Halloween in Black and White

HALLOWEEN IS LOOKING VERY BLACK AND WHITE

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Pottery in Delhi

Who doesn't love Pottery and Pottery items..I am not an exception to this..Dont you all love ?

A post based on an interesting article that came up in Times of India , named "Kiln Deep "nowadays they dedicate the fridays Weekend planner to Art and culture.They cam up with various options to study Pottery and to buy pottery and to enjoy pottering in Delhi...It made an interesting read and thought it would interest my readers too..

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They did definitely mention about "Saundhi Mitti " And about Ruchira Bhatia...and her online pottery studio..

Scour the streets of Delhi's Mini Alwar to pick the best ceramics.In the  vicinity of Kumhar gram,near Sainik Vihar,it houses 700 families from Rajasthan,Alwar shapes a great chunk of ceramicscape-decking all the fairs and even five star lobbies.To familiarise even better with this talent hub,Indomania cultural tours have initiated a day tour of this pottery village,in association with South Asia Foundation,an NGO working for crafts people.  To tell you about the tour,it starts early morning,during Summer to avoid the heat,preferably  around 6 or 7 am and concludes by 10.30 am.They have a small souvenier shop as well..

Visit them here:

 Potter Mania

  TOI lists the professional potters in and around Delhi that give great frist hand experinces in its own.Sheila Hashmis studio,Meena Vohra in Noida and then the MAATI SRIJAN:The clay studio in IP extension,a gallery space and a store showcasing pottery pieces,including those made in their own classes and studio spaces.

Then there is the Delhi pottery studio in safdarjang enclave equipped with wheels,kilns both gas and woodfired.There are also special weekend classes and special summer batches.They also run a ceramic centre in Sanskriti kendra,Ghittorni.A month long pottery course in the beautiful environs of SANSKRITI at an affordable cost of Rs 1500 is absolutely worth it.So just make clay when the sun shines!

 my very own from Bridge Pottery,Pondi

from Bridge Pottery,Always gets filled with flowers...on all ocassions and otherwise

    

Information courtesy: Supriya Sharma,TOI

WEDDING IN LAS VEGAS - WITH FEATHERS!

My friend Shawna says we are getting old

and she may be right -

especially if getting old means we are losing our minds

I mean, what was I thinking when I agreed to do a wedding in Las Vegas?

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Onam and its myriad moods at home

 The mood as Onam approaches is one of optimism and hope and beauty through the lenses of my camera.

Prosperity

Purity

Wealth

Optimism and truth

Formless divinity

Reuse and Recycle

Unconscious Beauty

Colourful

Floral Pattern

Pots and Patterns

Old Saris to Curtains

Love for the old

Some lovely Onam thoughts

Images and Ideas by Lakshmi Arvind.
Please do not use without permission.

My New Kitchen Slipcovers!!!

Back to school and back to projects that needed to get to done! I am so excited to share with you my new kitchen slipcovers!

Let’s start at the beginning, with two teenagers, a big, hairy dog and an Italian family who loves Marinara sauce; my kitchen was not a perfect environment for my linen, upholstered chairs! We’ve been living with dish towels draped over the seats to catch any spills– not very pretty. I needed some washable slipcovers and I needed them pronto!

As always I had an inspiration photo to show my wonderful seamstress (Photo: Things That Inspire). These were close to what I envisioned. I liked the straight lines and the overall length. I wanted something to cover the chair but not be too fussy.

I also needed the slips to be washable. I found these wonderful oversized napkins from French Laundry Home. I like their “grainsack” look and feel. They were big enough to cover just the seat, so we needed something extra for the skirting piece.

You might remember my wonderful linen blend curtains I found on sale last year at Country Curtains.

I bought extra fabric for $6 a yard and had these wonderful slipcovers made for my club chairs. Read all about my Family Room redo HERE. Fortunately I had enough fabric left to use for the skirting.

Here is the chair before…(not pasta friendly!)

And here is the slipcover after! Large enough to handle any spill and simple to throw in the wash!!

I love the back – I didn’t want any ties.

The hidden Velcro does the trick of keeping it neat and in place.

The bench also needed a bit of covering up. As much as I loved the Antique printed grainsack I bought from Kym Fraser of 3 Fine Grains, it was much too valuable to be stained with hot fudge!

A quick call to my dear friend, Wendy Lewis of Textile Trunk, and a more reasonably priced antique grainsack was on its way. We took out the stitching on both sides, sewed in the corners and added the ties. Look closely and you can see the fold (that was the bottom of the sack) still in the cover.

