Tired of the age-old Noddy-goes-flying-with-Martha Monkey and Winnie the Pooh posters that adorn kids rooms? Looking for something that breathes freshness, color, and adds life to the four walls? But, you are not willing to spend a fortune and it must be easy to do?

Let’s get started then and transform the walls before Diwali.

Wall Decal:

With stores such as Staples, Reliance Stationery Mart, and Hobby Ideas opening up in every major city, decals have become easily available. At Staples, for instance, you get a forest-themed or animal decal for Rs.199. You don’t have to stick to the pattern depicted on the cover, just get creative, or better yet, let your child stick them.

Wall decal

Cost of the project: Under Rs.500

Stenciling :

This stencil that featured in a recent issue of Elle Decoration - South Africa is one of my favorites. Of course, there’s no limitation to how far you can go with stenciling; it could be a repetitive small floral pattern or one big design. The bigger the stencil, the tougher it gets to complete it with finesse.

Animal Stencil on Wall

And finally, this mosaic wall using scrapbook stickers.

Mosaic Wall

Check the craftzine blog for instructions on how to stencil a wall pattern.

Image Courtesy:

1. Animal Stencil - http://elledecoration.co.za/2009/07/issue-63-free-stencil-downloads/

2. Wall decal - http://www.flickr.com/photos/denial_land/2875639728/

3. Mosaic pattern - http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/look/look-colorful-mosaic-wall-082670

All’s not been well here.  Over the past 10 days, the stubborn cold virus has been doing the rounds with each of us taking ill in turns; the family is slowly limping back to normalcy. However, I did find sometime on those long afternoons (when not under the influence of cough syrup) to add some cheer and color to the home. Blame it on the festive season

A while ago, I wrote about two terracotta pots I picked on the roadside, one of which I painted with zebra stripes. The other one has got a fresh lease of life too. The tree is inspired by a similar design on a Worli bedsheet.

Worli painting on a terracotta planter

Orange Pomander : During my recent trip to Trichy, I frequented a old books exhibition that had a HUGE collection of design and interior design books. One UK magazine that I grew fond of (can’t recollect the name) was about gardening and growing house plants; every issue was merely a few pages thick and I doubt if the magazine is still in circulation. An interesting and detailed article on how to make your own orange pomanders at home inspired me to try one at home. The one you see in the picture hasn’t yet dried.

Orange Pomander

And, finally another ivy in yet another recycled planter. The handi is from KC Das that originally contained mishti dahi. I didn’t want to throw it, so I cut a Bisleri bottle, filled with potting sand, and planted it with a small money plant.

Ivy in a handi

Have you ever in your wildest dreams thought that stainless steel could be made to look so stylish? I was mesmerized by the Art D Inox’s product range - the curves, the elegance, the finish and the glaze is classy. Here are some of favorites.

Cup and Candle Holder

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My kitchen cabinets are made of rubberwood.; the wood work is exactly five years old.  The cabinets haven’t lost much of the shine, but the wooden doors have accumulated dust and grease from cooking. The patches are quite visible now. I was wondering what would be the best way to clean them. One of the suggestions I got is to use a solution of dish washing liquid like Vim or Pril in hot water. The process itself will involve wiping the cabinets with a sponge using this solution, and then immediately rubbing it off with a clean cloth. Since the doors are polished, I believe little amount of moisture should not do much harm.

How do you de-grease your cabinets?

I’ve been freelancing (consulting, writing) for the past three years. It’s easy to imagine I would have a fancy workplace in the corner of a room in my apartment that’s tastefully decorated and stocked with all the essentials: magnetic board, post-its, colorful pen stand, clips, file cabinet, and a book rack. In all, a conducive environment that all how-to pieces on having an ideal/productive home office environment talk about.

I believe you can guess from the tone the reality is far from that. More often than not, my laptop sits on the dining table; when we have more than 3 people dining at the same time, I make room by shifting to the bedroom.  The non-stop activity around the house punctuates my work time: clanking of utensils,  my toddler driving his toy-car inside home at crazy speeds, market channel (NDTV profit) running in the background among other things.

To be more productive, I’m aching to have a quiet corner where I can retreat to when I like. On top of my wish list now is to find a corner in one of the bedrooms and do it up as a functional workspace with bare essentials : a phone, a table small enough to hold my laptop, a pen stand and a diary,  and a comfortable chair. By the side of a window. I love natural light coming in! There will be enough time to decorate it like the ones below.

Aesthetically decorated workspace

A place for everything including flowers - how nice!

Image Courtesy:

Flickr - 1, 2

One of the first few things I did this time, after getting back from vacation, was to check on my ivy collection in the utility area and the potted plants in the balcony. The balcony garden had thrived well, but the ivies had accumulated a lot of algae almost endangering them.

There’s nothing more heart-rending than to see your plants barren and it’s leaves turning yellow, when you return from a holiday. It’s happened to me more than once, and on every one of these occasions, I’ve sat down to reminisce how long it took for that Tulsi to grow from a three-leaf plant to one with numerous branches. And it’s all gone in no time.

I’ve gone wise since these last few experiences; and here are a few things on my to-do list now before I leave on vacation every time which might be of help:

1. Move the plants to a shaded region of the balcony that doesn’t get direct sunlight. This will help preserve water.

2. If you have only or two potted plants, then fill a bucket with about 10 inches of water (nearly quarter). Immerse the pots in the bucket. This has worked well for me on a number of vacations when I’ve been away for 4-7 days.

3. If you have bottles of ivies like I do, it’s best to drain the water. Clean the roots and fill the bottles with fresh water just before you leave. Ivies, or any bottled plant for that matter, provide a conducive environment for algae to thrive in stagnant water.

The above steps are sufficient if you are going for a week or less. If you plan to be away for a longer duration, then your neighbor is your best bet.  You may also try covering the pots with a plastic sheet.

How do you take care of your apartment garden while you’re away - give the keys to a neighbor and ensure they stick around :), have a gardener/maid water form outside if it’s a ground floor apartment, or do you have some automatic watering system installed? Share your tips/tricks.

I leave you with some inspiring images of balcony gardens …

Plants in colorful buckets. What an idea!

Space saver. Gives a great view of the home from the street.

A hydroponic vegetable garden. Must-see, can-do.

Another space saving solution

What a feast to the eyes!

Image courtesy:

1. Flickr - Bucket Planter,  Hydroponic Garden, Flowering plants, Stepped, Row planters

Thank you for all your comments and offline messages asking when posting would resume.  I hadn’t planned on being away for so long; I had to leave at a short notice to my parents’ that left me with little time to schedule posts in advance.

This post is a collection of assorted images from this three-week long trip. My parents’ home, just like any other, is a treasure house of memorabilia and collectibles accumulated over the years from their stay in the Middle East.  Many of them are over a decade old, but still good enough to be reused and spruce up one’s mood.

This stainless steel vase is a favorite. Place a bouquet of fresh flowers, or plant a needlepoint ivy and imagine the difference it can make to a room.

Stainless steel vase

Chinese art - made from shells

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