Make Room for Awesome!

Light Up!

When someone talks about a beautiful home, I sigh inwardly- forlorn and heartbroken- because you see, I live in Bombay. And just like any other great romance, this city and I share a pretty tumultuous relationship. I love it and it loves me back, but I just wish it would give me more space. Yes, that’s right, space. Space to breathe, space to stare into open meadows, space to walk around without bumping into a person or a wall, space to write, and finally space to have a sprawling, beautiful home with manicured lawns and Grecian pillars, with gorgeous drapes and tall vases, with magnificent chandeliers and even a fireplace. But that’s about as plausible as it snowing in the city, in which case I’m really going to need that fireplace. But you get the point, this is Bombay and the luxury of a big home is afforded by few. If you, the person reading, are one of those lucky people, I probably don’t know you and don’t want to because I’m going to have to shoot you. Moving on, I’m sure you understand why most design ideas do not resonate with the average Bombay inhabitant. This is precisely why, I’ve come up with a list of ideas to make your home match your own unique style and make your home beautiful — no matter how compact *sniff*

Light up!
At the risk of sounding philosophical, the lights in a room are like its soul. I find that we don’t give enough importance to mood lighting. Every room DOES NOT need a tube light or CFL’s, you do not live in a hospital and everything does not need to be in full focus all the time. Adorn your space with lampshades. Get ones in organic material that compliment or contrast the rest of the upholstery in the room. Get ones with cutwork on the shade, so the light emanates patterns on your walls. Create some romance; get your room to say something, ever so silently and ever so beautifully.

Wooden it be Lovely

Wooden it be lovely
Nothing spells class like a bit of wood in your room. From an antique Kashmiri bar in my sister’s house to my trusty wooden cupboard, I’ve always admired a great piece of wooden furniture. But just recently, I saw a rather small space which looked bigger than it really was all thanks to very clever wooden flooring. The furniture in the room was of dark wood and it was offset by light wood floors. This gave the illusion of expanse, one that we would all like to employ.

Flower Power

Flower Power
Flowers can light up any room, no matter how big or small. This is probably the least expensive and most plausible design idea I can share. Flowers can change your room. You don’t even need an elaborate setting or vase, just use an old wine bottle but please make the minimal effort of removing the sticker. Place daisies, rajnigandhas or large green leaves inside it; or palms and banana leaves work well too. This can be the centerpiece on a main table as well on other side tables, with different trough sizes. Another way to cheat the same effect is to use artificial flowers. If you are using artificial flowers a good idea would be to light up the similar essence in the room. Smells like real flowers, looks like real flowers, and just so darn easy to maintain. Now what is it that stands in the way of your beautiful home, again?

Get Reflective

Let’s get reflective
Without trying to sound too narcissistic, couldn’t we all look at ourselves more? A mirror actually does create the illusion of space in a room. You could even get creative and add more than one mirror. Maybe mirrors on opposing walls or one life size mirror. Above the side console is usually a great spot for an ornate eye catching piece. In the rooms a mirror is quite a good way to save space and add more volume. We know you are going to love this tip. You selfie loving, vain creature, you ☺

Color Therapy

Don’t hue worry child
Oh the power of colour is not recognized enough! Color therapy definitely works wonders, blue really makes you calmer and yellow instills optimism; will definitely update you once I’ve figured what all the other colours do. I know that aesthetically, nothing makes as much of a difference as the right play of colours. Whether it is introducing pops of colour into your otherwise dull home, using colour to make your space seem bigger or just changing the colour scheme of your home; colour will help make the space yours in your own inimitable style.

Try Asian Paints new palette of pastel shades. Usually I use the Asian Paints Royale, White ( I think its called marbled white )  in combination with their other colors. Its a bit more expensive than the regular paint. But the final coat looks better, it has the correct shine, lasts longer and apparently easier to clean.

Looks like legendary decorator Dorothy Draper got it right when she said, “The Drab Age is over. Color is coming into its own again.” Well, we couldn’t agree more sister!

I hope this little list of sorts helps you feel better about the space you live in because at the end of the day, there’s no place like home. If you live in a room that is the size of a matchbox, let it be the cutest matchbox there ever was. Don’t forget to write in to Design Pataki, tell me what ideas helped, send in some pictures and show us some love.