Diwali Exchange - An exchange of Creativity

It is the time of the year when the brain is in top gear and we are all busy unspooling our minds to take things up a notch this festive season. But when it comes to our home décor, we may go an extra mile and throw in some clever touches and glamorous effects to be a total show-off about. And just because everyone defines style in own personal way, I requested the experts, turned myself to the pros and tapped into the minds of the most talented décor divas and avid readers of my passion stories to share my space today and be a part of our ‘Diwali Exchange’ post.

Portraits of their lovely spaces with diverse style, colors, accoutrements and ambience will exemplify how small personal touches can bring charm to make your home look welcoming and festive ready this season. Go ahead deep dive into the post and be assured-it will be worth it.

Padma from Padzdecor
North Carolina, USA

Brass is threaded in Padma's DNA just like me :). With an enviable amount of brass (her brass always quickens my heartbeat) Padma has conjured a look of glamour and elegance. Along with her gracious creativity, the finest materials like metallic brass and glossy diyas complete her Diwali vignettes. 

I am one of those unlucky one who doesn't own any heirloom. Recently my parents gave away all their antique brass stuff but that didn't stop to own and make my own collection. All of my brass is bought in from Bengaluru and various craft melas. Since all the figurines are bought in, I may not have stories to share but I surely know how to weave new ones. Goddess Saraswati is posing the right stroke in the company of tea light holder chandelier. I love making these impromptu corners around the home which adds much needed oomph of the festival. Another intricately detailed Goddess Saraswati in brass is taking the center stage here in this vignette in the company of freshly bloomed fall mums. The vignette is brought to life by perfectly teaming with sparkly brass diyas. 

Shilpa from Buddha Love

 Ontario, Canada

A lover of all forms of art, design and photography, Shilpa is a photography enthusiast and I am a big fan of her soulful and signature style images that keeps getting featured on different platforms of social media.

For me, Diwali evokes lots of wonderful memories just like it does for many Indians.  Hence miss being back home in India even more than usual.   

I always try to create a festive mood at home for the family, especially for the kids during Diwali by way of following family traditions, preparing festive sweets/snacks, decking up the house with lots of diays, so they can  have fond memories of their own when they grow up.

Personally, I think there's nothing more beautiful than the combination of brass, lights and flowers to adorn one's home the traditional way. It creates instant ambience and positive vibe.

Ramya Vijaykumar

Texas, USA

Self-proclaimed home decor diva, who loves to adorn her home and even as a child she was deeply into home décor. Ramya starkly believes that a home is a personification of its residents. She takes all efforts and spends at least a trifling portion of her evening rearranging her vignettes, which she thinks, is therapeutic.

We start off Diwali with first offering to the supreme lord of intellect and wisdom, flowers are an integral part of every celebrations, the man of the house never refuses to overload us with flowers during festivities

In the entryway we have an urli filled with flowers from our garden and the brass lamps are from mother in law who gave me about three dozen lamps so I can play around the house bringing the needed blink during festive season. The peacock lamp is from my mom’s wedding trousseau.

The trio as we call them Lakshmi-Ganapathi-Saraswathi, any festival or occasion my mom had a picture of the trio and I took her footsteps and here we have ours adorning the coffee table in the formal living.

We ingest as much desi influence as possible at home so the kids get exposed and take in as much as possible. Our loving Krishna, who is an antique store find here in Texas, is totting up to the Diwali Spirit in a royal manner with a horse and an elephant. Also many other corners are similarly adorned with Deepa Lakshmi, Ganapati, terracotta lamps and Lord Natraj in Diwali spirit around the home.

Anupama R
Banglore, India

A doctor by profession and a décor lover by passion is sharing Diwali vignettes in a brand new avatar of moody and evocative photography. Her pictures are bold, experimental and seek to express her distinct personality.  

Love what you do and do what you love is the mantra when it comes to my décor style. A far cry from the traditional use, the collection of small brass diyas are adorned with flowers in them.

A burst of color thrown in with Indian touch is a look I seek while revamping any corner. Flowers always add warm and welcoming spirit while boosting the drama.

