Make Your Home Look its Best This Festival Season

It’s that time of the year when we all start preparing our homes for the upcoming festivals. While festivals are unmatched in the fervour and excitement they bring, they also come with the frenzy of giving our home a makeover. A splash of the latest wall colour, some sparkling new cushions, it’s always so exciting and confusing. So while you are scouting your favourite decor stores for the perfect home accessories or matching upholstery to your wall colours, we thought you might want a little heads up on the latest decor trends. So here goes..

Minimalist furniture

If you’re thinking of going the vintage way, with antique, carved furniture and what not, curb yourself. Interior Décor experts say that this season’s furniture trends are all about minimalism and modern chic. So yes, straight-lined, space-saving, functional furniture is definitely the way to go. Ditch the chunky pieces and opt for stronger, more durable wooden furniture with pronounced grains.

 Florals

 Large garden motifs are in this season. They brighten up any space for the festivals. Last season’s pink and turquoise colour combination has given way to fuschia and bright orange. So let your decor accessories, cushions, curtains, or even your carpets take inspiration from this trend. Table furnishings also lend themselves to this look.

Quirkiness

Decor this season has definitely moved away from the ornate to the more functional but there is still an element of quirkiness. Add character to your space with interesting wallpapers, functional pieces with a touch of eccentricity (eg: a stool shaped like a strawberry) etc. It’s the best way to infuse your own personality into your decor.

Eco-friendly DIYs

Wondering how? We’ve got you covered! This year, give the festivals a green tinge by reusing everyday items in innovative ways to create beautiful products. They will brighten up your home and be good for the environment too!

 How, you ask?

- Orange Peel Lamps:  Put orange peels to good use and turn them into temporary organic candles. With just a little bit of oil, you can have a lamp that gives off a beautiful citrus scent and a warm, natural glow that can brighten up any space. Other than orange peel lamps, you can also use coconut shell lamps to keep the festive flame alive.

- Old Saree Décor: We all have that old or torn saree tucked inside our closet which we totally adore but won’t be using again. Used creatively, vintage sarees can become stunning cushion covers and curtains to brocade quilts and table spreads.

- Painted Glass Bottles: Glass bottles come in all shapes, sizes and hues, and those diverse qualities make them such versatile objects when it comes to decorating. Adding string lights to an empty glass bottle makes a great decoration piece on its own. For a more colourful look, you can paint them to give a custom look that is tailored to your own taste and decor theme.

We're always up for more home décor tricks and tips, so if you have any, do let us know, and of course, we'd love to see pictures of how you do up your home with these tips!

Image credits:

http://www.wideopencountry.com/15-ingenious-ways-reuse-liquor-bottle/ 

http://lifehacker.com/5966084/most-popular-diy-projects-of-2012

Vaastu for Better Living

Vaastu is the craze now. Every aspect of the home is now clinically examined for Vaastu compliance. From neighbourhood Vaastu practitioner to high priced consultants – everybody is in great demand.

Without going into the merit of it, here are some of the basic rules for homemakers for checking their homes on basic Vaastu parameters.

But first, a little backgrounder. Ancient Vaastu shastra – a body of knowledge of Vaas – the home – has been basically an ancient architectural rule supposedly used in building Hindu temples. The earliest example is perhaps the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia, built in 12^th century by King Suryavarnam II. The temple has all the tell tale signs of Vaastu compliance architecture.

Angkor Wat Temple Complex, Combodia

However, ancient Vaastu designs seemed to have evolved and have not been rigid. In fact, the principles of Vaastu vary from Odisha to one at Rajasthan or Gujarat.Modern Vaastu has many interpretations and therefore, many rules.

 Here is some Rule-of-thumb Vaastu for you

• Set your house furniture in the form of circle, square, or as octagon

• It is good to fix an image of bright sun in the southern wall of the living area

• Your house dinning hall must never get exposed to the entrance door of the house

• It is good to fix an image of bright sun in the southern wall of the living area

• Setting a mirror in the kitchen room is not recommended

• It is good to place the fish aquarium in the southeast corner in your living area

• It is good to stick a happy family photograph or picture inside your living room

• Building your house rooms in shape of oval, circle, or triangle is strictly not advisable

• Your latrine seat must be kept facing towards northern south

• It is good to set mountain wallpaper behind you in your office

• Building your house rooms in shape of oval, circle, or triangle is strictly not advisable

• Keep the corners bright

• Construct your bedroom, where wind must blow from south to west

• Your house dinning hall must never get exposed to the entrance door of the house

• Do not place the mops and brooms in the kitchen

• It is good to set your windows opened towards out face

• Never keep a ladder that faces towards west or north, as it makes waste of money

• Never wear torn clothing or withered flowers as these will prevent the Goddess Lakshmi entering into the home

Some Vastu ideas for Kid's room 

• The study desk should be placed in such a manner that the child faces east, north or northeast corner while studying. East is the most appropriate direction, as it paves way for enhanced concentration.
• In a kid's room, the bed can be placed in the southwest corner. Place the bed in such a way that your child has his/ her head facing the east or south direction, while sleeping.
• The apt direction for constructing children's room is west. Apart from that, west, northwest, northeast and southeast directions can also be used for constructing kids' room. Totally avoid the southwest direction.
• If you must have a mirror and a television in the bedroom, have them either on the left or the right side of the bed.
• The almirahs and cabinets should always be located in south or west direction of the room.
• Green colour proves the best for kids' room, as it is associated with freshness and peace and increases brain power as well.

So that was a few tips from Modern Vastu for you. We will keep sharing expert advice and insights from industry experts to help you decorate your home perfectly.

 (Acknowledgement: Guru Mukand Trivedi).