Good afternoon everybody! With the rains making a guest appearance only on Monday, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. It has been a busy weekend at “dress your home”, in literal sense. I can’t remember the last time we were involved as a family in a rigorous DIY activity. Friday saw me returning home with cans of fresh, bright paint. By Saturday afternoon,  we were in our muddy clothes holed up in the kid’s bedroom with newspapers sprawled on the floor and paint brushes in the hand. The job is still far from done, so you will have to wait for pictures But, I promise it will be a long post full of pictures with a step-by-step guide (about what? keep guessing!)

Before I started on the BIG project, I hand painted a terracotta pot on Thursday in one of my favorite colors - Turquoise.  I love Turquoise because its bright, cheerful and is a head-turner. Don’t you agree? ever since I painted one of the pots in this electric color, it’s taken away the attention from my other pots. It’s picture time now.

This was how it was before I started.

Earthen pot

After a night of immersing the pot in a bucket of water, it was ready to be painted the next morning. Earthenware absorb less color when left in water for a few hours.

Painted in Turquoise

The pot has a metallic shine to it as I’ve used pearl acrylic colors.

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Pleasant in the mornings, hot in the afternoons, showers in the evenings and cool in the nights. That’s Bangalore weather for you. During late afternoons, it gets totally dark setting the scene for a heavy downpour. And, this is when I get busy giving into a latest obsession - hand painting terracotta planters. I’ve tried on different colors on a few planters we picked on our return from the Mahabalipuram trip. It’s an understatement to say I’m having fun painting them. It’s fun mixing the colors, wiping it away when I feel the colors are either too strong or too subdued, and start redoing it from scratch. The colors look stunning in the hot summer weather. And, I’m constantly searching the web for inspiration.

Some of my latest rustic creations:

The circles are stenciled on a terracotta planter white white as base. I haven’t primed the surface and the surface is not smooth (no sanding) as I wanted it that way for outdoors.

Puzzling circles planter

Here are a few I liked at Crate and Barrel. I’m in love with colors. I think the herb designs on white planters look neat. I’ve been toying with the idea of growing parsley once again. Every single time in the past has been a disaster. It so happens that rats are fond of the green leaves and once the plant starts growing, it attracts the pests. The floral patterns, though a tried-and-tested one, never fails to charm me. When you’ve run out of ideas, you can safely go back to this one  and still feel good about it.

Floral planters

As always, I’ve saved the best for the last. This set is from Anthropologie. The colors and designs look very Indian. They remind me of mehendi and designs one often sees on handicrafts. Bright colors, cool shapes and intricate eye-catching designs definitely make them stand out from the rest.

Anthropologie planters

I sincerely believe some of the best talent in this country lies hidden in the rural parts - away from the world because of minimal marketing and almost zero online presence. Treasures like intricate terracotta pottery, blue and white ceramics, large wood carvings or paintings on silk are sold at exorbitant prices in famous handicraft shops such as Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu or Cauvery in Bangalore. One thing typical of these folks is they are content with what they create, at the price they sell totally oblivious of how much money their creations make in the cities. So, it’s a pleasant surprise when I come across someone business savvy enough to at least make an attempt to reach out to the world by hiring a basic web designer to let us know they exist. And, that helps. I know there are many companies in the Western belt (primarily Rajasthan) who make a killing because they export in bulk. That’s organized business for them. I’m talking more about the talented, unorganized ones all around the country who have a hard time making a living.

I spotted these terracotta candle stands from RM Terracotta and was impressed by his product line. I called up the gentleman for a price list.  Though he has an e-mail address listed on the website, he insisted on sending the price list by speed post.  Never mind, I loved what I saw and had to share it..so here you go.  Yea, I have a weakness for anything pottery, ceramics … bright ones at that.

Candle Stands

Wall Hanging Vases

Look at the detailing in these wall hanging pots.. it’s more folksy. I’m not sure if he customizes for you but it would be nice to create a entire scene around the pot - like Worli art.

Candle Stands

Some more cute li’l candle stands.

Image Courtesy:

RM Teracotta

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