Today I’m back with another home tour and the series has been rechristened “Real Homes”. I think it’s amazing when people throw open their doors and let us take a peek into what lies behind it. It’s real for one with real people living in it; these homes are not staged or styled for a sale, and that I think is remarkable.

My post on paint color evoked a lot of responses; one of them was from Anitha who shared pictures of her home - Prashanthi. Prashanti means “peace” and as we step inside get a glimpse of the drawing room, every corner gives you that calming impact. Maybe it’s the magic of white …so shall we take a tour and see what’s in store? From flashes of light to an Indian version of Martha Stewart, you can see it all.

I asked Anitha how she manages a white sofa in dust-laden Bangalore and this is what she had to say, “Our living room colour was based on the warmth that the purple would give out when rightly mixed with whites. It took some time to convince my hubby about this colour. But, now he just loves it. These sofas are from Ikea and comes with machine washable covers. I bought two extra covers and it goes for wash fortnightly.”

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This is how the conversation goes when my husband and I go to buy anything for our home.

Wife: “The sofa’s too big for our living room.”

Husband: “But it’s soft and comfortable to watch TV. How about the white one -  looks and feels good?”

Wife:  ”High maintenance. Will get dirty. Chalo, let’s check out some place else.” And the weekend saga continues….

Buying furniture is not a life altering decision but don’t most of us act like it is And it can take eons to settle on the perfect corner table, often buying the first one we set our eyes on, but only after we’ve scoured a dozen other shops, right?

But here’s a duo who have patiently sat through hundreds of such conversations between couples, waiting to pick up the conversation after the dust settles, and encouraging them make to make the right choice.  Welcome to Soulscape. Meet Shweta Gupta and her team.

Located on 12th Main Indira Nagar, not too far from the iconic 100 feet road, is a contemporary lifestyle store called Soulscape.  Started four years back, the brand has carved a niche for itself in its segment. When I asked Shweta what the segment was, she had an interesting reply, ” it’s somewhere in between the premium luxury range and the one that caters to masses. “ And, that’s quite a big segment going by the size of the urban middle class with a deep passion to deck up their abodes tastefully.

I visited the store and came back inspired. Here’s a quick low-down on the store, its decor, and offerings.

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The weekend is here. Yay…but there’s one unfinished task that I would like to tick off before this weekend begins. The home tour of Sreekumar’s.  Siddharth is a good friend of ours. We’ve moved cities, companies, colleges and again cities together in the last five years.

He lives with his wife, brother and parents at his parents’ flat in Malleshwaram, Bangalore. We visited his parents one Saturday in January. I did not plan on shooting the interiors but after seeing the elegantly done flat I couldn’t resist asking.

You may wonder why I call it a haveli if it’s only a 3-BHK flat. Well, because that’s the feeling I got and I’m sure you’ll agree as you scroll down. They live in perhaps the most busiest part of Bangalore where it becomes impossible to step out of the apartment building in the weekends. But the house more than makes up for lack of outside entertainment. The pleasant interiors exudes a sense of warmth and the perfect atmosphere for the family to spend their weekends together after a hectic week.

It’s not a exaggeration when I tell you it took aunty over an hour to show me through the 3-bedroom flat and still it was far from over. Every piece of artifact and furniture has either been hand-picked or has been passed down generations. It was like a story unfolding in front of me with a tale behind every vase and chest in the house. For instance, can you believe the vase in the picture below is a artillery shell? Siddharth’s father used to serve in the defence forces before retiring. Hats off to aunty for carefully preserving memories and putting them to good use decades later in settings where one would least expect.

There is no room for modern in this house. The place oozes antiquity from every corner.

The view from the main door of the foyer and the drawing room. The aroma of fresh Rajnigandha was mesmerising.  The drawing room has a royal yet homely and cosy feeling.

The wooden oonjal is supported by intricately designed brass chains on four ends. It is flanked by equally majestic antique furniture set from Nosttaligia.Facing the oonjal by the side of the french window is a silk upholstered diwan.

Isn’t it so much better to be used than be stashed away in the lofts and forgotten forever? This laundry basket definitely looks stylish than the store-bought plastic or jute baskets. So on your next trip to your granny’s if it’s not being used, you know what to ask for

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Have you been to the Craft Corner store in Indiranagar? It’s hard to miss the signs if you are a regular at Barbecue Nation and a fan of eco-friendly products.

I think colorful jewelery boxes made of handmade paper with detailed paisley design can make for good gifts. What do you think? Apart from the looks, if they are handy, compact and score good on storage, what more can one ask for?

The pens and notebooks are my personal favorite.  Do you have any such corner stores in your neighborhood? If yes, write about them with a link in the comments section.

Image courtesy: Craft Corner

Is there anyone here who lives in Indira Nagar? There’s a reason I love the place : it’s a powerhouse of creative people who make lovely pottery and murals that makes you stop and take notice. Madhu Chandrika, an alumnus of Chitra Kala Parishath, is one such artistic lady - the person behind Earthen Symphony.

