Sunday 30 August 2009

My Sunny Balcony

If you too, like me love to hang out in balconies and want to make it that perfect place to relax and rejuvenate, here are 4 highly creative individuals from My Sunny Balcony, who will transform your balconies into a beautiful retreat:-)
These individuals are Sriram Aravamudan, Shailesh Deshpande, Athreya Chidambi and Reena Chengappa. They are not only passionate about their work but also about the environment. This aspect is reflected in all the stages of their work.Whether it is getting eco-friendly garden options or to the organic manure that they use for their plants, everything is well thought out. Their knowledge about various species of plants and how well they grow in different environments is commendable.
You can choose from various themes like Zen, Traditional, European, Mexican etc. They will transform even a small space to a work of art:-)
They collaborate with various artists to enhance the theme of their gardens.
Here is one such artist painting a Bodhi tree for one of their clients.The earthern pots are custom-made for each client based on their requirements and theme.An old world charm incorporated in one of their many balcony transformations:-)
So if you are in Bangalore and have even a small balcony space, do contact them. They will come with their green thumbs & eco-friendly optimism and transform your space into one sunny balcony:-)

(Photos from My Sunny Balcony.com, Anita Bora)

Friday 28 August 2009

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Rang Decor Readers' Creative Spaces: VII

Today Anaheeta Pinto shares her beautiful home in Bangalore with reader's of Rang Decor.Teak leaves pressed on a plaster of paris wall at the entrance and then removed once dried, gives a beautiful texture and feel

Anaheeta
says, "I love stories. I think every moment has the potential to be a story and everything we possess becomes precious if it has a story to tell. Our home is a collection of many wonderful stories that we love to recall and share." Lovely wooden stairs with her Grandmother's wooden plank on the right-side wall.
"Our home reflects our travels, our love for nature and our fascination with all things Indian, traditional, handcrafted and creative. That's the other thing: we don't care for the obvious. Deepak and I enjoy the process of discovering a new use, a new shape, a new colour - so much of what you see in the pictures is our take on looking at the obvious with different eyes, on giving something a little twist and just trying a fresh way of using an old thing...its fun!"
This lovely painting in the living room is by Bharati Prajapati.
This antique chair has been restored and upholstered by Anaheeta herself with mirrorwork cutouts and rawsilk upholstery.

Anaheeta says, " The materials we have used in our home are mostly natural: Kota, Jaisalmer, Slate, Terracotta and Wood. We enjoy juxtaposition: old and new, contemporary and traditional, texture and plain....a lot of the way this apartment looks revolves around this evolving contrast."
The painting in the dining room is by Yasala Balaiah.

"For us, our home has been an exciting journey of discovery and it continues to grow fuller with stories and memories that make it the warm, inviting and happy place it is."
The blinds in the study are Anaheeta's dupattas from college days.
"An heirloom created by us in our lifetime! This is my all time favourite piece in the house: five precious old sarees that were already in tatters, were gently stripped and rewoven into this stunning tapestry."
An original Parsi Heirloom Cupboard with Belgian Glass and Glass Painting.The Children's Room with circular wall stickers from Japan and decals by Surya Sajnani.
Anaheeta's lovely terrace garden.
Hope all of you enjoyed the lovely space shared by Anaheeta. Anaheeta thanks for sharing this lovely space with us:-)

Any questions for Anaheeta do ask in the comments section.

Thursday 2 July 2009

Monday 15 June 2009

Mallipoo story...

Right now this beautiful painting by Kalyani Ganapathy called Ponnuku Mallipoo Asai translated 'A little girl likes jasmine flowers' adorns the orange wall in my daughter's room.

The story~
Last year when I featured Kalyani's work here, I fell in love with this little girl called Mayuri in the painting, she so needed to be in my daughter's room. We were in the process of moving to our new home and I had already visualised how the painting would look in my daughter's room. Kalyani has used acrylic on canvas and has really made the little girl come to life:-)

Will post more pictures from my daughter's room, which still is work in progress.

Do visit Kalyani's site Surfkye, to see some of her gorgeous work.

Sunday 14 June 2009

My foray into product photography...

Things have been rather quiet here at Rang Decor and I am sorry about that. Thanks to all you lovely readers who come back often to check on the blog.

Many of you know about my love for photography, I post regularly on flickr and occasionally in Rang Decor. When a beautiful opportunity came my way, I just had to explore it:-)

I have recently started shooting for a Luxury handcrafted Bedding & Linens store~ Saffron Marigold.I have been styling and shooting the gorgeous products for Saffron Marigold. The recent one being the Morning Dew print that they have recently launched.

Here are some of the frames from the shoot. Hope you like them.Morning Dew Table Runner
Morning Dew European Pillow Sham
Morning Dew Table ClothMorning Dew Sheer Curtains

The behind the scene experiences, the styling and other photographic features I will be sharing soon on my other blog~ Rang: The Colours of Life

Have a great day!

Monday 18 May 2009

Jew Town, Cochin.

Jew Town in Cochin has a lovely old world charm, brightly painted walls with interesting Hebrew inscriptions, narrow lanes leading to one of the oldest Synagogues and streets dotted with spice and antique shops.
It is one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the world dating back to 700 B.C. when Jewish traders came to the shores of Cochin seeking spices. Now only a handful Jews remain. You can read more about their history here.
Intricately carved spice boxes over-flowing with aromatic spices displayed on the streets.
The antique shops got us excited, but we were also a bit wary considering it is one of the prime tourist spots.
It was wonderful walking and exploring the lanes of Jew Town. An old shop selling hand embroidery and textiles.Some of the pieces we picked up from Jew Town, Wooden Padukas ( slippers)Seasoned wooden kitchen utensil.

Useful tip: Look around many shops and bargain hard;-)