Find your happy space
Where does your family usually get together for fun times? Is it the living room, patio, dining room or perhaps the balcony? It could be any space, and each family may have its preference, but the space just needs to be warm and inviting. Swati Kapur suggests some simple ways to create a cosy nook for the family.
We all have a favourite place in our homes. For some, it’s the living room and they adorn it with their favourite collectibles. For some, it’s the dining space where they get to spend quality time with the rest of the family while some make the most of their balconies by making it a green area. Here are a few ideas to make it all the more special.
How about a wall album? You could decorate the wall with happy pictures of your family in frames of different sizes and colours. A family picture placed prominently in the house helps all members bond well and think about each other even when they are not physically present in front of each other. In today’s high-tech world of digital photo sharing, it may sound like a very old-fashioned idea, but the truth is that when you sit down to relax in the living room or the bedroom, it’s these images hung on the wall or placed firmly on a shelf that connect you emotionally with the other family members.
Picture rails and matching frames are a great way to display photos of family members or their travel adventures. I have seen an interesting looking lamp all covered with black and white silhouettes. The pictures all came alive at the click of a button. Sanjay, an avid traveller and photographer, loves to put up clustered frames on the walls. His passion for travel photography has meant that he has wonderful masterpieces from all around the world.
The staircase is another good option. You can build a complete gallery of pictures along the wall near the stairs. Shelves too provide a great space for family photos. Silver frames and black-and-white photography create a beautiful gallery of cherished memories.
Bring in some nature
You may not have a sprawling garden offering wonderful views and a space to relax but that should not stop you from bringing greenery indoors. Bring in the choicest blossoms in beautiful vases and pots, and place them in the corners of your rooms for that feel-good factor. Pick up a stick from the garden or opt for a colourful bunch and tuck them in a corner. You can use your treasured antique bowl or silver pitcher and tuck in some flowers. You can also ask the florist to make a custom-designed arrangement that goes best with the room. Float two or three blooms like gardenias or gerbera daisies in a crystal bowl. A floating candle or two will make for a glowing evening effect. Artificial flowers like cherry blossoms or magnolias are a perfect fit for the season.
Dining space: If the family is hard-pressed for time and meets only at the dining table, make sure that the table is well laid with pleasing crockery. Well-presented meals bring joy to people dining together. Small vases with bunched flowers are good centre-pieces.
Avoid long lamps or vases right in the centre so each member can see and communicate well with each other. A family portrait or a painting on the wall is a good idea.
Living room: The best way to bring life to a living room is to ensure that a lot of natural elements are incorporated into the room. So, pull the curtains and let the sunshine fill up the room. Create natural effects with sheers, blinds and curtains in tissue, tussar or light cotton. Home furnishing stores have a range of products that can breathe life into the room instantly. Open the windows and vents for fresh air to come in.
Balcony: You can make a nice and green balcony with pots and plants. Cane chairs, bean bags and small tables make for a perfect tea party venue. Here too, paintings can be put on walls to add colour and life. Creepers look pretty on a wall too.
Garden: Summer or winter, the garden has always served as the perfect gathering spot for Delhi resident Kiran’s family. “Cane chairs and tables, stools and bean bags, rugs and mats...we simply grab any of these to make ourselves comfortable,” she says. Our whole family enjoys the Delhi winters and we also do barbeques at times in the garden. During summer, we open up our garden umbrellas in the evenings and it makes for a comfortable Sunday breakfast venue.
Stocking up on accessories doesn’t have to take a toll on your budget. All you need to do is keep surveying the local markets for all the right stuff.
Choose from pots, rugs and carpets, bathroom accessories, curtains, photo frames, glazed and plain mirrors, motifs that can be placed on tiles or doors, etc. This is the best time to learn tile painting and implement it right in your house.
Also remember that a clean-smelling home is all the more inviting. Instead of wasting money on sprays and other products designed to make your home smell better, create your own scents. Try a simmering pot of cloves and cinnamon or dried flowers and leaves to give your entire home a great scent.
I use a lot of camphor on mosquito repellent plugs to diffuse the vapours. Other options are rose and lemon grass incense, a spray of gulab jal around the house, sandalwood scents and sticks placed at the right corners. Go, identify your scent for the season!
Also try these
Paint the ceiling of a white room to a lemony yellow or violet to create a soothing effect.
Wallpaper your rooms with scenery and motifs. Bored of seeing the same old wardrobe or door? Introduce glass segments and stick with velcro or a vibrant cloth in tissue or cotton to it. This will render a colourful and pleasing effect.
You can change it as often as you like. Even better if you get your hands on a fabric and paint it to your liking. You can also wallpaper the inside of your bedroom closet.
Brighten you porch or patio with some cheerful pillows in cotton napkins or tissues.