Architect Kavan Shah's gorgeous green house in Mumbai

I was captivated by images of Architect Kavan Shah's apartment in Mumbai. Recently showcased in Good Homes magazine, this apartment stands out for two things: its touches of cement and the amazing plant life inside. 

I don't know how Shah fits a 7 ft tree in the apartment and manages for his plants to get enough light in the shadowy corners but whatever he does, it works. The images where the room is bereft of plants is quite startling as well, but shows that it is an elegant space, no matter what. 

I'm starting to realise that the height of plants makes a significant difference to decor as well. Instead of collecting a few dozen cluttered pots, invest in a couple of larger plants that will bring your room alive. 

Read the full story and drool over the pics here on Good Homes. 

A Christmas Home Tour

Ho Ho Ho!

It’s that special time of the year already! Has Santa been to your home yet? He came by ours late last night, ate the *two* biscuits that M kept out for him (“because if he eats more than two at every house he goes, his tummy might hurt”) and left a lovely letter for M along with some much appreciated presents.

While you are enjoying your Christmas meals and festivities with family and friends (including the fun of unwrapping presents), here’s a peek into a home in the Middle East. I saw these photos on Facebook and asked my friend to send me more. Unfortunately, she had just taken down most of her decorations as she was flying to India soon to spend Christmas with family here. Perhaps next year we’ll be able to see more of her lovely holiday decor! Some of these images are from her mother’s home as well.

 

Fun toilet cover, E!

 

 

E starts decorating in mid-October. I thought that was pretty early and asked her about it.

We had gone to the Philippines for a holiday 3 years ago and  there they start decorating at the beginning of the ‘ber’ months which is September. So now it is not just me; the few families I know here also start decorating mid October. Most of us are not even here for Christmas so we at least enjoy a decorated home from mid-October. Every weekend we meet up at a home to enjoy the season. I love decorating for Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing your home with my readers, E! I hope you had a lovely trip to India and a wonderful Christmas with your family here. Looking forward to next year’s photos :)

And Merry Christmas to you, my lovely readers. I hope you are having a lovely day full of good weather, scrumptious food and kind people at your table to share the goodness with.

A Bengaluru Christmas House Tour

I’m inviting photos of your home for a Christmassy house tour on the blog. A reader from Bangalore – Barnita De – responded with these lovely images of her home.

Barnita lives and works in Bangalore. Here’s what she says about her Christmas decor :

I have 2 lovely daughters and putting up the Christmas tree is like a yearly ritual. It is usually set up collectively on 1st December every year. We try to put up ornaments which are from a shop as well as some made by hand. This year it is a little different since I got back home from a trip from down under on the 1st of December. So most of the decorations are "sourced" ones rather than hand-made. We’ll correct the imbalance next year :-). 

Even with the lack of time and busy schedule, Barnita has put together a lovely and colourful display. Christmas is all about making good memories – and decorating the tree with your children is surely at the top of it!

 

Thanks for sharing your lovely home, Barnita and Merry Christmas to you and your family from us here.

If you would like to share glimpses of your home for a Christmas house tour, please email images to frangipanidecor@gmail.com

Holly Farrell

The latest issue of Covet Garden features the quirky home of Holly and Steven. The house is simple, but full of things the couple has collected over the years. What really stood out in the feature, though, was Holly’s stunning paintings. They look so real! I asked my five-year old to take a look and tell me what he thought and he insisted that one of them (Peep toe Shoes, 2012) was a photograph.

Amazing, isn’t it? I’m in love with her style. See more of her work here and walk through their lovely home here.

Images via Holly Farrell

A Modern Victorian

I’m gushing over this house today. Look at that amazing colour! I can’t get over how stunning this black looks against all that green. Would such a colour work in India (for exteriors)? I’ve seen some pretty ghastly buildings painted in random geometric shapes including black but they look terrible. How would an old Goan house look in a dark colour scheme? It would certainly stand out against all the primary reds and yellows. And would it make the house hotter (in the temperature sense)?

Look at the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ – pretty awesome, huh? The visible changes seem to be the addition of two window boxes, lots more plants and of course, the dramatic colour of the blue woodwork and pink door.

 

There are some pretty stunning before and afters here including shots of various rooms. What do you think? Were you bowled over too? Anything you would do differently? I for one, am bookmarking the article to steal some of their ideas!

Images via Lonny

Banoo Batliboi

Have you seen the work of Mumbai-based book sculptor and photographer, Banoo Batliboi ? I stumbled upon these incredible images of her home work through Lumitrix. Banoo’s work is ethereal and yet very grounded. Her book sculptures are amazing – I wonder how long each one took to create?

Image via Lumitrix

Above three images via Booksculptures.com

See more of her house here and browse through some of her incredible work here.

Rena Thiagarajan’s global chic home

Just popping in to show you this colourful yet calm home belonging to Rena Thiagarajan of Project Bly. I love how her home is *full* yet seems calm and collected. Lots of art everywhere and the rugs are so beautiful. See the home tour here at AT.

