This month at fashion@home

This month at fashion@home I am Welcoming Winters.

Come December there is a slight chill in the air; the cupboard smells of naphthalene balls and the days become shorter. I love winters and I love preparing our home to welcome it. Making it all warm and cozy for come winters many an evening will be spent watching old movies, making Christmas and New Years’ cards, playing Pictionary or simply building a castle with my little one and snuggling under a blanket.

Read how I welcome winters at the Portico Fashion Blog. What are your winter decor tricks? I'd love to hear from you.

p.s. Each month you can find me writing on design, decor, organizing your home at the Portico Fashion Blog. Also I am surrounded by some obscenely talented ladies, do drop by because I am sure you are going to love it. 

Images: 1,2 & 3

A new week, A new month

Say hi to May!! So what is your month looking like? Mine (as of now) looks like a mish mash of...tons of satisfying work, a big announcement to make, a toddler who needs to be suitably entertained because her summer break starts soon, some good time with DH,  mum-dad's 33rd anniversary get together, catching up with two women I really admire and some home decor projects. 

Five decor mantras that I live by...

Image : Source unknown

May Fetish!!

Hello! I am back with some more gorgeous rooms all centered around a MAP!

Have a look at this cupboard. Using a map inside the frame is just BRILLIANT. I love the warm colors against the cold white. I wish I could see the rest of the room as well which I am sure must be gorgeous as well.

What a cutie children's room The map at the center, the book shelf units on either side, a rocking horse and a guitar and a comfy place to curl up with a book ! What more can a child want? Did you say they want a television these days? hmm...its there too..though the mom in me doesn't approve of it completely :)

Images:  Cupboard & Map on wall

Bright dinner spaces

I am really liking these bright and sunny pictures. Every meal eaten here will be a complete delight. 

Like the pops of yellow!

What a cute lamp! And the view from the dining space is awesome!

Images: Elle decor

Every Little Girl's dream!

Do you really think this post needs any text? With colors like those, wall art so unique, table & chairs to die for and a street sign to match...I want to move into this room NOW! Get me some Latte please.

Image : here

March Fetish!!!!

The last in the series of my March Fetish series. Whats with this year, its just flying away! 

Another very doable idea is to install glass shelves and display your photographs on them. Not only does it give you the option of altering the arrangement every now and then for a fresh look, It is also great for rented accommodations. To see more display ideas, click here,here and here.

Psst...Don't miss the side table...lovely isn't it?

Image : Unfortunately I just can't remember where i saw this.

We are running out of space!

I SO very badly need to use all the wall space that we have in the house to store books. We've really run out of bookcases.Also the little one is very busy exploring the house these days, she loves the dresser and bookracks specifically. So we are currently reorganizing everything below the height of 71 cms! And will be doing that continuously for many many cms to come;)

My hunt for some ideas threw up some very interesting images that I am sharing with you.

I am really liking the use of branches for a shelf. Though how much weight will the real branch be able to bear is debatable. Which is where the branch imitation on the left comes in. Pretty and Practical.

I also like this zig zag bookshelf which makes quite a statement, art on wall. I am also liking this very simple shelf with the triangular bookends which make it so interesting. And how cute is this book annotation! 

A tree inside my home! Perfect for a child's room. And the right one, a complete contrast to the left but using the good old tree again. Perfect for any library or a den!

Completely smitten by this dainty-curvy-pretty bookshelf. And my favorite on the right. Love the rustic look.

Had to share this crazy & cute book seesaw!

So which one do you like? Just look at these animals walking in and walking out of the books. Superb! I am definitely going to twist this idea and shamelessly steal it ;) How do you like your bookshelves to look? Do you like them organized by author/subject or you color coordinate your books too? Do you like only books to make a statement on the shelf or do you like to keep pretty knick knacks to complete the look? 

Images :

Row 1: White vase branch, White branch

Row 2: Matrix, Triangular bookends, Book Annotation

Row 3: Green tree, tiered bookshelves

Row 4: Wriggly shelf, Rustic shelf

Row 5: Seesaw shelf

Row 6: Peeking animals

Potty about Pots Series

Handcrafted ceramic leaf

I made this some time back, actually I made many of these ;) Do you think it will look good on the wall just like this or should I frame it?

Image : Personal Album

Lovely Ideas for kiddy rooms

Isn't this a brilliant idea for a girl's room? Two rolling pins to hang her pretty trinkets? God! How cute are these...they even have pink handles ;)

And how about an oar instead of the regular curtain rod? I am sure every child who loves water would love this!

