Alright, I have a confession to make. After falling in love with Turkish lamps, I never got over it. While looking for interiors with those lamps and Turkish ceramics, I stumbled upon Kybele Hotel. The interiors of this stylish hotel in Istanbul is very inspiring and totally eye-candy stuff. No matter how many times you look at it, you just can’t get over it.

From ceilings laden with hundreds of mosaic lamps to lush greenery gardens to intricately designed ceilings in the library, every part of the hotel oozes with oomph. The place is a visual treat. Would you like to see for yourself what I mean?

Lesson learnt: Fabrics in yellow, gold and red can never go wrong in  giving a royale look to a room.

Aqua/turquoise is my all-time favorite color. It brings life to any environment.

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There’s a shop around the corner where my parents live. It’s a plain, white-colored, non-descript building that houses many Indian and Pakistan antique and handicraft shops. But the one on the corner stood out. Every time we passed by that route, I would longingly gaze into the shop for all its colors and variety displayed on the windowsill. Then one day, I went in and regretted why I hadn’t been here before.It’s one of a kind that you fall in love the first time and long to go again and again. Colors have that kind of a magic over me.

The store is called Pleasant Home and it’s in Adliya, Bahrain. The shop has  a wide range of lamps from Turkey, Syria and Iran. Apart from this, one can find quirky items like a old water boiler from Russia with inscriptions in Russia dating back to the 1800s, traditional Arabic incense holders, and dishware called Tajine. So, are you ready for a virtual tour as I take you through the magical world of Turkish and Syrian lamps?

On a closer look, you’ll see these lamps can either be hung from the ceiling or on walls with clamps. Very delicately done with pieces of colored mirrors.

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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

It’s been two weeks since the last post? In my head, I thought I was away only this past week.  School admission and a very active cold virus in the house had kept us grounded for nearly a fortnight. However, I did find some time to hit the home decor stores in between for fresh finds.

I’ve been staying up late nights with a book, and once I’m done, it’s quite a task to walk off the bed and switch off the tube lights. Can you believe the bedroom does not have a table lamp yet? We’ve lead a nomadic life these past few years that some of the essentials never found a place. We are slowly getting our lives back in order and so is the house.  Well, I did have two, one of which I gave away when we last moved. I couldn’t find the shade for the other and came up with all these crazy projects t make one myself. It wasn’t worth the effort as the base, though never used, had suffered from the numerous packing/unpacking sessions. So, a table lamp figures high in the list of things to be purchased immediately.

I’ve been busy looking for interesting, simple and budget-friendly (under Rs.700) table lamps for my bedroom. It was quite disappointing to not find even a single tasteful piece at @ Home. It’s been a while since I stopped visiting Home Town. Home Town store displays are rather boring and highly priced.  Home Art didn’t stock any either. Can you believe what dismal lighting section most of these big retail stores have? So, I went to a few local light shops to find a clean lamp shade. Yes, I mean clean because most of the lamp shades (including the ones at @ Home on sale) are dirty from being over-exposed or lived a more shelf life than they were meant to.  In any case, it was a futile search in person and online to get a table lamp.

Some inspiration doesn’t hurt, does it?

Very functional table lamp

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