The House of MG, Ahmedabad.

Our journey to the colourful state of Gujarat began with Ahmedabad. Having read so much about the architecture, the heritage and the people we chose a place which would be a gateway to all these.

The House of MG in short for The House of Mangaldas Giridhardas is a heritage mansion built in 1924 and belonged to the wealthy textile businessman. It has been converted to a beautiful hotel which still retains it's old world charm.

It is located in the Old City of Ahmedabad just walking distance from the 'Teen Darwaza' the oldest gateway of the city established by Sultan Ahmed Shah.

Antique photographic shrine of Sri & Srimati Mangaldas.

The whiff of subtle floral incense sticks along with the stream of winter sunlight welcomed us into this heritage mansion and I at once knew our stay here would be a memorable one.

Floating rose petals spreading their fragrance in the open courtyard.

Geometrical patterned tiles lead us into the heart of the mansion and the past seemed to come alive with the corridor walls forming a canvas of vintage portraits of the Mangaldas family.

Portrait of Champagauri.

On catching the glimpse of the antique swing against the terracotta walls a soft squeal escaped my mouth which triggered a giggle from my daughter.

Managed to photograph this stunning piece of furniture without capturing my reflection and followed the patterned path wondering at what else the mansion was going to unravel.

Wooden staircase leading to the various rooms.

Entrance to one of the fourteen luxurious rooms in the mansion.

The central courtyard with smooth ceramic mosaic work.

Outside our room

The walls are peppered with black & white photographs of the Malgaldas family.

Inside our room.

We had a traditional Gujarati swing in the room!

Loved the lighting idea, it's a yellow tube light fitted on a wooden plank with holes. The effect is that of spotlights!

Tastefully done up corners of the room.

The lobby area has a small idol of Lord Krishna seated on a swing and the oil lamps illuminate the space as the sun sets on the old city of Ahmedabad.

A family portrait of the Mangaldas family then and now...

The air fills up with the heady fragrance of incense inside while there is hauntingly beautiful 'Adhan' call for prayer from the Sidi Saiyed Jali Mosque opposite the House of MG.

This post is probably the longest one on Rang Decor till date and really hope all of you like it as much as I have loved sharing it with all of you:-)

You can see the slideshow of photographs of The House of MG here.

( Images by Arch)

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My Winter 2012 Mantel

As promised, here is a picture overload of My Winter 2012 Mantel.



First, I need you to know that it is challenging to decorate my mantel because it is over 8 1/2 feet long and is  5 1/2 feet high. The height makes it difficult because, one is viewing the mantel in an upward fashion vs. straight on. The sheer size of the mantel makes it hard to decorate because I have to fill the space with

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Songbird

I found two of these Christmas ornaments at our local thrift store before Christmas for only 50¢. I knew I was planning on a fun winter themed mantel, so here is your tease...


Christmas ornament



I made a pattern from the Christmas paper to the songbook page


Now my Christmas ornament is a winter Songbird!

 Coming soon, My Winter Mantel!!



NOTE: You should be able to click on most of

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An Affair with Paint!

As I'm still dismantling Christmas, I see that lots of folks are sharing their fun project(s) they conquered this past year.  So, I thought I'd do the same!  Let's just call this the "Year of Paint!"

I'll keep my babbling to a minimum so that the *tons* (sorry) of pictures can speak for themselves:

It all started with painting/distressing/staining a simple bench BM White Dove and exPLODED from there! 

BEFORE:

AFTER:

That led to this ...

BEFORE:

AFTER (I painted every.single.piece of furniture in here BM White Dove, followed by distressing and glazing/staining) (sorry the pic quality isn't the best):

My paint brush then whisked me over to our sitting room, where I took it from this:

to THIS:  Oh sure, let's paint the bookcase BM White Dove and cover the furniture with white slipcovers!

Next up, the buffet in the great room ...