Earthen Symphony is hidden away from the much-happening 100 ft. road, though not quite far from it. It’s another sad story that beautiful bungalows and single shops on 100 ft. road have given way to swanky global retail brands like Guess.

The store stocks a impressive collection of pottery, lamps, storage boxes, Ganeshas, shades, mirrors, furniture and glass top stools. Prices range from Rs.350 for small pots and go all the way up to 40,000 for large mural installations. The wall pieces are available from Rs.1,100.

What impresses me in such stores is that the owner has an interesting story behind every piece. And it’s hard to miss the positive energy and passion of the person flowing through. All pieces are handmade at her workshop in Banaswadi.

I kept staring at every pot, clicking pictures from different angles and felt it over and over for its texture. Images of Confluence keep flashing in my mind when I see these murals. Shades or orange, brown and red are favorites among potters. But what sets Earthen Symphony apart is a whole range of things you can gift someone or deck up your home with. I didn’t see any nameplates in particular but I’m sure you can get it custom made.

Did you notice the Ganesha mural and the black and white pot?

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If you live in Bangalore, have you heard of  Grasshopper? The stylish boutique-cum-restaurant has received some rave reviews for housing art, food, and fashion under one roof. I’m told the delicacies are made from hand-picked vegetables and it’s a haven for non-vegetarians.

But, the one thing that caught my eye was a gallery on the mezzanine floor of Grasshopper that exhibits handmade paper lamps by Jenny Pinto. I’m a sucker for all things eco-friendly; never ceases to fascinate me. How about some window shopping?

This conical lamp shade made from handmade paper will look stylish and elegant in any living room.

Aren’t you dumbfounded by the creative use of materials - stone, copper and banana fiber?

Interesting shape this one, though I have to admit it’s a little spooky for my taste.

This chandelier would make for good conversation. Quite unlike the glass pieces our eyes are trained to seeing.

I would love to have a miniature version of this in my balcony and the one below in the dining room.

Cylindrical lamps

Image courtesy:

Jenny Pinto

Good Morning! Hope you had a lovely weekend. I had a wonderful one that took me to the interiors of Shivaji Nagar on Saturday and to the picturesque vineyards off Yelahanka on Sunday. I came back from Shivaji Nagar with stems of my favorite flower - the fragrant Rajnigandha and a huge basket of black grapes from Rajanakunte.

I’m kicking off this week with the second edition in the 3-part Apartment Hunt series. Today I’ll take you to Spectra Cypress, Veracious Landsdale and Gopalan Splendour.

Spectra Cypress on Varthur Road

This building under construction is hard to miss on the Varthur main road. Located on the main road next to Food Zone after you cross the Kundahalli signal on the left, it’s close to the school zone and other conveniences such as grocery, bus stop, libraries, malls and hospitals. I have to admit that this is the first property where I was floored by the model apartment. A well laid out floor plan with a cosy living room, a dining room that opens into a kitchen with an attached utility area and living quarters for your staff, spacious bed rooms, a detached guest bed room - there’s little to complain about. Ofcourse, except the price.

The 88 L + registration charges baffled me. Nearly 16 lakhs goes towards the extras, which I think is pretty steep. Launched in 2008, the project has taken its own sweet time to come to this stage. It’ll easily take 6 months to an year before all the   amenities start functioning and the property is fully occupied.

The builder boasts of a vertical garden wall and rooftop garden  among other standard modern amenities. The builder is not a prominent one and has completed just one project prior to this one in Bangalore.  The project gets all brownie points for its location, but is a dampener on all other counts (delivery, execution, price).

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How have you all been doing? I had a fabulous, if only a busy, weekend driving to the outer parts of the city. Going away from civilization was rejuvenating in many ways. As we re-entered the Ring road, I could feel the CO2-high air dampening my spirit. On the brighter side, we came back with good memories and dozens of pictures.

The drive down the Varthur village road leading to Sarjapur village is a treat to one’s senses: a whiff of fresh air, greenery as far as the eyes can see, a variety of birds from kingfisher to wood pecker cooing around the trees, and vendors selling freshly picked Jackfruit by the roadside to appease your taste buds. And, it’s just a 15 minute drive from Marathahalli on a busy Saturday afternoon. What more can one ask for so close to a concrete jungle that Marathahalli-Brookefields-Whitefield section has become?

One thing that’s hard to miss on this stretch are the numerous nurseries of all sizes and colors dotting the narrow road leading to Sarjapur village. I stopped by a few to click pictures and picked a few more plants for my balcony.  Some of them are so big that it’s overwhelming to choose just one or two plants (isn’t small beautiful?). I know the limitations I have: in a south-east balcony with very limited sunlight, it’s tough to tend to flowering plants. But, flowering plants are my eye-candy. I just can’t get over them.  Ferns, Cacti, Palm, or Crotons don’t appeal as much as a herb, vegetable or Petunia and Glaxonia.

