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Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Moods of my entrance!


Nothing beats the deep sigh of release and the delight of arriving home at the end of a tiring work day. It is a feeling one has to feel and cannot be described. As we step into our sanctuary, our personalized entry way that sets a serene vibe absorbs the lassitude from a long day instantly, offering a comfortable transition to a restful atmosphere. What’s more? A lot! Welcome to our Foyer and allow me to narrate my love story with this humble place :).  

I have immense love for my Foyer and am absolutely obsessed with playing around with the decor here, changing up the look constantly. This humble setting at the entry way with its immense potential for myriad creative settings, gives our visitors a first glimpse of our personal style and introduction to our whole house.

In ourhome, the entryway is a “landing stage”, which apart from providing a comfortable place for donning or shedding shoes or Jackets, also extends a warm personal welcome to our guests along with us. Come on in, as I guide you along to showcase the portraits of some personalized (or should I say Pinkified;)) vignettes and kaleidoscope of art work that greets our guests with more than just hello!
 
Whatever may be the physical feature or size of your entryway, the first impressions always matter, and few thoughtful touches here can go a long way in treating one’s eyes as soon as they set the foot into a home. In my own foyer, a pop of color is the top layer on my vignette that can be easily changed. Red always works for me. Purposefully placed minimal brass setting here echoes the overall traditional setting of our home.

I do not really align myself with any particular style and select pieces solely by their jazz that intrigues me. However, I have always been passionate about styling with timeless and classic decor items and hence, my strikingly stylish brass usually accentuates the simplicity of my décor that I put together with a minimal effort.
A table is foyer essential and a best surface to accessorize, apart from making an exceptional first impression on the guests. With a narrow entrance, a shelf or a small cabinet can definitely solve the same purpose of a foyer table with some much needed storage. In our foyer, this practical table provides us a much needed ‘catch-all’ spot in its drawer, where all the mail, keys, glasses and every knick knack that we tend to carry in our pockets gets stashed easily.
When it comes to home styling, I am in a constant restless state of re-decorating with a continuous moving, adding and eliminating pieces in a study of the unexpected discoveries. This process goes on until I identify a correct placement of each element with a perfect styling, with a bonus of some exhilarating thrills of new discoveries.
Decorating walls is the quickest way to add a sense of depth to a space, apart from interjecting style and personality to your entrance. Some cleverly placed artwork can always add an instant focus on your entryway. Our artist daughter’s paintings have a pride of place in our foyer, which gives out a clear glimpse of our collective taste, personalities and fondness for Ganesha. These whimsical and lovely art pieces sitting pretty above console table not only lend an added sparkle in our entry way, but also engage our guests with a visible awe apart from being a great conversation starter.
In my quest to bring some calmness at my doorstep, at times a few Zen settings shape up over the foyer table. The serene visuals are sure to ease down our fatigue at the end of a long day. For a bit of whimsy, I experiment with designs and pair some beloved ethnic pieces with modern elements. This kind of old and new pairing often refreshes the look of older items, give a more collected look for the space and often makes both elements stand out.

A place we decorate with artwork and candles would also welcome flowers. Nothing looks more visually stimulating than a vase of fresh flowers, as you walk through the front door. Flowers are always a safe bet and a fabulous plus to any styling in my décor. Quite often, I prefer to pick an unconventional vase to attire my flowers as against a standard vase and my dear brass items always offer me a great choice.
In few of those “design moments” and creative cravings, the settings at the foyer do not stay the same for very long. While periodically combing through my collections, I tend to discover something more visually pleasing than the existing displays. After few ‘trial and error’ stages of experimenting with their settings, the existing decor promptly gets modified to include the new objects of my interest!

Personalization adds a special touch to anything you own.
For an instant glamour and to enliven a space, area rugs are great to brighten any floors. Textured and bright coloured rugs every so often offer an added radical change in our foyer.

If you are like me, looking to constantly play around with the art work or vignette over a console, displaying a frame on an easel or placing it informally on the table makes it easy to change the scene. Adding a layer of flickering candle at the evenings always adds the extra oomph illuminating the area, whether or not it is well lit.
Many of us tend to accumulate plentiful souvenirs through our travel or as gifts from friends and family. A thoughtfully put together collection of such story telling pieces on the console also adds an undeniable grace and warmth to the foyer.

In our foyer too, many of our accessories unfold the stories of our many valuable friendships and the places we have travelled. In a refreshing change of pace, I also sometimes keep my omnipresent brass at bay and embrace novelty with a few fanciful pieces, to create a fresh look for the same place.

All decor lovers go through a periodical itch of creating a new look time to time. And the normal mistake we all do at such times is to start shopping for newer items. But the trick to minimizing an overload of accumulated stuff is to begin the hunt right at home. You don’t need to look far and out for a design changer but first dig down the existing treasures (or even what you may consider trash) you own.

Running a leisure eye on what you already own will sometimes reveal surprising discoveries and offer innovative ideas without breaking any bank. Edit and style your existing collection, including clutter in a way that will empower each item in a greater decorative value.

And here is the new look of the same space. I love color- just not too much of it so instead of an entire room in a bold shade which can seem like a lot, we did just one wall which is totally manageable. And the best and easy part is I could always reverse it if I get tired of that color because it's just a small wall after all. With this bright color choice, my daughter's paintings are perfectly popping up. The new corbels at the far end came home from India on my recent trip which I had to manage a carpenter to custom made for me. 

I am usually good at keeping my promises and even though the post was swaying away for more time than I intended, it has finally been out from my draft box. Hope the saga of different moods of our entry way, in the full glory of its pinkification (can't stop myself from using it ;)) will inspire you enough to spruce up your own. Until we meet again, stay connected! Toodles!


13 comments:

  1. Pinky - I love the Ganesha artwork - I have something brewing in my head with this regard that I think you may be able to help with :). Love love love it!

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    1. Thank you Deepika, the artwork is done by our talented artist daughter. I would be more than happy to help you in this regard.

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  2. I just found your blog and faĺl in love with it...wow what a inspiration.
    Nita from Sydney��

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    1. Thank you Nita. So happy that you found your way here. Hopefully we will see you around :).

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  3. Can you help me with the Buddha statues..I loved all of them and the way you have created the decor..I'm planning one for my new house entrance..wanted something like this.. thanks, riddhi from Bombay

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    1. Hi Riddhi, thank you for your kind words. Our Buddha statues are collected from different parts of the world mostly from Canada 'HomeGoods'. Though on my recent trip to Mumbai I did find few good ones in artifact stores. You can try your luck there.

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  4. Hi pinky, i like that elephant with lots of bells. Where did you get it

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    1. The elephant with bells is a gift from a dear old friend and exact source is unknown.

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  5. LOVE the plate behind Buddha and the lovely short curvy stools that hold the white buddha head! Where did you get them?

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  6. Hi Pinky,
    Love your blog and the ethnicity in home decor! Could you please let me know the acrylic paint colors used for painting the Ganesha (Set of 8)? Also, where can we buy the paintings?

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  7. Nice Blog Creation. I love it your blog. Nice design your home. Thanks for sharing information.

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  8. Hi Pinky,
    Totally in love with your collections and decor. I live in Toronto as well. In the last pic, the bell is hanging from a wooden piece. May I know what is that called and where can I get similar ones?

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    1. Hi Ruby, thank you for your kind words. The wooden pieces are called corbels. I got them custom made from a carpenter in India :)

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