

The colour might not be everyone's cup of tea but seems to work well for us and adds that cheeriness that we crave for during the long Minnesotan winters.

Will continue to share glimpses of our home under MN Home Feature.
Do share your thoughts and will definitely appreciate criticism if it is sugar-coated;-)

(Images by Arch and are copyrighted. Please do not use these photographs without my permission)

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Beautiful Spaces With Personal Stamp

Big thanks to all those who participated in Goodhomes 'Color Contest'.

Entries I received were amazing and I was awestruck by the beauty of all the homes. I like it how home reflects the personality of its dwellers in so many ways. So while all the entries are scrutinizing by the jury I decided to give all the participants a pleasant surprise. As you must be aware that recently I made my first video and it made me confident that yes I can make more and more and........ So now I am on video making spree :)

All the entries I received for this contest have become a part of this video and I aptly gave it a title "Yeh Mera Ghar'. Here is a video, click play, increase the volume and play it in full screen now enjoy and don't forget to tell me how do you find it.

If you liked the video then don't forget to subscribe my Youtube channel, as lot more is coming shortly. You can do so by clicking on 'subscribe' button (red color) on the left hand side, below the video screen. 

Thanks once again!! Stay tuned to check out some more beautiful homes here on 3D.

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Furniture Problems and Solutions!

The furniture problems...


1) I spilled some rubbing alcohol on my vanity top while cleaning earrings


2) I have bleed though on my painted vanity


3) I sold my vanity chair at my last garage sale


The Furniture Solutions...

First of all, I didn't know that rubbing alcohol was a furniture stripper. Now I know! How did I get to be 56 and not have the happen before? I usually use the

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Glimpse of my patio and yard

It has been brought to my attention that you have not seen much of my yard and gardens this summer.


 
 So with that in mind, you can get a glimpse of the yard while I am showing you our new patio furniture.



 Once I sat in them at Sam's Club, I was hooked! We waited for them to go on sale and then bought them. I don't regret a minute of this decision.



The furniture is so comfortable and

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Chamiers, Chennai | India.

I was in Chennai during my India trip this summer. I was meeting two very talented artists at Chamiers.

Chamiers is a store which has the old-world charm of Chennai, while housing contemporary brands within it's beautifully designed walls.

As soon as one enters, on the left is Anokhi with an interesting stone sculpture welcoming you.

Vintage bicycle is part of the window display.

The stairs lead you to the upper level that has a Gift Store and a Cafe.

The walls have line drawn illustrations of bicycles, birdcages, books, mannequins and sewing machines which seem to mirror the many vintage displays.

An orb with fairy lights and flowers.

Illustrations of books.

A glimpse of Anokhi through the stairs.

While I was clicking away at the Gift shop I was joined by one of the artists I was meeting:-)

Colourful Gift shop with home decor accessories and quirky products.

Loads of quintessential Chennai products.

We entered the Chamiers Cafe which quickly lured me with it's colour palette and old world charm.
Neatly tied cream curtains standing out against the Mango tree in the backyard.

Vintage black & white studio family portraits formed a gallery wall against a floral wall-paper.

A pleasing colour palette with the cushions matching the patterns on the wall.

Antique knick-knacks placed in a glass cupboard in the cafe.

Delightful old typewriter!

The glow of clusters of ceiling lamps.

More sparking lamps and illustrated birdcages.

Chamiers is the brainchild of Kiran Rao and Mathangi Srinivasamurti. It is located on Chamiers Road. 

It also houses Amethyst Room, a space for many designers to showcase their work, many pop-up events and trunk shows are held here.

Overall a place to indulge in some retail therapy, surround yourself in block print designs and catch up with friends over a cup of tea while looking out at the mango trees.

Hope you liked the little tour through my lens.

…and stay tuned for the posts on the two talented artist I met here:-)

( Images by Arch and is copyrighted)

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From Fountain to Pond

Remember this homemade bubbler fountain,

 right off our back patio?...





I made it by sinking a huge plastic tote in the ground, covering it with three barbecue grill grates and topping it off with rock and a rock-looking fiberglass form. 




That was after plumbing a hose connecting a fountain pump in the water. It was a nice sound but I longed for something louder, bigger...



Enter a

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