During festivities, I take creative freedom and let myself loose in discovering new décor paths. Gracefully arranged 'dashavatar' frame here is taking the highlight with the gleaming of fancy diyas and shiny rangoli.

With that we come to an end of our post and I am sure you will be searching an excuse to throw a party now with these ideas and inspirations in your back pocket. I truly hope these designer tips and tricks will aid to add that extra drama quotient to your existing décor. I relished the entire process of communicating to these divas for building this post and making another year of Diwali Exchange post happen out of our own busy schedules of Diwali preparations. I am grateful to all of you for opening your heart and home for this post, thank you lovelies.

Signing out inserting the best of Diwali vibes, wishing you all a very happy festivities ahead. Do circle back next week for a post to see Diwali decked up corners of our home. Until we meet again, stay connected on Instagram or Facebook, toodles! 

(You may head straight here for last year's Diwali Exchange post.)

Our Darling Ganesha!

With the celebratory occasion...‘Ganeshas’ are having a moment right now. And just like every year, we too have invited eco-friendly “Bappa” in our home. No corner of our home is untouched with the celebration. Especially our pooja room, which is brimming with his love and presence. The sound of soothing 'Bhajans' and the rising of chanting 'prayers' has left a purifying effect in our temple room which I look forward to enjoy every year.

Festive look this year has been created with the burst of yellow and green colors with some red thrown in. Strings of artificial marigold garlands have been placed on the runner (dupatta) to uplift the aura of the room. Our daughter's Lord Ganesha portraits are adding enough splashes of colors making it a perfect backdrop.

Taking care of the environment while we celebrate the festival, our daughter has been making idols at home since last four years now. You may peek here and here for our last two years' idols.We immerse him in a 'kundi' at home and let him be with us by pouring his left overs in our little garden.

Though one must visit India in order to experience the grandeur and splendor of ten days festivity of “Ganesha Chaturthi”, which is celebrated with much zeal and fervor.

With more festivities lining up to our calendar, I have so much to do, to plan and celebrate the festive joy at this time of the year. Signing out for today, as I head back to tick off the long list of things to tackle for the upcoming days. Stay connected until we meet again friends, toodles!

Exchange of Diwali Creativity

Diwali is time to decorate with absolute abandon and our homes are the highlight of the festive season. My feverish state of ‘impatience’ is cured and “feel good” phase is back as Diwali preparations at my end are perfectly falling in the rhythm.   

Diwali is a wonderful time for creative expressions. The herald of festive season has not only me on a massive decorating mode, but also the mammoth virtual land of social media, which is also brimming with festivity fervor. To bring some inspiration for my dear readers, I reached out to few of our readers and fellow bloggers to share their creative inspirations. They graciously shared their outrageously creative ideas for Pinks Passion, doused with a generous does of glitter and dazzle to match the spirit of Diwali. Preserving the traditional bone, they all have enlivened their dwellings in their own unique style, that reflects a perfect applaud for the festive season. Jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the visuals from their festive homes.

  

 Neha from A Cauldron Full of love  

Neha, an avid gardener, a home decor enthusiast, a self-confessed food connoisseur shares her well thought out vignettes.  

Ganesha Vignette: Every new beginning, everything auspicious in our home and in many Indian households is celebrated with the blessings of Lord Ganpati. This vignette conforms to the same with Lord Ganesha on a peacock throne, tiny elephant diyas, and my favourite Golden pothos. I loved the details on the elephant diyas and instantly bought them for Diwali. 

Buddha Vignette: This Buddha statue holds a special place in my heart for 2 reasons - first, it’s a lovely gift from my MIL and second, if looked closely, it depicts the entire life of Lord Buddha from being a prince to an ascetic to the enlightened one in the form of detailed carvings all over the body. The Buddha symbolizes inner peace and serenity and hence is a focal point in my home. The little bird diyas, an impulse buy from an exhibition and the lotus tea light is from The Purple Turtles, a lovely store in Indiranagar, Bangalore.