Images : Unfortunately I don't rem the source, I saved these long time back

Happy Birthday Sara!

Really? I mean are you sure? It’s already nine days since my lil girl turned ONE! And I will have to wait for ONE whole year to plan her 2^nd birthday party :) Alright, I will wait patiently.

Today I am sharing with you some snippets from Sara’s 1^st birthday! Ever since she came into my life, I have been baking a cake for her every 31^st or 30^th (28^th in Feb :)) as the case may be to celebrate her monthly milestones. So you can imagine my excitement for her Big Day :)

Of course she had a very, very Pink birthday. I put my heart into planning this one and Sara and all of us had a great time! I hope you have a great time going through this very detailed post as well.

The party had to be at home (where she is most comfortable), between 4-6pm, (when she is active and fresh after her nap) and the guest list had to be small (I didn't want to intimidate her with 100 new faces). So she was surrounded by family and close friends and was a very happy birthday girl.

For my baby girl there had to be PINK, there had to be BLING and there had to be lots of DOTS! So I used lots of shades of pink paper, lots of shimmery sequins and beads and circles everywhere.

The Invite

For this I used my favorite font Mistral for the “1” on the card. And filled it up with several pink dots punched out of handmade paper and circular pink sequins. It was laborious but worth the final product.

The inside of the card also had two circles carrying the birthday verse and other details.

A polka dotted ribbon bow and pink beads completed it.

The Thank you Card

We sent these out after the party. It was a simple card carrying only two words “Thank You” which were painted by hand and once again a ribbon and beads tied it up all together.

The Big One

This was for the main door. I loved the texture of the wrinkly paper and the baby pink color. I used the same font Mistral and cut it out by hand. Then punched several holes all along the border.

Polka dot ribbon through those holes, lots of sequins and circular tags later it was on our front door.

Other Décor elements

For one of our walls I wanted to do one big piece that looked girly and arty at the same time. So I cut out several circles of different sizes. On some were glued sequins, on some beads, some had ribbons. And the wall décor was ready.

And there was a wishing tree.

This was made with an empty biscuit tin and some branches that I picked up from the street. The branches were painted silver and the tin was done up once again with layers of paper and few sequins.

Lots of handmade circular wishing cards and everyone was ready to wish the birthday girl years of good health and naughty times ahead.

A pink mobile

For this I followed the tutorial here, and made a pink mobile. The paper ornaments for the mobile were in different sizes and colors and Sara had fun playing with them ( As you can see from the pic;)). Finally tied it up with twine to an old silver circular frame I had.

Flowers & Balloons

Of course the home had to be filled up with pink flowers. For this a number of ice buckets with polka dotted ribbon tied around them dressed up as vases. I also used lots of baby food jars for baby breath as well.

And there were loads and loads of baby pink balloons and pink polka dot balloons as well.

Table Decor

Food placards and flowers made it all look pink. For the placards, I cut out several circles and wrote out the name of the dishes in silver. A bow in front and a bamboo stick behind and they were ready to be put inside the baby food bottles.

There was the polka dot pink cake and chicken and mushroom-onion quiche that I ordered. We had Alpenliebe strawberry candy (Yes, only because it’s pink and white). I made the rest at home, a chocolate trifle pudding, cocktail sticks, corn salad, chicken ham sandwiches, cabbage & carrot sandwiches, chicken nuggets, corn nuggets and cheese balls.

The food was placed on a combination of bowls, inverted platters and some on inverted cake tins (that I painted in two shades of pink) to give the table a certain dimension. More on these inverted cake tins tomorrow.

Party Favors

These were homemade chocolates (Strawberry, Mixed nuts & Butterscotch ) To pack them pretty, two large squares were cut and I tore them up slightly for the border and sewed the chocolates in them. Here’s how the final packing looked like.

Phew, a long post! I had a beautiful time making everything from scratch with my paws for the apple of my eye and I really, really wish her all the happiness in the world. Happy birthday Sara!

Images : Personal Album

Glowbooks!

I am so much in love with this porcelain lamp! Yes! you heard me right...its porcelain and its a lamp and I LURVE it ;) My bookshelf wants it too! I saw these here.

Hold your breath now! What you see below is group of these glowing beauties. I wouldn't mind a wall of several such "bookshelves"!

Image : ineverytree

Revisiting student life

Guess what I came across on NY times? These absolutely brilliant ideas executed by students at their apartments. Its amazing how you start thinking of creative options to do up your rooms / dorms when you are a student for the simple reason that you don't have money.

