Boho-chic, eclectic, modern and dramatic (Home Tour of Manmeet Bassi)

The excitement is always palpable in every new home tour and this home is not an exception but opening the door to this one took a wee bit longer 😊. Nevertheless, here I am with a home where global details and pieces from various eras come together for a blend that is easy going and warm.  

Following the rhythm of their heart the couple has won to kept their style cool and collected with textured looks and chic accessories. The tour of this cool meets cozy home will convey the energetic spirit of the home owners while tossing you a comforting hug from every corner of the home. Come on in!   

Say “hello” to Manmeet, a seasoned traveler, an ex-hotelier, a self-made artist and a Punjabi Kudi married to  a hotelier Bengali babumoshai. 'Globe-trotter' is the word that best describes our today’s home owners. Being in the hospitality industry, the couple has been journeying in different parts of the world. Before settling in Kolkata, the couple had not only been located in Ireland and Hongkong but within India also they have moved around quite a bit - Goa, Hyderabad, Amritsar and Rishikesh to name a few.   

Travelling has not been only there to show the ropes but it also has paved the way for more advancement in the couple's lifestyle. Hence, the source of décor inspiration in their home, differs from each travel destination. Manmeet personally cannot put a label on her décor style...but why put it up when there are many possibilities to explore. Looking at her living room, one cannot deny that the slice of Indian heritage perfectly fits into her modern interiors with the unpredictable mix of objects. However, she confesses: “I am quite influenced by the latest trends and try to incorporate them in my present setting in small doses”. 

With an impeccable sense of style and passion for decorating, the home resonates most effectively to the couple’s memories of the places they have visited and loved. The couple has embraced a lifestyle more aligned with their travel. Manmeet points out that she picks up the local art pieces of every place they have lived in and visited. 

Besides decorating, Manmeet has also dabbled in art and is currently occupied with the new found passion to the fullest. The brightly hued paintings are proudly highlighted on the walls of her home. Manmeet shares this enriching experience with the rest of the world via Instagram handle of Lifescapes_by_m. 

Manmeet has not only dared to, but also succeeded in challenging and changing conventional décor norms by adding her own signature paintings around the home. Every corner in this artist's home is a trip with her insightful, intelligent and impressive take on life through the strokes of her paintings. 

Manmeet always approaches every project with ‘CAN-DO’ mindset. Blending her love of art with her love of distressed and vintage furniture pieces around every corner of the home is fine-tuned. She candidly mentions about it: “I personally believe in fengshui, so you will mostly see happy and vibrant colors in the house through my art and decor. I also feel my home gives a very holistic and earthy look and also it has a bohemian touch to it. It’s more like a mix of old and new with my choice of vintage stuff and distressed furniture dotted around the home”. Distressed credenza in the above pictrue and the cabinet in this picture are from Jodhpur. 

The couple loves to travel and has poured their creative energy in their home. This corner has a visible Goan influence with Mario Miranda artwork on tiles and a vintage - old bar cabinet. Manmeet has accessorized with personal touches and statement pieces to re-define the simplicity of her home with a dash of drama.   

To achieve a sympathetic blend in décor, Manmeet embraces old while ushering in to the new.  With a happy collision of different cultures Manmeet has created delicious visual stories using the heirloom pieces around the home. Emotions tend to run high for her when she talks about it: “The utensils that you see all over the house are very old and very Bengali. They are called Kansa utensils.  I have proudly inherited them from my mom in law and have used them for the decor rather than in the kitchen”. 

Manmeet harbors a passion towards plants and flowers and she confesses to be a flower addict. Her personal taste and preferences for plants and flowers are easily translated in her design goals. To keep the drama going she makes amendments in her plants and flowers on regular basis to excel the style quotient of home.  The wooden sculptures (MAA Durga) and wooden musical instruments in this collage are acquired from Bengal. 

Manmeet’s flair of drama towards her home is quite popular with her friends as well. And upon quizzing them about her home decor style, they chalked out good characteristics of the lady and her home. With a shine on her face, Manmeet shared the outpouring of appreciation with me. And her friends give a clear insight into her home and herself, wouldn't you agree?   

