Festive ready home (Diwali - Part 2)

I usually get décor hiccups for any festival but for people who know me would nod against it to say that isn't obvious. With an array of enchanting pieces we own, I don't need a better excuse than Diwali to deck the home with my brass galore. My all-brass route is carried forward in our Diwali -II too. After throwing the cyber gates open for you dear readers, to reveal our festive entrance (I am so thankful and happy beyond words with the response of our entrance décor, thank you lovely people) you are invited to take a peek at the festive touches in our living and family rooms. Savour the brass, smell the fresh flowers and enjoy this impeccable and uber stylish appearance of our brass, on this Diwali.

 

Just like every year, Ganeshas are taking the center stage on our coffee table this year also but in a fresh setting. Flowers, candles and brass...each element earns its place visually here. Impromptu grouping of more brass at the corner of the room flatters the style of entire vignette on the coffee table. With my brass at its best, I always hear the murmurs and sprinkling of intrigue in our guests :) and why not, it’s the time of the year when I long for accolades by all means. 

I love playing around with my accessories and it often makes me wonder how things start to gather up when I create a vignette. I run in all directions being excited and anxious around the home to gather the correct accessories. And the results after few trial and error combinations is a purer delight. Does it happen to you?

I have been craving to try something different on this fertile place to enliven this fireplace mantel space and with no rule approach this Diwali I came up with this. Sometimes a little enhancement is all that is required to convert a corner from functional to fanciful. With Ganesha being an anchor object,  this corner for now is updated with various heights.

Try making a grouping of small items in a fertile corner or space of your home. Elevate objects within the group adding different heights and play around layering with accessories. Trust me; it is actually so easy that you can whip one up on any bare floor in no time.  

Mingling great styles that is flexible and constantly evolving keeps the décor alive.  Small details of flickering lights can add a powerful impact on any corner. Don’t shy away to try diverse forms of votive holder in one frame if you ever run out of your Diwali diyas. Also, leaning a frame or covering up with a bright runner against a wall has always been a ‘win-win’ for me to uplift the entire look for me.  

Flowers are championing fresh and unconventional approach in all vignettes. Here is the closer look at all the ones that I used freely mixing unexpectedly in every vignette. The flower need of this season has been taken care by all home grown flowers. The bright and most B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L roses in the urli are graciously given to me by a very dear friend.

As you know, I drain every last bit of my flowers and I almost didn't had a heart to throw away those beautiful petals of the fallen roses hence I used them floating in the brass plate along with more candles until they survived :) 

As a part of Diwali celebration, we spend lot of time indoor with the company of close friends and having a communal space soaked with festive appropriate touches accurately conjure a touch of nostalgia and pleasure. Here is our prettified corner in a family room. With a bright kutchhi runner, used as a backdrop on the couch, it strengthens the point of focus in the room.

Unlike every year's blogpost on rangoli I shared my this year's creation a wee bit early for you all to inspire and create one in time for your home. If you missed it on my social media...here it is! As a true ‘Ganesha’ fan, we always have his presence in every décor and this year's rangoli is also not an exception. Since tackling the dusty rangoli colors is not my forte, we use two simple ingredients (rice and food colors) to make our rangoli every year. To personalize the design, I threw in some craft mirrors in the design.

My readers have a mild obsession with our chalkboard in the house and why not, it is my undisputed decor accessory for any festival. Our artist daughter always comes to my rescue when it comes to highlighting it for any season. Winding up this post of our home which is welcoming and festive ready with her ‘Diwali Creation’. Hope these lush festive ideas will inspire you to implement few Diwali touches at your end also.

Gobble up countless pieces of ‘Mithai’ this Diwali with many laughs along the way with your family and friends. Signing out wishing you all heap of joy and prosperity, until we meet again, enjoy Diwali, toodles!

Diwali Decked Entrance (Diwali Part 1)

Not that our home needs help in the looking good department but this Diwali surely does wonders. I have already started to hit the ground running for Diwali but before we invite our first guests for Diwali it is my yearly ritual to invite you (my dear reader) to our home where festive touches will greet you at every turn. Come on in, welcome and stay a while.

Our entrance is already a stunning sight. Serving here the major pop of color is our new Benjamin Moore's OXFORD GOLD wall which brings out the festive look effortlessly. To typify my style and choice for the festival of lights I have chosen all brass route because I believe in doing something I know is going to be a hit and brass surely does that magic in my décor. 

We did not buy any festive ephemera for Diwali this year (okay, except few red t-light candles to go with my theme). Instead, best suited tucked away pieces are combined with complimentary accessories to up the game at our entrance. Every shiny vase housing flowers is bought from an antique dealer this summer and many other accessories on the console dates back to my school years. And you know already...these gorgeous paintings are the best gift given by our artist daughter.

Here is the final look, the warm and welcoming spirit of Diwali is aced naturally without breaking a sweat.  With the fistful amount of candles and sparkling clean brass (tamarind is my best friend when it comes to rubbing all my brass) this corner quintessentially reflects the traditional tone of the season. 

How much is too much brass? It is raining brass at my end and boy, did they step out in their finest. I often wonder if it is possible to be born with a keen love for brass threaded in my DNA? These brass pieces enable me to express my evolving décor style in a unique way every time I bring them in. Rustling up the existing ingredients for an inviting setting always works for me, and that's what I did ;).