The picture below is of Madeena nursery. I recommend this place if you intend to buy in bulk. You will grow tired looking at the flowering plants, for it’s never ending. The Hibiscuses, in  particular, are big, bright and beautiful.  The guys are knowledgeable about the sun, shade, and semi-shade plants. There is very little room for bargaining. Most of their regular visitors are villa owners from the neighborhood. If you hear radical sentiments echoing on a radio, you’ve found the right place. I just bought a Tulsi(Basil) for Rs.15 from here.

Rows of pots till the eyes can see

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Hope you all had a good long weekend. “dress your home” turned 1 on July 1st; so we’re officially a year-old now, and I’m taking small baby steps in growing this blog. I’ve decided to continue with the store tours as it gives me immense satisfaction to sift through dozens of home decor stores, decide which one fits in with my philosophy of serving a purpose, finally followed by the actual visit.

Last Saturday, I went to Namma Angadi which means “Our shop” in Kannada. Located in LB Shastri Nagar off Vimanapura, it’s a non-assuming, stone-walled building in a neighborhood most of us never would have a reason to go to. Anjula and Girish were quite helpful in helping me navigate down the narrow, winding roads from Old airport road to Namma Angadi. Namma Angadi is a marketing platform for traditional arts and crafts made by young workers in Kundapura, who were formerly child workers. It is promoted by a NGO called “The Concerned for Working Children.”

Above-18 workers are trained in various trades such as tailoring, embroidery, pottery, painting and weaving at the “Namma Bhoomi” vocational training center in Kundapura every year. The products made here are then marketed and sold through exhibitions held across Karnataka all around the year.

I know we’ve all read how everyday things like newspaper, wood and coconut can be reused to make interesting products. But doing is another ball game altogether? Seeing these colorful bags made from remaining pieces of cloth used for making kurtas rekindled the DIY blood in me. I was like, “Wow. This is nice, especially the door mat.” It’s so easy to discard things we don’t use, and here someone thought about making a nice, environment-friendly bag and selling it for under Rs.100. If only we refused those plastic stinkers at More/Reliance Fresh and used these cloth and jute bags for grocery shopping, they would have a future and the world would be a better place to live in.

Door mats

Are you also fond of Jute bags like me? I fall for the color, the texture, the ease of use and the style. After all, there’s very little one can go wrong with here, right Namma Angadi stocks a huge variety of these bags in different shapes and sizes. These would make for great gift items.

Jute bags

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No matter how stylish and elegant modern homes get, I’ll always be fascinated by the traditional Indian architecture. At the risk of repeating myself, I continue with this post

Most houses in the olden times were built on rectangular plots and, in certain places, adjacent homes shared a wall. Vast open spaces inside punctuated by thinnais and mithams, skylight, courtyards, red tiled flooring, huge cylindrical pillars along the mitthams or courtyards, a small hole on either side of the main door to light lamps, and high ceiling supported by wooden beams were some of the common characteristics of these eco-friendly homes. With such years of wisdom going into building of houses, can they ever be wrong? Little wonder there was no dearth of light and air while we feel suffocated, stifled and leave the lights on evening at 9:00 a.m. in a 2,000 sq.ft apartment. What a shame!

Another typical design feature of the old houses in Tamil Nadu was the linear corridor - one could stand at the main door and see the other end of the house. Everything else flowed seamlessly in between with no obstruction as the rooms and courtyards fell on either side of the corridor. Usually, a tulsi plant was what met one’s gaze from the open wooden-carved main door.I regret I don’t have any pictures of our ancestral homes. Maybe this time around, when I visit my grandparents’ I will do a photo shoot before the 100-year-old houses get renovated.

Homes in Chettinad, Kerala and north-western parts of Karnataka such as as Coorg and Mangalore share a common  element of design - courtyard. It is known by different names though in different parts such as thotti mane, nadu mittham and mittham.

While scouting for homes that adopted elements of our architecture, I discovered GoodEarth Homes’ Orchard project on Mysore Road.

Courtyard used as an indoor garden

I fell in love with the project (but for the price) as soon as I saw this picture. Isn’t it beautiful - a small green space inside the house that receives sunlight? Imagine waking up to the first streak of sunlight in the morning.

A modern verandah or porch

Long open corridor - where are the pillars?

Vineeta Nair of artnlight featured a traditional home in Palakkad a while ago.

I agree such vast spaces are beyond one’s affordability in metros. But there’s nothing stopping us from incorporating some eco-friendly concepts in apartments/penthouses such as skylights for better illumination. Although it’s tough to implement in normal apartments, penthouses can do this by placing glass on the roof for natural lighting. This can be extended to certain sections of the bathroom as well. I’m sure you agree that no fancy light can compete with natural light.

Chitra Vishwanath is a Bangalore-based eco-friendly architect. Some of her projects use these concepts of natural top lighting, stone arches and no fans. The project she has designed for the Rays uses the courtyard concept.

Have a story to tell about your ancestral home? Write to me with pictures and I’ll be happy to feature it here.

Images:

Kolavara heritage

Vembanad Lake Villa