A makeover, over morning tea ... ;) ... one from the archives

My image file dates these pictures to 8.27 am, 23rd July 2003 ... about 20 days into my first bought home ... I know I have shared this apartment here,before ... but just felt like sharing ... what must have triggered the following chain of events ... a lovely SanFransico morning ... the most gorgeous blue sky ... a slight chill in the air ... the beautiful eucalyptus swaying in the wind outside.

Me and my morning tea ... along with a  boring morning newspaper ( a ritual I still follow... complete with the useless boring newspaper) ... ;))

And then, a morning bright idea moment ... flash ... off comes out the camera to capture what shall be history ...

O.k it wasn't all that innocent ... I clicked them  ... the house, all calm in creams and white and mailed it to husband dear ... who was at work, of course he thought they were sweet pictures from a wife getting bored at home  ...

... bored  ... who me ... yep ! right... ;)))) .... giggle-giggle ...

Image files list this picture taken at 1.27 in the afternoon ... ;)) Hell!of course I e-mailed it over to the hardworking people off at work ... ;))) ... lol ... and yes! it got him cruising back home to really see if it was all true ... :)))))))))))))

.... oh! yep ... the entrance got a make over too ... :) Honey, I painted the walls ...

Guess, alls well that ends well ... warning ... please don't try this out at home in case you've been married for more then 10 years ... ;) and your husband may not be in a sporting mood with the color tingling your senses... :))

And in case you've been married long enough ...;)) ... just go for black and wait for him to tell you he still loves you, never the less ..;))))))))))) ... either ways ... have fun.

And I am back ... ;))

 As much as I try ... this time of the year, does end up being ... exodus from bloggy world ... ;)) ... and yep! Madhavi, you were soooo ... right ... it was the lil' brats B'day. And though the house is all bare ... we had to gear up a little - bitty for the D day ... it was the day ... lil' pirate girls invaded us ... :))

And rolling up the tissues ... love ... love ... love ... so to please the pirate gang ... I went along with red ones ... and the entire table setting sort of just floated around it ... layers of table covering ... check ... check ... ;)) ...  greens ... check ... check ... :)) ...

Well! one big commitment of the season is over ... looks like I can slowly think of getting back to work ... and share some ... I -SUPER -LOVE, projects ... sure there was some upholstery work I experimented with ... weee-heeee ... coming up soon ... more Kantha love ... ;))

Sooooo ... while, I shake and stir myself up a bit ... here's leaving you with some quick shots of the reds again ... sorry, would have loved to not have ... so yellow a picture ... but gosh! ... ask any B'day kids mum ... what the moments before the gang arrives are like ... I 'm not sure which is more ... knots or gripes ...;))

Soooo, I shall be back real soon ... and you can trust me to get those pretty pic.'s of all the projects along ... :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

The Give away at ... Once Upon A Tea Time ... :))

I have to share that ... Once Upon A Tea Time ... is definitely one of my favy. kinda bloggy ...  Priya and I started blogging around about the same time ... and over time I have surely  fallen more and more and more ...  in love with her blog ... love all the transformations it has gone through and how she  has kept something so original about her blog. It exudes her creativity and originality.
And if you haven't already had a glimpse of the gorgeousness ... this may be just a great time to pop over and have a look ... cause she is also having a great giveaway from Anthropologie. A great place to shop if you are headed out to the US ... as for me ... I'm hear in Gurgaon drooling over these salad plates ... that are making me go all ... Uuuuuuuuuuuuh and ahhhhh ... ;)) ... Have a great giveaway Priya ... and for all my readers ... Happy discovering another beautiful blog ... :))

Pink Room ... Part II ... :)

 

 ... here we are with the current status of the pinkroom ... it thrills me to bits that lil babe ... chose to keep the bed mommy designed for her. You have to believe me when I say ... it scored over an offer (from daddy dear) of a bunk bed ... :))))

 I have to say I am in love with the glowing stars  ceiling work ... honestly I can have that in the grown ups room as well ... its just awesome to switch off the lights and ... blink-blink ... there they are ...an all star lit sky under your roof ... :))) .. love ! love ! love! ... I wanna have that ... ;)

 Have to admit ... one of the only design contributions have been these lights... and I  quite enjoyed how they thrown diff. lights on the two diff. walls ...

 ... infact I didn't mind the crystals at all ... they add a bit of that fairy tale romance.

... as we speak we have finalised our fabric for the curatins and once we have them ... surely I will manage some better pic's against the window glare ... ;) ... which would then leave a few shelving we need and yes! the chair upholstery.
Am pretty sure we will be have some tiffs as we head to the accenting the room stage ... but I know you are all wishing the very best to me ...  it is quite another thing to watch all your concepts get flipped out even before you turn your back .
The prob. with being a designer mom ... is... that your kids think they are born ... pro's, at DIY projects ...;)))) Silly mom  ... had to go to school for it... ;) ... Baah !