This season, sparkle comes imbued in all our heirloom pieces. This Diwali, I have surrounded ourselves  with the things that have meaning so that our home tells a story. All the pots housing the flowers in this corner are heirloom pieces which belong to my great grandfather that I proudly own. So thankful to my mom who handed me over these treasures on my last visit to India along with many other pieces that I will cherish forever and hopefully pass it on to my kids.

I love to surprise the guests adorning the home with festive décor through out and even in the places where you wouldn't expect. With brass making waves on the décor frontier this dull corner at the end of the staircase has been revamped with new styling this year. This jumble of my brass will not only offer a moment of pause for my guests but it will also let me deposit that applause in my compliments account :).

Hope these corners have intrigued you enough to know what lies ahead in the living and family room, well, my little self is running around in all directions with all the hurly burly of Diwali but promise to be back soon to crack open the rest of the decor in next post  in mean while, you may go here and here to see Diwali Decked yesteryear at my end. My Facebook and Instagram accounts are equally enticing to get you Diwali ready. Until we meet again, eat those Diwali goodies and enjoy the festivities, toodles!

Diwali Home Tour ( Living & Family Rooms)

It is the time of the year when I eagerly crave compliments for our festive adorned home and yes I admit, bagging away applauses for something you feel proud is indeed a best feeling :) This year, sparkling setting with a sophisticated golden theme has made our Diwali perfect, exotic and special. A generous sprinkle of our well envied collection has maximized the impact and made our home festive ready for us and the crowd of friends we entertain every year. In order to capture the magic and spirit of Diwali, I have kept a tight rein on the color palette. Deep red from our entrance has been carried forward into our living room.

Come step in, to tour our festival ready Living Room and Family Room to soak in all the extra special details we deliberated for this year's Diwali.

Coffee table happens to be the centerpiece of any room and adding an element of drama on it will draw an eye with irresistible focus. Let your fertile imagination flow and give a big decor punch for Diwali, by adding a bit of sparkle and shine on your Coffee table. And you will notice how it instantly changes the whole decor dynamics of the room. In our home, our NEW collection, a handsome musical troupe of “Ganesha”, is displayed on our coffee table, adding a new dimension and sparkle to the existing array of displayed collections.

The new frolicking group was pre-destined to join our cherished collection and become our all-time favorite. Here is a closer look for each one. 

By now, you are all aware that brass is a must-have element in my bag of décor tricks. Just as it does for every festive occasion, our collection of brass has cast an inimitable landscape this year too for Diwali. Every successful collection begins with a carefully devised purchase and I want to thank my husband’s keen eye for his addiction of hunting for antiques and one-of- a- kind pieces. It is the allure lent by these treasures that enabled me to shape our home with a sparkling appeal.



Let us dwell a minute on the show stopping corner of our living room. I placed colored votive in a "ghunghroo" embellished plate on the side table to boost the drama. The burst of colors from votive, coupled with the festival staples, the candles and flowers is exuding a warm and welcoming spirit this corner. Come dusk, with the flickering lights splattering colorful hues, this show stopping corner is sure to steal the show from the coffee table ;).

If you have been with  me on my "Diwali with Pinkz" journey on Instagram, you must have seen few of our prized collections. Here is a round up of few for them again for those who missed it. Due to the herculean cleaning task and heftiness, these vintage pieces appear only on special occasions in my décor.

The charming jumble of all traditional artefacts compliment our neo-traditional living room, that has a bit of modernity thrown in from the furniture and other accessories. 

Diwali is rooted in glimmerings and socializing. My most favorite thing during this time, is to spend leisurely evenings with family and friends, basking in the hypnotizing glow cast by the flickering lights. 

As the evening unfolds, beautiful glow spreads out all over the room from liberally placed candles around the room. The blazing fireplace adds the much needed warmth on this nippy fall evenings. With overflowing crowd of friends and family, conversations and giggles in this cozy room make the best memories for years to come. Oh, I love this time :).

Let us step into my family room. I took a creative freedom in my family room as well for the festival. The game here is upped by adding a pop of fuchsia all over the glamorous gold.

I added a thali (plate) to serve as a center tray over my coffee table in family room.  One of the studded 'rangoli’ from my rangoli collection came in handy to work in sync with the colors of the bloom.

I keep trying new approach to freshen up the décor rotating the things I have on my hand. Few beloved ethnic pieces are mixed here with modern elements on the side console table. The juxtaposition of the modern and antique elements stand out with an interesting visual mix.

In order to enhance the depth of the theme of Diwali, every corner is adorned with plentiful glows and fireplace mantel has also became the victim of the same.  Few flickering clay diyas and collective lamps have vivified the otherwise monotonous space here. 
 

The all dressed and festive ready room with luster and shimmer is now calling upon me to relax, put my feet up and enjoy the celebrations.

A piece of work by our teenage daughter on our chalkboard

Wrapping up the post by sending in the good wishes from our family to yours. Have a happy, happier and happiest Diwali  Enjoy the celebrations, gobble up all the goodies and have a blast enjoying the festival. I might squeeze in the rangoli post, so stay connected on facebook page and instagram for more decor inspirations. Until we meet again, toodles!

You may visit our last year's Diwali ready home here and here. If you have missed this year's Diwali decked up entrance head right here.