Modest Size Living (Home Tour of Gayatri Singh)

Mingling countries, cultural art and traditional artefacts live far larger than square footage of the home in our today’s home tour. The pretty pad of Gayatri Singh, nestled against the structural skylines of Singapore, is both inspiring and interesting in equal measure.  

Gayatri, a professionally trained chef and a culinary composer throws the doors of her home open for us today. She titles her personal décor style as very vintage and Asian with a touch of Indian element. Her graceful apartment in Singapore (where she just moved after living in Tokyo for 9 long years) is a proof of the broadening effects of her travel. If I need to, I can vouch on her abiding love of travel because when we started conversing about this home tour she was in Singapore. Our next chat we had in Tokyo and then in Bali and last recent one in India in a short span of weeks. 

It may just take a quick glance around Gayatri’s bright apartment to work out where her passions and interests lie. Her earliest interest was laid in cooking and following that she pursued her education towards that. She may have decided to dedicate herself to the food industry but the interior design enthusiast didn't take long to discover her growing appetite for interiors also.  

Being a seasoned traveller her source of inspiration differs to each of her travel destination. And as we can see, those inspirations are manifested uniquely in each corner of her home. Chinese king statues here are dotted with many other unpredictable mix of objects. An eye catching large smiling Buddha frame is positioned perfectly in the middle to bounce off his calmness all over the room. 

Most of the pieces of her decor allude to the trips Gayatri has taken. Just like this hanging tapestry from Japan called obi (a kimono belt made out of silk) depicts the scenes of a Japanese king and queen sitting under the tree. Keenly aware of the modest size living, she also has some inciting inventions and creative solutions thrown in her decor just like this piece of a ladder where she hung a brass diya. It surely exemplifies interesting yet effortless way to brighten the wall.                          

Carefree mix of style like contemporary art, modern settings, classic travel finds and traditional pieces are keeping the open concept dining and living rooms alive. Large dining space is essential enough for Gayatri who is an avid cook and loves hosting parties.

Gayatri owns quite a collection of some intriguing objects, while her petite brass pieces spark a dressy note in different corners of the home.

The comfort can be sensed in the air as soon as you walk in Gayatri’s living area. Solid fabric and simple patterns are chosen along with few accent pieces that make perfect sense for a young couple’s life. Adjoining balcony is enlarging the visual living space. Whether the occasion is a spontaneous movie night or a restful read of a good book, their living room facilitates lingering and happy times.

Arresting Asian charm, global sensibility and admiration for Indian details makes her home visually appealing. Her home is decorated in her signature and relaxed but refined style where very nook and wall is infused with a story and memory that richly reveal her vibrant creative flair. 

Few more well-edited vignettes around the home keeps the space engaging and alive.

When it comes to hosting, Gayatri is a natural. Evenings with lavish table and teaming it with the finest food is Gayatri's forte. Fond of cooking and hosting Gayatri prepares and serves delicious food without breaking a sweat at any party hosted at home. Images here from her previous gatherings remark how efficiently she composes soiree for every guest to remember.

Food savvy Gayatri also has a loyal following among the other cooking aficionados on her Instagram account. Do check out her visually arresting pictures and soulful recipes here.

As we seal today's home tour, I heartily thank Gayatri for letting us peek in her beautiful apartment. Wishing you and your family all the very best of the world Gayatri. 

And for you my lovely readers, until we meet again, stay connected, toodles! 

All Decked Out! (Tour of our deck)

We, the truly Canadians, are the biggest weather fanatic. After enduring the most classic and long winter, we impatiently wait for summer and sunshine immediately connects with us. This year is also not an exception, with the hint of summer in our ravine; we have been totally plugged out with our outdoor surroundings in our newly built deck. Set against the backdrop of the sparkling waves of pond where the water is shimmering with the heat haze and leafy ravine splays for miles, our deck is a ready-to-go stage for all of our outdoor activities and entertaining. 

My mind often boggles to think how many efforts it went in to build this place from a house to home. We have been contemplating to bring in this major change in our outdoor space ever since we moved in. Finally we could get an actually believable space (almost 500 square footage) last year in which we could relax, have privacy, entertain and where my husband can also catch a cat nap after a long day ;). So, come on, let’s walk out to the back door and tour our patio/deck which is our happy place that we crave at the end of each summer day.
 

Unlike regular wooden decks, we decided on composite decking for almost ZERO maintenance and high comfort place to relax. Composite decks offer the same beauty of wood without the any downsides. No paint-no stain, adaptable and Canadian weather resistant for years to come. We also picked safety tempered and shatter resistant glass railings to create a modern look without blocking our ravine view. It also holds up the extreme temperatures of Canada.

Stunning vignettes are a key ingredient in any of my décor so why should our outdoor be any different ;). A contemporary outdoor setting for dining in style is a must. Thrown in here are some glass accessories and few low-maintenance plants and flowers to complete the look.  

Though, it gets ridiculously hot in summer and to keep Mr. Sun at bay and cool off, we have installed a gazebo from Lowes. It occupies the perfect amount of space to protect us from rain or rays. Gazebo contains net curtains with zip for us to recline or doze off on relaxing afternoons while protecting us from those unwanted bugs at evenings (though we have hardly found any).  

Each piece is outdoor friendly here yet sophisticated enough to use indoors when the weather gets colder. I have extracted the very best out of what I already had indoor. I strongly believe in relying on your imagination and style rather than deep purse for all those seasonal decorative changes. 

The best highlight of our deck is the light. At the stroke of a dusk, the patio instantly becomes a party hub with lush green view. Dimmable lights, that greatly extend our outside living with ambience, can be easily operated from our smartphones on Wi-Fi. They set the perfect mood to take our deck up a notch on the welcoming scale even for the people who walk around the pond.

The space allows us to connect with Mother Nature. The feeling of being enveloped in lush greenery while sipping Tea or chilled cocktail in the company of chirping and tweeting birds (and frogs at night) is a cozy retreat for us from the pressure of modern life.

Be it a sunset or star gazing...many smile inducing and satisfying moments take place here on summer evenings.  

Multiple zones for relaxation and entertainment on the same level make the most of summer's laziest and haziest days comfy. A sweet bench here offers an extra seat for our guests or a makes a perfect place for me to slink away with a book in the evenings. The deck also provides a set of stairs that leads to our walk out basement. (we have a built in barbeque and another outdoor space underneath the deck, where the major work is wrapped up, will hopefully share the space with you all soon.)

 

So, if you ask me for my summer plans, relaxing is the only task on my to-do list this summer so far. And this year, with this summer entertaining oasis…looking forward for another season of barbequing and grilling outdoors. Until we meet again, stay connected lovely peeps, toodles.