A Woodstock, SA home

Colour plays such an important role in home decor. Some countries, more than others, encourage the dramatic, the primary, the blatant use of beautiful rich hues. The effect is magnificent. While all-white homes are serene, these colour-blocked spaces are lively and full of energy. Using the right colour is important, too, of course. This colourful house in Woodstock, South Africa, is full of colour, vintage finds and books, oh books.

More here. Images via House and Leisure, SA

Satyagraha House

Today is Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. This is a public holiday in India; the television channels are overrun with Attenborough’s epic ‘Gandhi’ and the newspapers are crammed with government-run advertisements extolling the virtues of the man and the schemes he has inspired.

Gandhi’s simplicity has inspired more than schemes to help the poor. His spartan living and simple tastes could be inspiration to all of us who desire quieter spaces and uncluttered, breathing homes.

Satyagraha House, in Johannesburg is one such example. The house was built in 1907 by Gandhi’s close friend, the German architect Hermann Kallenbach. Gandhi lived in the house for about a year. The property was renovated by French company Voyageurs du Monde. They created a museum and a guesthouse called Satyagraha House. Christine Puech and Amit Zadok of Voyageurs du Monde designed the interiors.

The house boasts of neutral furniture and accessories such as lamps made from white cotton khadi. Memorabilia from Gandhi’s life are displayed across the space.

The ladder is a replica of the one used by Gandhi to climb to the roof and sleep under the stars on hot summer evenings. The original is in a museum in Delhi. (information via House & Home)

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Curtains made of cotton dhotis – another idea to steal.

 

This image will always remind me of our own attic space, with its beams and sloping roof. I’ll never be able to get ours to be so clean, though. But it helps to have some inspiration, something to work towards, no?

Images via Satyagraha House unless noted otherwise.

The home of Marianne and Kore Yoors

When I’m older, I will live in a house just like this. Books and art will cover the walls…

there will be intriguing objects around just waiting to be touched…

and there will be plants everywhere. Indoors. Yes, everywhere.

And by that age, I’d have gotten over my compulsion to dust and to keep things in a pleasing, geometric order. Chaos will reign and by God, it will be pretty. I hope you come and visit.

In the meantime, hop over and see more of this beautiful home of artists Marianne and Kore Yoors in New York.

Images via here and here. Photo credit: Talisman Brolin

The home of designer Rose Uniacke

I spotted this house over on 79ideas and was instantly smitten.Interior designer Rose Uniacke calls this amazing space home and the reason it appealed to me so much because I can see our own 200-year old home looking like this with a little (lot) TLC and a huge injection of cash (of course).

A dash of turmeric yellow against a white palette with generous touches of black and an accent colour like baby pink – this would be a refreshing colour scheme for our living room. A chandelier like that wouldn’t hurt either!

We have several hallways in our house that need to be decluttered (emptied!) and made into simpler rooms that invite one to take a break and enjoy the space instead of careening through the dark shadows trying to ignore the dust bunnies lurking under the shelves.

and the same space, from Uniacke’s website

I’d so love a spot like this where trailing vines and large plants can give us our own little garden. Our ‘backyard’ would be perfect, but would the neighbours mind?

See more images here. Credit: Henry Bourne for the new york times and Rose Uniacke’s website

India-Inspired coat hooks

I love these India-inspired coat hooks. Anyone know where they are from? The image is from this unbelievably gorgeous home found on Lovely.se. Go on, take a look. There are so many images to look at, and each one has something worth copying.

See the entire home tour here. And while you’re at it, browse the rest of their archives too – gorgeous site.

Image via Lovely

Kanchan Parikh’s apartment in Mumbai

I’ve been so busy these last few weeks that I’m ready for a long holiday about right now. If the rest of 2013 is going to be like this…then God help me!

I’ve got so many posts waiting for you, hopefully this one sets the tone. And what a tone it is – beautiful emerald, the colour of 2013.

This home belongs to jeweller Kanchan Parikh and was featured in Elle Decor India (June-July 2012). The home is filled with beautiful collections – antiques, silver, art. I love it when contemporary homes in ‘regular’ apartments are able to showcase such beauty effortlessly. Inspiration lurks around every corner here. 

This calm living room has the right combination of comfort + collections. Even though there are so many things here, they all compliment each other so well. The tufted sofas are from AA Living and the faux metal mesh chairs are from Casa Paradox. The Portuguese chaise lounge near the window was lacquered in bright green and matches the other emerald tinges in the space. 

 

I really love this gold console in the powder room!

 

 

 

What do you think? Like it?

Images via Elle Decor India.

Love…Rosetta Santucci

I discovered Rosetta Santucci’s work while browsing through the archives of The Design Files, where her gorgeous home has been featured. Rosetta’s work is so intricate and full of detail. It reminds me of elegant crewel work - the colours, patterns and references to everyday objects found in nature.

You can see more glimpses into Rosetta’s beautiful home here.

Images via Rosetta Santucci and The Design Files