BEFORE:

AFTER (this got coated with AS Old White, followed by distressing and waxing).  Oops, almost forgot I painted the mirror, too):

Gee, Becca, while we've got the AS Old White paint can open, let's just go ahead and paint the fireplace on the porch!  (Sorry I don't have a before picture):

Oopsee, SOMEbody then discovered AS Chateaux Grey:

And, hey, let's just bring the Chateaux Grey into the kitchen, why don't we?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now wait, since I painted the island Chateaux Grey, apparently, that meant that I had to paint the stools Old White for contrast, and, for good measure, add a fun French image by the Graphics Fairy!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Annnnd, because I love odd numbers when it comes to decorating, I thought it only right to paint a third piece in the AS Chateaux Grey.  And, why not just make it a big ol' piece like the dry bar!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And, well, THEN, I thought that I might as well go ahead and paint the cabinets in the kitchen, too!  Except, I only painted the upper cabs BM White Dove (later followed by a coat of AS Old White, follwed by distressing).  I left our lower cabs in their original maple stain:

BEFORE:

AFTER:



Still with me?  Let's seeeeee, next was the kitchen table beside the dry bar.  I painted the base of it AS Old White, leaving the top and chairs in their original stain (sorry no before pic):

Okay ... so, I'm pretty sure *this* is when I realized I had a problem ... even my poor pumpkins got attacked with AS Old White! LOL

Annnnd, most recently, while still in the kitchen, I decided to ask my sweet hubby to take down a lonesome cabinet in the corner and replace it with three shelves that I made all by myself!  I then painted them AS Old White and distressed them.  They make me smile, and I'll have a great time decorating them with each new season!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Needless to say, I've been one crazy painting mama this past year and think an intervention is definitely in order!  Thankfully, I'm not sure that there is anything left to paint in our home.  LOL  (Nah, I'm sure I'll find SOMEthing to splash with paint in 2012!)

Okay, you're next ... what are your fun projects you conquered this year?!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I'm linking up with:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW

Delightful Order/Delightful Inspiring Thursday

Kristen's Creations/Share Your Creations

Katherine's Corner/Thursday Favorite Things

No Minimalist Here/Open House Thursday

French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday

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New Year Wishes!

Wishing all my wonderful friends a very happy, peaceful & joyous new year. May this year and every year ahead brings calm and bliss in your life. 

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hers~ a design book on feminine style

 I was asked if I would like to review the new book, "hers" 

on designing spaces with a feminine touch, written by Jacqueline deMontravel. 

 Jacqueline is also the editor of Romantic Homes magazine, 

so I knew I would be in for a treat!  

My decorating style is definitely romantic and feminine

 and this book was right up my alley.

It is filled with encouragement and tips on how to incorporate a woman's touch into any space in your home.

 My home office is my latest project, 

and here I was trying to reinvent a space that

 felt romantic and feminine without going too sweet and girlish.

  This book came at a perfect time to help steer me 

in the right direction and validate the things

 that I was trying to achieve in creating my own work haven.

 Hers has sections dedicated to different spaces, 

like the home office, the bedroom, the living areas, and the outdoors. 

 Here a shabby french desk with an inspiration board 

above becomes this woman's private space that feeds her romantic leanings.

 This masculine antique desk gets feminized with old books, flowers and artwork.

 Drool worthy page after page showing ideas 

on how to create feminine spaces throughout the home,

like this dining room with a collection of hotel silver.

 Jacqueline visits homes of familiar bloggers,

 like this one of Brooke Giannetti of Velvet and Linen. 

 This vignette that Brooke created in her entry with 

the oversized french clock face and the mora clock

 along with the pretty cane settee went viral in blogland.

  I still love how this space makes me feel when I look at it.

 Jacqueline offers tips on how to claim spaces

 and add the feminine touches~like this example in a library.

  Too often a library is a masculine place in the home, 

but here there is a nice balance.

 Specifically she tells you to add more layers and accessories

 such as an embroidered table runner to give a cozier effect. 

Jacqueline says to romanticize a room with lighting and accessories.

 Above, a pretty daybed is nestled in the attic eaves

 under a vintage chandelier hung from white washed beams. 

 Chapter after chapter with tons of glossy romantic images

 made reading this book a delight!  

There were overblown french style rooms, 

gustavian white washed rooms with gilded touches,

 shabby chic cottage rooms and sophisticated traditional rooms~

all designed with the feminine touch.

 I organized my office shelves with the things

 that I find comforting with a new eye after reading "hers".

 All of us women have a romantic part that we need to pay attention to~

 Designing my  space with my romantic needs in mind 

as well as the functional aspect created a space I love.

There will be more layers added to underscore the tips I learned from "hers".

 If you are looking for a good book to add to your design collection~

 pick up a copy of "hers, design with a feminine touch" 

written by Jacqueline deMontravel, and printed by Crown Publishing.

P.S. Jacqueline really is a girly girl at heart~

look at what color the book is under the pretty dust cover~

shocking pink!

(The opinions I expressed were my own,

 and I was not compensated to write this review.)

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