Chalk board paint and a quick fix solution ... :)

 I decided to remove Sarah's floor stand chalk board and instead give her a bigger space on one of the walls ... was a nice ... plain and simple and a no hitch kind of ... an idea  ... and of course that was until the painters arrived and declared they had lost the catalogue with the design that I had picked ... :))))) ... ah! on the last day of paint job schedule and a  house full of other contractors  ... that's not a nicey thing to hear ...  but then as all designers will share with you ... SOS calls on site is always something to be ready for ... and soooo ... here was my quick fix for the situation ...

 ... do what we all do best ... ;))) ... google ... :)) ... yep! I google mirror silhouette and some interesting options popped up ... taaa-daa ... and ofcourse you'd thing the painters are obliging ... oh! no mam' ... they are completely allergic to trying anything other than the predefined path ( yep! learned that from 1st year out of design school ) ... and then they love to sit back and watch, as if saying ... o.k, designer lady show us a fix ... hell! I'll show you...
I have them paint the basic rectangle ... ooooo.ky, so far easy-peasy ... then comes the tricky part ... ;))

... they love to sit back and watch and some quick free hand outline and I had the frame ready ( the outline of which you can see taped ) ... fill in the paint, guys ... ;)) Yep! believe me  ... not just the clients ... its the contractors ... our carpenters and painters and just about everyone who tests you as a designer.Guess, not making it an ego clash and knowing things can be fixed and have to be handled ... you can salvage a design project from failing.
 And ... oh!look my client is already enjoying her new wall ... :) Will share the entire room ( though bare -basic as yet)in the post coming up next ... :) And more stories about this smarty pants client of mine... ;))

Architectural elements in interiors ... :)

 One of my fav. things  as an Interior Designer is ... bringing in an architectural element into the room ... :) ... super like the sudden transformation of the space. And trust me bigger does not mean bulky feel ... really ...

 So as I chug  along the home renovation project ... the new delievery of this oversized mirror I ordered some time back ... has me super excited ... believe me  ... if you do few things that turn out  great in the beginning of any project ... I can handle any situation that goes off the mark , along the way ... so I am happy I love this piece creating a great architectural statement ... so anything I goof up after this ... hell ! I'll handle it ... ;))

... it was ordered for my entrance foyer ( read micromini size foyer) ... :)) ... but hey ! foyer none the less ... but as the delivery boys brought it in ... I just had to ask them to leave it against the black wall ... something on an impulse ... so guess you too will have to wait and see like me  ... where  this mirror finally gets to go ...
Just thought I'd update you of  a few happenings  at the black wall apartment ... ;))))) Things are slowly getting dusted and reorganised after the painting job. But guess the major undertaking will be the upholstery getting redone ... have been interviewing a few upholsterer's ...  and once we zero in on that ... upholstery redo ... next up.
Oh! I have a few nice shots of the girlie room coming up next ... hope all you pink crazy readers would drop by to have a peek  ...
In the mean while , its sure fun tackling all the details ... :))
And as usual feel free to mail me any of your queries ... as we move along the project . Hearing from all of you is really fun... cause many a times some comments sure have a domino effect onto my thoughts ... rolling over onto something designisssshhhh ... happening ... :)
Pinkie room peeks coming up next ... :)))))))))))

A paint job and colors I am working with ... :)

Here's a sneak peek into my curret project ... and as every Interior Designer will tell you the most difficult clients are your own family ... really, nothing can challenge your creative wits and credentials like home turf... :)

 Luckily, my dreams of messing around with black ... didn't meet the same fate as the hot pink story 2 yrs. ago ... :)) ... and oh! yes ... have to mention ... the ones most in love with the choice have been my 6yr. old and her friends  ... thankyou kiddos ... ;))

  But honestly ... this has been one fun time experimenting ... and pushing myself to  not compromise or chicken out. Doesn't that happen to you ... you always have this gorgeous color in mind ... and dream of putting it on your walls ... only to chicken out for the more 'safer' colors and shades.

... but come on, there's nothing like playing it safe ... its the walls of your own space ... how much more personal can it get ... and to not have the colors you want... :) Inspite of all logical reasoning ... it still takes something to say yes! and not wake up in the middle of the night with knots in your stomach.

  I am working with Asain paints for the complete painting job and not just the paints. And I must say this... so far ... with just half the job done ... I am happy ... ofcourse full review of the Asian Paints  painting services ... well! only after the full job is done ... :)

 Hope you are ready with those queries of yours ... feel free to find me here on blogger or on FB or e-mail me at rajeesood(at)gmail(dot)com

Will share a lil' more in the next few posts ... about the colors I am using ... tiny hitches and glitches. Hope you'll join in and make this more fun.