Design Talks : Rajee Sood

Don't you at times feel like "who is the person behind the blog that I love to wake upto? What is she like? What are her interests?" I know I often have. So I decided to take the matter into my hands and know my favorite bloggers better.

I am SO excited to introduce a new series called Design Talks where we invite design bloggers to purplehomes and we talk our heart out! I am hoping through this series all of us will finally get to SEE the faces behind the blogs that we so LURVE.

So please join me in welcoming our very first guest, Rajee Sood. I know by the end of the interview you will be craving for more (trust me you will be, she is such a wonderful person and you are going to love what she has to say), so I have convinced her to answer your questions as well. Just leave a comment after the post and Rajee will try and answer them all.

 Rajee, a BIG welcome to purplehomes.

Well, to begin with our readers would love to know the very pretty & immensely talented person behind “Rajee Sood” the blog? Rajee please tell us something about yourself, your family & of course what do you do in life other than coming up with such inspiring posts day after day?

The person behind the blog “Rajee Sood” is a 35 yr. old sardarni (does that explain a lot )…and I come from a hardcore Sikh, army family…confusingly though both my elder brother and I are into creative fields…he into advertising and me into Interiors. I am married to my college sweetheart and am mother to 5 yr old Aimee (my yellow Labrador retriever) and 4 year old Sarah…the brat you sometimes see on the blog. 

I have had just one completely life consuming passion…since childhood…doing up places, bringing in that extra little pizzaz…as a kid it was my own room…and it has grown up to make me what I am today. Though Interior Designing was not…THE…but obvious choice of profession…because it wasn’t much heard of and accepted as a career choice. My dad, the stereotypical Army Colonel…was of course appalled at my choice… thank God for all the technical drawings we were made to do at Design School…it turned my dad into my best supporter.

When I am not blogging you’ll find me sketching some designs…lost in my books…or bundling up my girl and we are off browsing and exploring new markets… new shops. Though I haven’t had much chance to add lot of landscaping and gardening posts…but that is a large part of what I love doing too. Both personally and professionally. I think I would be lost without my plants and gardens…:)

And when it is family time, we are very reclusive people…we’ll probably hit the road, to off beat places…and enjoy our quiet and solitude. It helps me count my blessings and thank God for all I have in my life.

We read on your blog that currently you are on a sabbatical. Are you taking any small projects at present? I know so many readers are just waiting to for you to come back & help them do up their homes.

It’ll be a lie to say that I am not going to take up projects if an interesting one comes my way…but I am lot more laid back and for lack of better words to describe my current status…I’d say sabbatical is more like it…I am being there more for my little girl, just like my mother was there for me when I needed her.

Having my own blog has helped me reach out to far more people…I am at times putting in as much and if not more time, effort and research into each post as I would behind different aspects of projects…just that I am enjoying this finer side of designing… learning and developing at a pace comfortable for me and my family.

The pictures on your blog are SO beautiful & gorgeous. Any tips for the aspiring stylists & photographers?

I don’t know if I am that old enough to be handing down tips…but if you ask me how I go about it…I’d say… I do loads of homework…I need to think over what I have in mind and it is important that one has that power to visualize one’s thoughts. Sample and collect your material…but be flexible…to change and play around. Then follows the step to put all your things together …here it is very easy to get carried away and create a hodgepodge … trying to fit in every thing… it takes great restraint to stay focused on the look you are trying to create.…also what helps me a lot is taking some initial pictures … pictures tell you best what you may be missing out other wise. And if you still think that…that one piece is sooo … beautiful you have to fit in somewhere…restrain…take a deep breath…put it away…you’ll have other opportunities …:)

We know your love for antiques & flowers & candles. What a lovely combination! What else inspires you?

Stones…I just love…love…love the feel of stones…especially the rough…textured ones… the architectural element they bring to a space…gives me a high.I also can’t deny my passion for textiles…I need no excuse to buy yards and yards of fabric. However minimalist or grandiose a project the textiles you use are a very major element. And I am crazy about lamps…oh dear!…Prachi I can go on and on… :)

There are so many wonderful design blogs around us. We’d like to know the ones you heart. Indian & International both please.

I really love…An Indian Summer… I have no idea how Bhavna hunts for all those amazing pictures.Its fun to read her witty narration.Browsing her blog is an absolute mood up lifter …:). Some other awesome blogs that I enjoy are …Velvet and linen…Pure style Interiors …Absolutely Beautiful Things…Blomsterverkstad…Styling by Coty Farquhar…Belgian Pearls… and ofcourse, this new blog I discovered Lenkin Design’s Gardening Fantasies…I also love to go and check out  Mon Unique…Patricia Grey, Interior Design Blog…Most of them are written by such talented women… their originality and creativity is infectious.

We are so sure that come every 1^st you must be dying to get hold of fresh issues of your fav mags! So which are the ones that find their way to your bedside table?

Honestly, I don’t have enough hours of the day to reach for a magazine…but if you catch me reading one…it’ll either be the Architectural Digest or Veranda…yep ! at a news stand I do infact find myself looking for just these two…and if I don’t…it is a bit of a Aah!  Moment…:)

And may be on second thoughts I do have a peek a boo at Elle Décor and Vogue India…:)

We all know how your home looks so divine all the time & it’s so tastefully done. What are the ten décor accessories in your home that you just can’t dream of living without?

the candles

the different containers I use for my flowers …

my mirrors

the frames I love collecting

my books… 

I love my accent chairs (sadly they are in dire need of reupholster)

my coffee table

my trays (very multifunctional)

I love collecting textiles…I like to have yards and yards of them and I do keep using them in different ways…I can’t imagine a lot of moods I try to create, without these textiles.

And lastly… because you say only 10… my plants…there is no me if I can’t grow plants… J (infact back at design school my professors and friends would all joke about how I couldn’t dream of a project without first getting the plants in…

To wrap up, any tips for the readers for an instant makeover...you know when unexpected guests call up to say hey we’ll be there in exactly ten minutes. We know they will definitely want to know this from you!

If it’s about guests, its best to do things you would also be comfortable having and living with…best to be natural…and yourself…now having said that…get off that couch… if its evening time…plum up those cushions…dim those lights…light a few candles…and nothing pulls all of this together like some soft music in the background. If you still got some time…and a few handy flowers…lovely to have them around…a lot of times just plain green leaves and stems are quite a style statement…‘this is just me’… kind of statement … ;)

If we are taking about a day time…instant makeover … most of the same things work fine … may be instead of the candles…you can pop in a batch of cupcakes or a cake to bake… nothing says I love to have you over than the fragrance of something baking in the house. And those cushions…the plumier the more welcome your guest will feel…tidy up the coffee table…you will feel instant ‘I am in full control here’…kind of feeling …:)

Wow! those are really wonderful tips! Thank you so much for coming over. I wish you all the very best for all your personal & professional projects.

I hope you enjoyed "hearing" what Rajee had to say. Don't forget to say hi to her & ofcourse you want to know something else about this lovely lady leave her a comment here.

Images : Rajee Sood