I remember creating lamps out of inverted cane baskets, painting cartons and using them as a dressing unit and a table and making photoframes out of cardboard for my hostel room ( The photoframes i still have ;))

Enjoy these pictures and get inspired to do it " On the Cheap".

A chandelier made by draping plastic bags over 11 watt bulbs

( A wiremesh around each bulb protects the plastic from burning)

Candlestands made out of recycled bulbs

A bed made out of honeycomb corrugated board

Images : NYtimes

My Home, My Space

A dear friend has been waiting very patiently for this post. Thanks P. She recently moved cities and had given away all of her stuff. And then she moved AGAIN! This move is also a stopgap arrangement before they move to their final destination. So there are going to be no furniture shop rounds or any other Expensive and/or big item home shopping.

But who says a home can only come together with all that. All you need is a lot of creativity and your personal stamp on everything inside your home sweet home. This one is for you P. I hope you and of course all my readers enjoy going through it and get tons of ideas to do up your place. (Warning: Long post ;))

Furniture? Furniture What?

When I write furniture I mean the wood-difficult to move- expensive kinds.

Huge Floor Cushions, Mattresses, Cane Murhas (Stools), chowkis… all are great when you are doing up a house on a budget and even otherwise. I love the idea of a floor seating arrangement and have had it when I was living all alone and even now in one of my rooms. Nothing like sitting on the floor! Stock up on loads of colorful bedcovers and cushions and you are done!

Love the neutrals here...and don't miss out the low table

Photo frames on a window sill...aha!

Stack those cushions

Of course I need several tables!

Now tables are one thing that you DO need around the house. Be it to keep your laptop (right P ;)) or to stack up your makeup or for that lovely vase! I completely love the idea of using whats already there in the house to “make” tables. An old carton, an upside down bucket, a stack of books…whatever you like and whatever you can get!

Boxes like these are easily available

Love-love-love the ladder

A bucket and a tray...and you have a table

Show off those books

An old trunk...waiting to get out

A rug beneath my feet

Throw in a big rug/ chatai and the empty room starts looking full and gives a feeling of being lived in. Better still; get several small ones for a different look. Easy to maintain and easy to change when you are bored.

Ok, only for a second but can we please focus on the ballerinas?

These chatais are available everywhere

Oh those drapes!

Old dupattas, Never worn saris (I am the proud owner of several of those ;)), Jute burlap all make interesting curtains. Use more than one color and you are ready to rock. Also it’s so very easy to change the theme of the room according to the season with these unlike the regular curtains that are there to stay.

A simple polka-pink...me wants it

How about hanging several of your pretty dupattas against a sheer? Yummy!!

Jute burlap with a personal stamp, like it?

How I hate those Blank walls!

Walls that don’t have signs of our travels, our family, crafty little somethings are not my walls!

There is absolutely no need to invest in expensive art if you can’t afford it or don’t understand it. A picture gallery on the wall, collections that you have built over years: of absolutely anything plates, stamps, mirrors even Frisbees. Yes you heard it right…someone actually did a Frisbee wall and it looked so whimsical!

What good are those pictures sitting in albums...huh?

Empty frames, anyone?

Love this eclectic collection of platters, colorful and so much fun!

How about a map on the wall, better still...how about marking the places you've been to!

Can’t do without my lamps

Who needs a chandelier!! Paper lanterns, lots of bulbs put together, empty beakers with tea lights all do the trick. You just have to look around!

Have always had a special corner for these babies ;)

Why can't i ever throw empty jars? Cos they are not only good vases but also good lamps ;)

Adore these bulbs, someone take care of my electricity bills

Had to post this pic...LOVE it

And then there are those other things

You have no idea what a little bit of green does to a home…so get in a plant, put those lovelies in a vase and you don’t even need proper vases. Take out that wine bottle, your favorite mug or even a copper kadhai! Bring out those beads and necklaces that you have and add some Bling to your house. Open those cupboards and accessorize your home with whatever you feel will give it an edge!

Get in those lovely stems with the flowers as well

A green plant inside the home is a must for me, even inside my washrooms ;)

Hey Glitter, come right in or out in this case, right?

Remember that slinky we played with, isn't this a cute idea for a kids' room?

Pretty little boxes all in a row...

I know it’s been a long post, but I really hope you had fun going through it, I sure had fun putting it together for all of you! Do write to me if you want me to cover any specific areas related to home/ décor/ DIY/ Parties et al and of course I would love to hear your views on this one!

Images : Too many of them to write about, namely countryliving, apartment therapy, real simple, tumblr, flickr, etc etc