• “Your home looks like a house of a well-traveled person with a lot of exposure.” 
• “It’s an artist's home. An extension of your fine personality 'welcoming and warm’ to all. Gives very positive vibes” 
•  “Very much a reflection of your personality and inner self and ideology that you hold dear to your heart, it’s curated by self-for self” 
•  “Very classy” 
•  “Earthy and holistic” 
•  “Good earth vibes” 
•  “Boho-chic, eclectic, modern and dramatic" (This was an ideal statement to describe Manmeet's home hence I had to steal it to title this home tour) 

With ease being her priority in decor, Manmeet spills the beans about her design style:  

• I believe in up cycling things and hence have used the ladders and other old furniture pieces.
• To refresh my decor, I give a bit of a modern twist to old furniture by using trendy upholstery and cushion covers wherever possible.
• I love Fab India furniture so some pieces are from there.
• All the cane furniture is custom made in Hyderabad. Keeping our transitory life in mind, I have used a lot of cane furniture. It’s light and easy to move with. 

If you are someone who doesn’t like to play by the rules of the court, this would be the home tour you’re looking for. Manmeet has won to pull little bit of everything together creatively to make it a gorgeously fashionable and a very pleasingly decorative home. 

Thank you Manmeet for letting us visit your home virtually, as I wrap up this home tour, wishing you and your family all the very best. 


I have one more beautiful home tour in edit/write phase but I am planning to hibernate during this freezing cold Canadian winter ;), so until we meet again, stay connected on social medias of Pinkz Passion, toodles!

(Images are from Manmeet's home. Please do not use the images without the prior written permission of the home owner and Pinkz Passion however, you may re-pin them from Pinkz Passion's Pinterest account) 

Touch of Traditional Elegance (Home Tour of Shubhaa Satish)

Layering process of a home is a natural one, in that you can decide and adapt to suit your needs and tastes. When you progress each layer carefully and give due thought to your designing style while giving free rein to your imagination, you are looking at your dream home. Take a walk with me through one such basic home today which has become a jewel box in the hands of our today’s homeowners.  

It’s incredibly rewarding to interact with people who radiate positivity and joy. Meet Shubhaa, who hails from a family of spirited women with strong design sensibilities. Yes, she is a sister of Jayalakshmy whose home tour was featured last here on the blog. Ever since, we have been waiting with bated breath to cover Shubhaa’s home next. Even though Shubhaa shares similar décor traits/taste as her sibling Jaya, her unique style of beefing up the colors, mixing and matching sumptuous brass and cloaking every room in some kind of interesting wall treatment will make you fall in love with her home just like me. 

Shubhaa gets lots of shocked reactions while disclosing her city name. This beautiful home is in Ranchi, Jharkhand (while sharing this city name she paused and allowed the information to settle over me). While the world around her is buzzing at breakneck speed, Shubhaa has her own pace. Entrenched in the love for simpler aspects of living, Shubhaa finds her current city Jharkhand easy to fall in love with where she and her ex-navy husband eagerly wait for their son Sharran to come back on holidays from his university life of Bengluru.  

Being a navy man’s wife, Shubhaa’s décor style is constantly evolving - constantly experimenting. To fit in has never been her pursuit. Rather it has been to stand out. It’s her gravitas for décor that defines her. While it is challenging moving often, it is also an opportunity to enjoy new adventures for Shubhaa that she would have never experienced otherwise! Shubhaa happily chirps: “My navy husband has helped me grow some fabulous navy spouse wings over the years. Even though, we have moved 13 houses in last 20 years I have learned to adapt to change. I have done each 'fauji' home with equal enthusiasm as this one. I need my touch, identity and colors around me.” 

Juicy pop of attention-getting hues work their magic in her home. Shubhaa loves colors...earthy tones as well as bright red & orange. She swears by Fab India for all her linen in the home. Few treasures are also acquired from Ranchi Handloom House. 

Shubhaa thinks trial and error is the key to getting just the right mix of accents. Shubhaa is very picky about choosing idols: "Every time I pick up an idol, I look for how well it is made...the facial expressions and features are very important. If it is not made well, it can look totally wonky." Shubhaa has collected all these pieces along life's path. Some are accidental acquisitions (such as the vessel floated marigolds here is from their trek visit to Manali. The container is used for kneading dough by localities) and others came to her with special meanings.

Boasting her signature bold blend of colonial era opulence and modern day rock and roll Shubhaa has made this room, aptly enough, a visual knockout. What's not to fall in love here? Beyond timeless traits of comfortable, relaxed and inviting room, the colors are fresher, collections are sparer and the room is more personal than ever. Shubhaa, I could stay here forever!

Her living room focuses on comfort and durability while maintaining established design cues. The colonial recliner chair flaunts its flirtiest self here calling me to have a seat here and enjoy the filter kaapi and Medu Vadas that Shubhaa offered to feed me on my visit to her home ;). 