An indestructible and beautiful slipcover!! You can also see the chairs with their new, pretty dresses peeking through!

The lighting was not the best when I took the picture this afternoon, but I wanted to show you how wonderful the new slips look in the Breakfast Room!

Sometimes it seems daunting to live with linen or all white furniture. Slipcovers are the secret! Your kids can eat hot fudge and still live in a beautiful room without worry.

Do click HERE to see the wonderful new stock of antique fabrics available from Wendy at Textile Trunk. She just got back from Europe and you will go crazy!! And get ready to see some kitchens I have been working on, some reader’s renovations I am thrilled to share and some more personal and professional projects I am starting for the Fall!!

So happy to be back!!

(all photos and content copyrighted by Willow Décor and not to be copied with out written permission)

India Modern

A much loved article from the magazine "Better Interiors" written By Lathika Khosla. A few excerpts from it which goes on to say about the Modern India. The Architecture is the showpiece in India now. Volumes are left free to enjoy the space. The old-world roof and structure have been maintained, yet contemporized with new surface finishes.

If one chances upon a resort, or a restaurant or a shop, there is old and new at the same time. India like many other Asian countries have been a much loved destination for Indian inspiration. The arches, the mellow colours of sandstone and ochre and the pillared verandahs have been architectural muses, the carvings, the fretwork, patterned and woven textiles and the art has been much loved by the Indophiles as well as all those within the country who love the traditions..

Traditional techniques are lauded, because there is purity of creation as in the way an interior looks finally..

Somewhere along the way India Modern has begun to turn from Euro-centric devotion to Asian living as an inspiration.

More and more there is greater intent on not only global colour, but colour and ethos so regional that it fuels our hunger for embracing what is our own as own..

Lathika Khosla is on the board of colour marketing USA and the founder organiser of Colours India. She is also the founder director of Freedom Tree, a wholly Indian Colour led lifestyle brand and she has her own studio called Freedom Tree Design that undertakes colour consultancies and assignments..

Image Courtesy: Better Interiors
Text Courtesy: Lathika Khosla

ITS TIME TO GET YOUR 'BOO' ON

And we all know Halloween starts at your front door....



Looking for inspiration for that very place, I discovered some Halloween facts....

Black is in . . . . 

Feathers are the rage

You can have a fresh look for pennies

For example.... an inexpensive grapevine wreath (one from that pile in the garage is even better), some ribbon, scrapbook paper and glue - and a couple of bucks to use the die cut machine at your local scrapbook store - how adorable is this?

here

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Published-Article on Tropical Flowers - Prismma

An article of mine published in Prismma, September edition. Pages 234-238.

Thanks to Prismma.

Published-Thank you Prismma

A personal note to Prismma and all the people associated with it and a huge thanks to Rekha Nambiar, Editor, Prismma.

I am grateful for giving me the opportunity to showcase my home in your esteemed magazine and the huge applause I get from various corners of the electronic world.

English Country Cotswold Home

I have always been enamored with stone homes, especially those wonderful properties that are nestled in the gorgeous English countryside.

When the owners wanted to expand the kitchen, but ensure that the charm of the historic stone house was incorporated, they called on the talented, Yiangou Architects.

A closer look shows you their keen attention to detail. They used large timbers of green oak to frame out the new addition in an effort to seamlessly tie it back into the original home.

Above is the main entry of the existing home. You can see the beautiful millwork, bannister and wonderful ceiling beams. Notice the gorgeous flooring. The new addition needed to look as if it evolved over time as the house has evolved.

Above is the new kitchen and family room space. You can see the wonderful post and beam design really compliments the entry of the home. The entry beams are repeated, and the flooring is similar in color and scale.

Windows on three sides capture the light through out the day and into the early evening. The gardens are visible at every turn. Also notice the wonderful fireplace.

French doors give you a closer glimpse into the spectacular English gardens.

The gardens from another view!

We said goodbye to the beach this weekend. Another summer come and gone. Thank you so much, Readers, for being so patient while I disconnected from the internet during the month of August and re-connected with my family and friends. I am refreshed and re-inspired! It is great to be back! Looking forward to sharing some of my exciting, new projects with you through out the Fall!

xox Gina

(All all content copyrighted by Willow Décor and not be copied with out permission. Photos: Yiangou Architects)