Wednesday, October 30, 2013

My Living Room a reflection of INDIA - Diwali Inspiration - Day 3

Hello!! How are we doing today???

The countdown to Diwali continues......today it's going to be simple Diwali decor I've put together to enhance the festive mood in my Indian style living room. I've kept things traditional but with a few simple twists it keeps things fresh.

Let's get started then. Grouping of similar pieces always makes a huge impact and makes it look like a thoughtful collection. I brought together 4 of my favorite candle holders and varying their height draws the eye to different levels and keeps the Diwali vignette interesting. Combined with colorful artwork or interesting wall decor, the vignette is nothing but splendid.
Fresh potted plants, a simple red runner used for the base of the vignette together with a colorful wind chime round up this Diwali vignette. In the picture collage below, the center pic shows you how the setting comes to life in the evenings and radiates a warm glow.
Next, I have the classic floating flower arrangement in a traditional urli. The flowers could be randomly floated or with a moments thought, simple designs could be created for flower rangoli's like the ones I've shown below. Together with candles you have your self a charming display.
The new addition to my home this Diwali are these gorgeous votive holders in colored glass. Placed around the house, the hues they add to a festive ambiance is priceless. These are available at World Market at a price you won't believe ($2:). They are not available online so make a quick dash to WM before they fly off the shelves.
It just does not have to be the diyas or candles that light up your Diwali. Dress up your old table lamps and give them a new look. I looked in my stash of things and found beaded necklaces and hair accessories that my parents sent me in one of the packages from India. They always love to put together things like these and send it across for me. How thoughtful is that. They know I'll make anything and everything work. So I used a Nagaland tribal necklace together with a Rajasthani Parandi (hair accessories used in north India to decorate the ends of braids) to gussy up my lamp.

The history of Parandis is fascinating. Making parandi took roots long ago in Punjab, with Patiala being one of the oldest centers of parandi making in India. Women have always been fond of prettifying their hair, but since they were supposed to cover their head, their hair accessories were hardly visible under the oodni. The women of the royal families of Patiala came up with the ingenious idea of adorning the lower end of their braids with gold, mottled threads and precious gems to complement their royal accouterments.

Adding rich textiles is another wonderful way to add shimmer to the special day. Cushion covers in silk or detailing in embroidery with glass work is a perfect addition. I've brought out my silk cushion covers that I bought from Fab India.
And now for the final look around my Indian style living room to see how everything comes together. The urli with the floating flower arrangement sits pretty on the coffee table. I also love displaying my brass knick-knacks for Diwali as they add the luster and shimmer that I'm looking to add for an exuberant Diwali.

Traditional Indian hanging lamps grace my living room making a statement for the Diwali season. The lamps are hung from wooden carvings, some custom made by a wood carving artist (my family has known for years) while the others sourced from a craft sale back in India. 

And that was my attempt at trying to bring home the myriad expressions of India in my own way. Every piece has a story to tell, a beautiful memory associated with it or it spoke to our personality and style sensibilities. And that's important to us and that makes our home "OURS".

I could ramble on and on.......But for now, I hope you'll found inspiration in the little things that I've put together to liven up my home. Do drop me a line and let me know if you enjoyed the post. 

This festive season, if your on the look out for decor with a modern take on the traditional, then do stay tuned for the featured shop segment coming up tomorrow. 
Have a wonderful day:) 


Images:Clicked by me. My home. Please do not use without prior written permission.
Images are the property of Sruthi Singh and subject to copyright.

41 comments:

  1. beautiful!! love the coffee table!

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    1. Glad you Liked the tour Harshika, you have a wonderful day:)

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  3. Looks so beautiful. It has definitely inspired me to revamp my living room :)

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    1. Awww.....that's really sweet. Thank you for stopping by.

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  4. Oh good, my net's back up right on time:) wow.. what an incredibly beautiful look ! I love how you have added such vibrant colors and managed to make it look serene at the same time..There are bold colors, but with a beautifully subtle backdrop of creams and lighter shades to have them look oh so elegant ! oh you are making me want to paint my walls back to creamy satin the way it was 2 weeks ago :( not going to happen soon ! and love the carved wood findings on the wall ! and your (trunk-turned) coffee table, do spill, did you paint it yourself ?