Shubhaa is easily drawn to colors and she thinks it is a simple way to bring something personal to your home. And for no apparent reason, color makes her happy. Bright colors being a visual trick, serves her the best. She recalls having her last home walls done up in bright red and orange.

Splashy colorful wall is a masterful push and pull of contrary characters around. A stunning table sits in the middle of the room. The positions of all elements makes this an inviting space to eat and entertain. An intriguing dose of brass and flowers are sprinkled on the hutch near dining table making the space alive and engaging. 

There are head spinning number of art pieces she owns (and while reading this please don't take your eyes off the wall). The wall beckons and invites you to linger awhile. The amazing pieces of collection here are from various cities across South India and Mumbai during their stay in those cities on Naval tenure. Shubhaa sums up: "It was a blank canvas with lack of ideas and decor items when we started building our home together, but our globe-trotting lifestyle has considerably feed our collecting habits. Now it has become something to be proud about in our home."

From her very young age, Shubhaa is drawn to things that have history, character and soul. Carved wood is also something that she really admires apart from paintings, bronze and brass. Hence a lot of wooden panels, carvings as well as mirror with wooden frame are scattered on different walls around the home.

Shubhaa knows well that the walls define your interiors and they are your biggest canvases. Don't let them be boring. I am sure stunning glimpses of this wall gave you bountiful of ideas to refresh your walls now, I know I did ;).

Having a defence background, the couple grew up in different cities. All of her furniture pieces are either rose or teak wood. The pieces are sourced from Jew Town in Kochi while the family was posted there. 

Every colorful ethnic art piece is arranged with design dignity. Bright colors, subtle designs & old world finishes inspired by traditional design sensibilities foster an air of high key elegance in this room. 

Impressively scaled living room is a perfect personal sanctuary for the family where they recharge the spirit and express their identities. In today's age, our homes have to handle a lot. We crave for a place to relax as much as for a spot to entertain, compute or simply drop things off. Stylish and adaptable with different sitting areas Shubhaa's living room answers the call well. 

As we end this home tour, I want to mention Shubhaa that your home can hold more than you often give credit for. Your home is as energetic and confident as it is warm and welcoming just like you. Wishing you and your family happily ever after. 

Finding the right inspiration comes from being creative. We all have an imagination and that's where our best ideas are born. Until we meet again, toodles!

(Images are taken by Shubhaa. Please do not use the images without the prior written permission of the home owner and Pinkz Passion however, you may re-pin them from Pinkz Passion's Pinterest account) 

Fabric Wall Art

Canadian winter has lashed its wrath outside so I am venting my creative fury onto you. With cold weather in the forecast and fire places working hard, our whole attention turns indoors. In my efforts to keep decorating wheels turning through these lousy winter days, I succeeded to uplift the room and my spirits by making these fabric wall art for our home that I have been wanting to share with you :). 

This DIY post is also perfectly befitting our first blog of the year as I represent the refreshed setting of our living room. With delicious doses of color, this newly done fabric gallery wall is adding pizzazz without depleting my new year’s décor mantra (learning new DIY & make the most of the things I already own). 

I was tired of staring at the same old wall. With a fresh frame of mind and some inexpensive frames I happened to transform these traditional blouse pieces and a beautiful kurti (dress) sleeves...yes you read it right...sleeves into art pieces. These pieces were not originally designed to hang up on a wall, but once I saw their potential, I’ll never want to take them down. 

Luckily I had a picture of wearing the same dress that I used here to make these art frames (trust me I felt so awful to cut up something so pretty). I also happened to click few phone pictures to show the process. Here is the collage of making of it.

I personally think, this is a great way to re purpose traditional clothes which are too old or damaged to be worn again, especially, if they have been handed down by older generations and have a personal meaning attached. An old saree, dupatta or any leftover small pieces will give a good kiss of color to your bare walls. Using embroidery hoops is also an interesting idea to show off a traditional piece of fabric. If not fabric, you can use curtains, shower curtains or even beautiful scrap book papers to make these frames...possibilities are endless.

I am fairly in the camp that believes that small punches of color makes a room come alive. With bold injection of juicy hues like these frames and cushion covers from Bristi, the decorative success is achieved more easily than expected in this living room.   

These frames can bring instant color, a custom look in your décor and can be a great update to any room with a pocket friendly budget. 

Go ahead, be inspired and start creating your own fabric wall art. Don't forget to share and tag me on my home decor feeds of Facebook or Instagram if you happen to make few :). Until we meet again, toodles!

P.S. Do take inspiration from another DIY gallery wall that is adorning our foyer. Here is the link.