Today is Ganesh Chaturthi; that time of the year when bright-colored idols of Ganapati in all sizes don the streets. I’m a believer and celebrate the festival. However, one aspect that bothers me are the idols itself (toxic colors) and the permanent damage caused to most lakes and rivers across the country around this time when the idols are immersed.  Over the past few years, I’ve stopped buying the colored ones and prefer the non-toxic clay version.

A friend sent me this carved piece of Ganesha made from Coconut. An exemplary piece of art. Wouldn’t it be nice if those commercial pieces were replaced with ones such as these made from environment friendly materials?

Ganesha made from Coconut Shell

Toys stored in a loft bed

Open shelves with wicker baskets are my all time favorite as they are easy to organize and to store not just toys but other knick-knack as well such books, CDs/DVDs, crayons, and stuffed toys. The only downside is it tends to take up considerable floor space. But I would prefer these any day to metal bins on grounds of safety.

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One of the most challenging aspects while designing a house is a kitchen; one that is functional,  within budget, fitted with the required cabinets, tasteful, easy to work in, well-illuminated throughout the day, and has sufficient storage space for your family. Let’s not even get started on how many arguments a couple has to endure while designing this space that a family like ours hangs out in often.

If yours is a small kitchen,  one area that requires utmost attention and cannot be compromised are the corners.  Corners if designed right can be great storage spaces; if fitted with mere shelves, they can be a nightmare -  after all, who wants to dig deep into those dark corners?

Carousels have more or less become the standard today in kitchens equipped with cabinets.

Kitchen Carousel

Drawers in a kitchen corner

A L-Shaped Corner Shelf

Image Courtesy:

Drawers : via AT

Shelf : Flickr

I have two 3/4 circular carousels as part of the cabinetry. The stuff I store in are not-so-often used spices and groceries such as panipuri masala, besan, rajma, chana, sabudana - you get it, don’t you? You can even install pull out drawers (metaboxes) to store appliances such as juicer and their respective jars.

Share pictures of your kitchen on how best you’ve utilized the corners, for the benefit of others. Link it in the comment space or send a e-mail to dressyourhome.in@gmail.com

I found it highly irresistible to share my find here - cribcandy. The site has a lot of good stuff to bookmark but what caught my eye were the quirky cushions; call it an obsession with cushions One look at these and I’m sure you’ll agree with me. The site is a time waster. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you

The one for pillow fights!

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A little caveat before I begin this post: it’s not the feel-good type that you are used to seeing on this page. It’s one of those get-down-and-dirty posts but something e can’t live without. If you’re game, continue reading and I promise there are great pictures in the end

What is the one thing that causes you the most agony in maintaining your home? For me, it’s cleaning bathroom and kitchen tiles. Outsourcing this area of home cleaning has never given me good results and I don’t feel good telling someone to clean the bathrooms.

Products I use:

1. Easy Off for hard water stains. There are different flavors of the product. Choose the one best for you.

2. Harpic/Domex/Clean Mate (really doesn’t matter). Alright, Harpic fares a teeny tiny bit better than the rest!

3. Homemade paste of vinegar/baking powder/lime/salt.

How to clean bathroom tiles - the process :

Ok, let’s get to the dirty bit.

1. The bathroom cleaning ritual is not something I hate totally. It gives me immense satisfaction to maintain a clean bathroom. I usually clean it before a shower which has its own advantages. You don’t have to worry about soiling your clothes!

2. I choose nights when I expect the family to kick start the following day late to apply Harpic/Easy Off on the tiles. Leaving them overnight works wonders as it takes very little scrubbing and brushing effort the next morning. Using a sponge (I use the one from Scotch Brite) does not damage the tiles (no scratches while bringing back the shine).

3. No water, no dirt : The real trick in having sparkling tiles is to net water accumulate in the floor. More the water, more the dirt absorption capacity. I know it’s fairly tough to maintain a dry bathroom if you do not have a demarcated shower area. Especially in old rented homes, there’s little one can do. So keep a mop handy in the bathroom to wipe away water after shower. If you own the place and do not have a shower area, get one. It’s really easy. Get a strip of tiles affixed on the floor to form a small square/rectangular portion.