Peacock Diya: If there's something that creates a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach during Diwali, its the amber glow of the terracotta diyas. As kids, and even now, we light up our oil soaked diyas immediately after our Diwali Puja in every single corner of our home. I loved this beautiful brass peacock diya the moment I set my eyes on it. Here, its set against beautifully woven white chrysanthemums and red roses on my favourite chakki table, which I must add is a versatile canvas for all my vignettes.

 

Shalu From Temple Bells

Shalu, (whose plethora of fantastic treasures we shared here) is a decor enthusiast, shares her  warmly traditional corners where brass, Diyas and flowers are the tag team that make this festival come to life.

Stitching the thread of memories, an eclectic mix of silver and flowers are adding the glorious touches of celebrations at my end. Silverwares are my mom’s handed down heirloom pieces that evoke nostalgia as and when I bring them in my décor.  

Nothing else can beat the gentle glow of flickering diyas and home grown flowers on my brass settings. After rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands dirty on some brass cleaning, finally my console table is adorning few of my priced possession.  

Diwali is a much-loved festival of mine & I think, eat, drink, & sleep decor ideas during this festive season :)! I am a traditionalist of Indian decor and always try to emanate with new ideas every Diwali and this year is no difference, I have used an antique wooden ladle holder to display the flowers & lamps as my table setting for festive spreads.

  

Jayeeta Chakraborti - A reader of Pinkz Passion

 

Jayeeta Chakraborti is a fitness lover and a home decor enthusiast, who also happens to be a loyal reader of Pinkz Passion. Her décor and style are equally inspired by the traditional vibes of India.

Home decor is Yoga for me. This gives me immense joy, motivates me to create something new, helps me release my stress.

Being a Bengali, our main festival is Durga Puja. But we try to celebrate almost every festival whether it is Ganesh Chaturthi or Diwali. I especially do this for my kids so that they learn about our culture. Also when I decorate my home for a festival I feel my home becomes a peaceful place where we all can live happily!

"Less is more" - I try to follow this simple rule when it comes to Diwali home decor. I try to keep things simple yet elegant. I read Indian as well as Western home decor blogs regularly and these are the sources of my many new ideas for home decor. I try to incorporate my own ideas with that and the end results become a whole new thing!

 

Paddy From Decomania 

It would have been a total amiss if I have not asked Padmaja Rama, aka Paddy (whose home we recently show cased here in our home tours segments) to share her festive flavored home, where essence of Diwali is loudly felt. Tucking in the well wishes for the festival, Paddy shares some portraits from her Diwali ready home.

Welcome to the bedecked Rama home during Diwali. Diwali is hands down my most favorite festival, just as it is for millions of other Indians around the globe. Living in the US, there certainly has been a moderation in the way it is celebrated. Nevertheless, we Rama's make every effort possible to keep the traditions alive and make this festival authentic and exciting for our kids. This is the time I try to bring to life, my nostalgic memories from life back in India and re-enact the rituals and the fun activities that I have experienced. I test the limits of my DIY endurance around this time, be it cooking or cleaning or festival decor. 

During Diwali, our home decor gets enhanced with an extra drama quotient, both inside and outside. Kolam/Muggulu, clay diyas, external festival lighting, tea lights, lanterns, flowers, brass, more brass...the house is decked up completely, like a new radiating bride. 

That being said, I do believe in staying green, minimizing the efforts, curbing mindless buying as well as keeping the home safe and kid friendly.

Ultimately, the most important thing, festival or not, is to cherish life, celebrate and create best memories with the true lights of our lives - our beloved family members!

 Dolphia from Story of Cooks

 A bubbly and cheery food blogger with an infectious smile, sends beautiful corners from her contemporary home, brought alive with dramatic Diwali decor.

Diwali meant much more than Durga puja to me. Everyone has their own way of decorating their nest for the festive season. And this is mine, I like cozy, compact settings, because every time I enter it gives me a warm embrace.

I am not a fan of colorful, bling-y products so it’s a tad bit hard to shop for me. I like white and golden when it comes to festive décor, so I invest some golden and earth colored props and perk them up with white flowers.