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    1. Peeli...there you are. So nice to have you back girl. Thank you for the lovely feedback. The Coffee table was yet another find from World Market. I'm not taking credit for it as it was my husbands choice and I fell in love with it too.

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  5. oh, and how I wish we had a World Market here in CT !!!

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  6. so beautiful.... and elegant... loving your blog... following you
    http://nicksnacksbyme.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you Shaz............that's lovely. I'll be hopping over to ur blog too. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.

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  7. Your photos takes my breath....Marvelous !!!

    Best regards

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    1. Timur.....your a sweet heart. Thank you so much. You have a lovely day.

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  8. now, we need a fab party, with ladies in vibrant sarees, maybe wearing Caprilicious?? :) to set it all off -
    fabulous, Sruthi

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    1. That would be icing on the cake.......wishing you a very Happy Diwali Neena :)

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    1. Thank you Lakshmi......it's a pleasure to see you here on my blog. I adore your work too. Thank you for visiting. A very Happy Diwali!!!

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  10. What a gorgeous home! Loved all the brass accents - how do you polish these? Let us know! :)

    frangipanidecor@gmail.com

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    1. Thank you Miss Frangipani......I'm so glad you enjoyed the post.Occasionally( by that I mean once a year) I scrub them with good old tamarind. You have a wonderful day!!!!

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  11. Glad the natural way works for you, too! And I'd be very happy if I had to scrub our brassware just once a year blame it on our high humidity and living-by-a-river! So glad I found your blog (through My Dream Canvas). Am adding you to my blog list at http://frangipanidecor.blogspot.com. Have a lovely Diwali!

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  12. Just amazing. My dream come true kind of a home. Love following your blog! WOuld love to share some of my home pics to get your feedback soon !

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    1. Awwww.......that's really very nice of you. Loved your feedback:) Would be my pleasure to take a tour of your home. Do send me the pics at theeastcoastdesi@gmail.com whenever you are ready.

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  13. that's really a perfect small India....what i found missing is you in Indian ethnic clothes....loved the post..!!

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    1. Glad you stopped by and really appreciate the feedback.......and I always wait for a chance to sport my Indian attire.....so be it this Diwali or any other Indian festivities or celebrations, you can bet that I'm in a salwar or a saree..........

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  14. Ohhhh..m gonna give you designer Indian Traditional Dresses ..in exchange of only one round of this beautiful place...plzzz...that's really soo good .....;)

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  15. Love the patterned arm chairs. Is the print Indian or mediterranean?

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    1. The chairs are from World Market - the Ravenna collection. The pattern is very Indian.
      Appreciate you stopping by.......

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  16. Found your blog from All Things Nice...beautiful! However, the first thing to eye also disappointed me...I love the bells and lamps, and especially the wood carvings they are hanging from, but where do I get myself a family connection with a wood carver?
    Priya

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  17. Hello Priya, happy to know that you like what you see..........most of the wood carvings that you see are from Craft fairs or from our travels. I approached the professional wood carver for only a set of the wood carvings as they were not readily available in the market at the time. So don't get dis-heartened keep those eyes open at arts and crafts fairs - I'm sure you'll get lucky.

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  18. I love the wood carvings to hang the lamps, who made them for you and where did you find the others.

    Meena

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  19. Hi Shruthi, I came across your blog a few weeks back and I recently bought a new home in California and trying to decorate it to make it more India. I wanted to know where you bought the wood carving from where the brass deepas are hanging? I have a similar brass deepa and wanting to hang it like you have in my living room.

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  20. Hi
    Awesome interiors. Where would you get such traditional wooden carvings in India. Any info on this will be really of great help.

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  21. Love the decor. Where is the rug from?

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  22. I was searching for some ideas for my living room. I love ethnic stuff and antique furniture. I simply loved your blog. The decoration is classy and simple. Very nice. Appreciable.

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  23. Love the carved hooks for hanging the lamps!!! Would you please share where to buy them ?

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  24. I stumbled upon your blog while googling and what a pleasant surprise! I'm awestruck with goosebumps!! Love love love your decor - Ethnic and antique, yet very refreshing - takes me back on a vacation to a far away land called home. Thank you.

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  25. Wow! It all comes together very well and I love your rug - Where did you buy it from?

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Thank you for visiting The East Coast Desi. I'd love to hear from you.