Indie-Bohemian Inspired Summer Soiree

My word for this year has been “Collaborate”. Everything for the past six months seems to revolve around this word…….and boy! Am I glad a lot of wonderful things seem to be taking shape because of this. One of things that I’m very excited about is that we have our first ever guest post here on TECD in collaboration with Deepa of Aalayam. Aalayam needs no introduction. But if you are new to the blogosphere or to the world of Indian décor blogs, Aaalyam is one to bookmark! I keep going back to dip into Aalayam’s diverse repertoire as India Inspired topics reign supreme. Deepa and Supriya bring their nontraditional approach to design, décor, parenting issues and Indian festive occasions. It’s the well put-together features, experimental attitude and unique voice that is refreshing. Today, Deepa has put together an extraordinary outdoor-scape that orbits around jewel tones, pattern on pattern, textural layering and nonconformist décor choices that rightly connotes the free spirited Bohemian style. If you are looking for boho-chic, summer soiree inspiration, you are in the right place! Over to Deepa ……..

"Hello TECD readers! 
Picture gypsy bohemian and see what comes to mind? Bright colors, bold patterns, scattered chotchkies and maybe some warm-hearted Arabian lounge music wafting through the air! Now, how about you picture gypsy bohemian with an Indian twist? And what comes to mind then is an earthy, kaleidoscopic visual with layers of

colorful bohemia. It is a celebration and a happy exposition of colors, patterns and textures! And that’s all I wanted for our backyard patio one evening -to create an inspired wonderland in which to enjoy a beautiful evening and relax with the family.

Summer evenings in the Midwest are to die for and we love making the most of our treed backyard. We spend many an evening outdoors- grillin’ an chillin’! Lingering summer evenings are the perfect time to make some beautiful family memories, don’t ya think? And one evening, I decided to turn this outdoor space into an extension of our home and literally took the indoors out – pillows, end tables, an area rug, decorative accessories and even a Radha – Krishna painting to hang on the trellis! 

I love our weathered pergola. It works well with anything I want to transform this space into and has been the anchoring feature of many backyard celebrations! And the creative potential that this outdoor space holds excites me but I haven’t fully capitalized on that yet. Eventually, I will invest in some durable outdoor fabrics and accent pieces. After all designer outdoor spaces are all the rage these days!

This time though, creating this table scape meant re-using things I already have. And what fun it was too – to go shopping around the house! Bringing in bits of bohemia meant not being too rigid about the colors and combinations and so I just went wild with the patterns and the colors and let it play out on its own! The end result was vibrant and playful - a perfect backdrop for some cozy conversations, wine and cheese and a game of chess! Of course, this could work very well for an evening of alfresco dining with friends as well.

The challenge of bringing a creative vision to life gives me such a high! So, as much as I wanted to sink into the season with my family, I also wanted to create something beautiful. Being able to add a few images of an India inspired outdoor space to the repertoire of google images seems to be another purpose that Aalayam is serving. And I hope you all have your best backyard summer this year!!

Once again, I cannot thank Sruthi enough for allowing us to bring an Aalayam offering to her fantastic blog. I love The East Coast Desi. It is simply my all time favorite design/décor resource staple. Kudos Sruthi for this beautiful and inspired blog that you have worked so diligently to create and maintain! And as always, it is fun to bring our collective audiences ideas and life style inspirations that we know will be appreciated! Thank you and I hope that East Coast readers will follow this post back to Aalayam where Supriya and I have been brainstorming on some great posts for the rest of the year.

Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Cheers!

Deepa (of Aalayam)"

Deepa, thank you for putting together this wonderfully vibrant feature! It's always a pleasure collaborating with Aalayam and I so look forward to more of such wonderful opportunities.........As for you my lovely peeps, get out there and make it a bohemain inspired outdoor party when the sun shines:) 

(Image Credit: UJ for Aalayam. The images may NOT be copied /used for commercial or non-commercial purposes without the prior written permission from Aalayam and TECD)

My Home, a Personal Repository

When my friend and fellow design blogger, Deepa approached me to contribute towards the 100th post at Aalayam,  I was not only honored but also delighted as the task at hand was to capture the essence of what home meant to me. You'll know how passionate I am about my home and all that is associated with the process of decorating it that I happily hopped onto the band wagon with 7 other design bloggers from the Indian blogging fraternity to be apart of the celebration at Aalayam.   So here is my take on what home means to me :

" Home to me is any place that I can SHARE with the people who mean the world to me i.e. my FAMILY.........however I strongly believe that the ultimate objective of the home making PROCESS is to nurture the mind, body and soul of the individuals who live there. As challenging and delightful as this process may be, it is limited only by two elements, our time and imagination.

With no limitations on these two elements, my home is an ever evolving space that is not only reflective of the individual personalities and interests of my family but on a broader level, is a thumbprint of who we are, where we are from and provides us the creative landscape to tell our story of how we got here. Over the years, the process of diligently collecting, conscientiously curating and lovingly layering our home has resulted in a place that is a personal repository studded with inherited treasures, quirky finds uncovered while scouting the flea markets, objet d’ art found on our travels, and relics that talk about our life’s journey together as a family. I can’t but fall in love with this space over and over again...as it provides the secure environment for my family and me to reconnect with each other, recharges our batteries for the next day and helps us realign and stay focused on our priorities that may be overlooked in the demanding hustle bustle of the daily grind. "

To read and see more of what a home = Aalayam means through the eyes of the other design bloggers, hop onto Aalayam and catch it all on their 100th post. Signing off for today and wishing Deepa and Supriya loads of luck and looking forward to many more inspirational and creative posts in the future....

P.S.: Coming up this week is a Ganesh Chaturthi inspired post. The preparations have already started at my place......to see more, stay connected by joining The East Coast Desi's Facebook Page.  

Images: Clicked by me. Please do not use without prior written permission. 

Images are the property of Sruthi Singh and subject to copyright.