And as we conclude the post, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all creative divas, who contributed their Diwali adorned homes for this festive special post. I greatly appreciate this lovely exchange of creativity and hope you dear readers have been inspired thoroughly with the decor ideas.

 

Circle back with me this Thursday for another Diwali Tour of our Living room. If you missed the entrance tour, head straight here for some bite size ideas to adorn your corners. Until we meet again, stay connected on Facebook and Instagram, toodles.

Decked up Entrance - (Diwali Special Part-1)

As we approach Diwali, I cannot help but get nostalgic about my best childhood memories around the festival...the aromas of wonderful traditional food, the spectacle of colorful decorations, the glow of lights in every corner, the thundering sounds of fire-works, oh the euphoria!

Fast forward many years, although the grown up rat-race has subdued my bubbly childhood cravings, the pent up anticipation for Diwali still manages to surge; and I do my best to tackle the feat of earnest celebration with panache. This year is no exception. Welcome to my entry way that is currently brimming with Diwali preparations and inspirations.

On festivals like Diwali, I suffer major transformational moments and for me, nothing heralds Diwali like the eternally elegant brass. This year, a dominant shade of deep red with a lavish dose of sparkling brass is sprinkled throughout our home, fostering a classic traditional palette. Our entrance that usually wows every guest, has been elevated further in style quotient with an extra dose of color and bling.Akin to my changing seasonal wardrobe, I also rotate decorative pieces around the home to complement the passing season and moods. For special festivals like Diwali, some buried treasures are unearthed from my treasure chests and displayed around my home for that extra festival oomph. Like this old fashioned "Jharoka" that adorned the entrance in our old home now comes out for special occasions like this.

Unconventional pieces like my antique brass ice bucket used as a vase here, added that depth and dimension to the shimmering decor here.

The bold palette created with a personalized amalgamation of sparkling brass, colorful flowers, Diwali diyas and the patina of some well-loved pieces enriched the festive look I wanted to orchestrate. If you are visiting first time here, take a glance at the paintings above the console, they are creations of our artist in the house, our teenage daugher.

Our glittery, shiny and gleaming entry way is all set with the spread of festive accessories.

Diwali is the time to spruce up any dull corner begging a zing. Remember, those often forgotten corners offer that unlimited décor prospective to impress your guests upon arrival. The niche beside our staircase also offered a potential of more decorating opportunities and grouping of few metallic accents here, with varied heights made this darling little space a show-stopping alcove.

If you are eyeing those urli stands, they are the our new additions for Diwali this year. I could not pass on the 50% off offer on these awesome pumpkin stands at Pier 1 and they now elevate and display my urlis beautifully at varied heights. Also friends, this is the same treasure chest where all  my goodies jumble when they are not in use ;).

The heirloom piece here with intricate work is an antique brass lamp, displaying a subdued glint through layers of age-induced patina. The brilliant craftsmanship and elegance of this beauty draws attention to its aesthetics and an intrigue for the bygone era.

If you are looking to pep up your decor for this festive season, browse through your collection and build a scheme. You will be surprised at what you can come up with. For the festive punch, diyas add that rich glow and flowers, a freshness in any décor. The combination of both is surprisingly effective. I didn't shy away from using the vast collection of my clay and brass 'diyas' that I layered together, perking up the corners with a bold radiance. 

The wooden engraved box is also another recent addition from Home Sense Canada. The rich gold details on the box with some diyas perched on top, adds some visual drama to this corner.  

As a concluding visual, here is a bird's eye view from the stairs, where the lit diyas in a dramatic setting brings to life, our dull nook that has now become a highlight of our entryway.

Hope you all get a good boost out of all the sparkling ideas in the post and will now spruce up your place with this inspiration. I do have a number of more posts including a Diwali tour of our Living Room planned for you between now and Diwali, so I better get busy! And for you lovely peeps, stay connected on Facebook and Instagram for more decor sagas to celebrate Diwali with me, until we meet again, toodles!