4. Stained tiles : My apartment was rented for a few years and poor maintenance did it in. The bathroom tiles were stained and it took me months to take the shine back. If you have stained tiles too, then here  are few things that will work: apply a solution of vinegar/salt/lemon/baking soda on the stained part and let it stand for a while or acid wash. I do not recommend acid wash highly for two reasons: it’s not permanent and a lot of hard work, and tiles lose their sheen.

5. Cleaning scum from taps: Hard water tends to leave a thick deposit on the taps. The vinegar mixture works well on the scum. This is a economical solution. Or if you have Easy off, you can use it. Use the same procedure to clean the soap dish and the racks that hold the toiletries. If it is glass, then do it while cleaning your mirrors. If it is granite, then wipe away with a clean towel.

6. Before beginning to clean the tiles, I flush the toilet and pour two caps of Harpic and let it sit for at least 2 hours. Doing this at least one/two times a week helps and will be a lot less work.

7. Glass cleaner: I use a spray glass cleaner to clean the mirror with a clean piece of cloth/towel.

8. Once a week, clean the kids’ bath tub with a brush to remove the scum. Ensure the tub is free of water after every shower.

If there isn’t sufficient white cement between the gaps in tiles, hire someone and get it done. This prevents water seepage.

And finally, when you’re done, spray your favorite room freshener.

Now over to the good part:

Wood complements the bright color

In Black and White

A bold graphic pattern in sea green

Your turn. Share your bathroom cleaning ritual in the comments space.

Image courtesy:

Flickr stream

I’m a big fan of open shelves in kitchen for lining up often used spices.  Easy to handle, cheap to install, quick cleaning and scores high on the look factor…what more can one ask for! And, for renters, nothing is more easier than a open shelving system to add storage space . What do you think of these?

Open shelves in kitchen

More stuff...though a li'l cluttered

Image courtesy:

All images from Home Sweet Home

Sometimes I think the best things in the world are handmade; Shades of India reaffirmed the belief.  It was a pleasure to discover the Noida-based home fashion store that  supplies to leading international retailers around the world including Selfridges, Heals, and Harrods in London, ABC and Barneys in New York. What sets them apart is the hand oven textile using fine silks, cottons, and fabrics.

Shades of India is quite discreet about its collections. Despite registering, I’ve not been able to gain access to their website and take a peek into their 2009 collections.

I share some of my favorite cushions from their latest range:

Cushions from Shades of India

True to its name, isn't it heavenly?

As with all things hand or custom made, the collection is quite pricey as they are primarily meant for international market.

Images from Jasmine Hall, a distributor of Shades of India in Australia.

What’s the easiest and healthiest breakfast on earth? If you are like me who has been on this breakfast Monday-Friday for as long as I can remember, then it has to be Kellogg’s Cereals! People often ask me if I don’t get tired of the same thing day after day. But they have so many flavors, how can one get tired? Anyways, this means that I have at least one empty cereal box every week that goes to the bin.

I was inspired yesterday to turn one of the boxes into a magazine storage box. This is not exactly a decor project but a little fun craft activity for your kids. I got my toddler involved and we transformed a honey flakes box for storing his alphabet-numeral series books.

A Magazine Storage Box from a Cereal Box

Steps:

1. Cut off the top flap - the entire horizontal portion.To make the bottom sturdy, you can insert this horizontal flap into the base.

2. Draw some nice curves or whatever design you’d like on the two vertical sides and cut them out using a scissor.

3. Stick plain white paper with glue on the sides.

4. Time to get creative. Get your kid to color on the paper or you can paint on it yourself using sketch pens, crayons or markers.

Colored Cereal Box for keeping books

Want to know a li’l secret on how to uplift your mood instantly? Get a bunch of fresh flowers and place it on your center table or dining table. It almost always works wonders for me.  There was a time when three to four sticks of  rajnigandha always adorned my treasured glass vase, only to be replaced with a fresh bunch after three days. These flowers smell best at nights so it used to be such a refreshing feeling coming back home every evening after work.

Vases add to the visual appeal that contain these colorful flowers. You can stretch your imagination to use a lot of common objects as vases from old drinking glasses, porcelain to silver/brass ware and earthen pots.

However, if you are looking for something classy, then here they are. My picks:

Silver vases

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