# Indian Spring ... ;)

 It is always nagging me ... the thought as to why I have given up blogging. Time and again I do come back to try the same hand at it ... but something feels amiss. Well ! I get a lot of queries if I'll get back ...  honestly, I am going to give it a shot again.
So here goes ... sharing another of our rituals you all may be so familiar with. My lil' one and I are so crazy about getting the back flowers and twigs from our sojourns into the world outside... :) ... this time I got these gorgeous blossoms from her school ... yes, the entire school bag full of them ... :)
Here, in North India we have a very short spring ...  it starts on the Basant Panchami Day ( official first day of Indian Spring according to our lunar calendar) ... and we'll probably be done by a little into March.
But the blossoms on the trees around shall be spectacular ...  as these ... from the India Coral tree. Soon to follow are the Semul ( red silk cotton) ... Gul mohar ...  Laburnum. oh! ofcourse the Kachnar (Bauhinia) is blooming like crazy these days ... but I am waiting for that time when forests come alive with the Teshu (Flame of the forest).

Not sure why we jump from winter directly to summer ...  short but truly spectacular is our Indian Spring ... I suddenly have a new found fascination for this time of the year... :)
How about you ...  cause I know I haven't even covered half the blossoms out there ... I do find my self hastagging my posts with spring thoughts as #indianspring ... would love to bring more attention to this gorgeous time of the year here in India ... what do you think ... have you got some great #indianspring stories at your end ... ;)

The tablesetting at Dining by Design, pavillion ... India Design 2014 ... :)

A lot of you wrote to me asking about the details of the table setting I created in the Dining by Design pavilion at the India Design 2014, for  Pepperfry.com. Since the stall was for introducing pepperfry's own furniture label - Mudra ... the accents at the dining table were only to accentuate the setting and so I sourced them from diff. sources ...

 

 For all of you who were looking to know more about what came from where ... I'll list the entire item wise source at the bottom of this post...

using greens is an undeniable ...irresistible itch with me ... :) once I start with the greens ... things just seem to fall into place.

 

 the fern leaves that most florists use as fillers are in fact my absolute fav. greens ... I created the entire centre arrangement on a bed of these ferns ... :) ... now that is my kind of fun. Top that with white alyssum and blush pink oriental lilies.

 

The pendant lights hanging above the dining table are Zara (copper) from pepperfry.com ... as for the rest of the table accents here goes ...
the table linen - pink nakins and  black place mats ............. Fab India
dinner plates/quarter plates/bowl ......................................... Fab India
purple votive holders ........................................................... Pure Living
gold flatware ........................................................................ (from my personal collection of styling                                                                                                  prop 's)
Brass Lanterns ..................................................................... vintage finds at my dealers
White pillar candles and the wine goblets ... :) ... my SOP's (standard operating products) are local buys
All furniture we used was from pepperfry.com's brand Mudra
 Creating this setting was even more fun what with all the the pre-valentines day mushy looks on every ones faces ... :)
I do hope I answered all the queries  and you enjoying a closer peek at how much fun I have doing what I do ... ;)) Incase I missed out any point you wanted to know more about ... please leave me a comment or feel free to e-mail me at rajeesood(at)gmail(dot)com.

Of textures and styling at home ... finding place for your ... "me" things ... :)

One of the first few hurdles, most encounter when it comes to designing your home ... is the political correctness of the things we have around. It is surely one thing to fall in love with all those gorgeous pictures and save them in your inspiration file or repin them on to your pinterest folders ...

... its quite a different ball game when it comes to picking accents or simply put, 'finding a place' for your fav. things in your home ...

 

... a simple litmus test to check what you got going in your home ...

#  I put that on my wall, cause ... that's what they say your wall should have ... OR  ... I put it there cause it may be weird for others, but I love it and damn it ... it's my home, folks ... ;))

#  I got that on my coffee table, cause that's what's trendy these days ... OR ... its been something very close to me ... I just love the way it looks ... its so me ... I love to see it around ... :))

... for no particular reason ... other than the weather beaten saying ... ' home is where the heart is' ... and on a wee ... bit of a philosophical note ... I don't think that dear heart cares for logic ... it feels what it feels ... along with all sorts of funny feels ... ;)

 

 

... so next time you see some one who has a weird lil' thing happening in their home decor ... know that it is a commendable job to follow your heart ... and do a revisit ...  to that inspiration file of yours ... may be some new addditions are waiting for you to go click ... click ... :) ... copy ... paste ... save ... save ... :)
And then to give a thought to your lil' precious things ... a framer or a carpenter could be waiting to help you ... :)

And sorry about that Rajee Sood logo on all the pic.'s  ... seems like I got to join the watermarking bandwagon ... as irritating and cumbersome as it is ... but some folks need a reminder, that I work hard at what I do ... please respect my copyrights.

A live centrepiece ... in love with succulents ... :)

A live and green centre piece ... changing every now and then ... always got something interesting happening right there on your coffee table  ... now I really do like that kind of interesting pieces around me ... pretty sure you'd find them infectious too ... well! ... someone did ...

 

... back in Dec. of 2011 ... I did this post about a green centre piece with succulents ... you can have a peek at it here. Its around the same time of the year ... and I was super excited  getting a request to do a similar piece for a fellow Gurgaonite and a lovely blog reader of mine ...

 

... this is what the piece I did looked like just after plantation and a bit of watering ... I really hope you loved your piece, Sonia ... :))

 ... in all that looking around for the right pot for her I got bitten by the temptation bug ... :)) ... and look what happened ... ;))

 

 ... Gosh ! I really hope you got some bit of the infection too ... :)) Now who would mind being down with the green bug ... ;) in the winter ... aaahmm !well ! ... the hubbies may be ... ;))

Some green to get over the gloom ... in winters ... :)

Some of my fav. elements ... a pottery piece with that weathered patina... greens and stone ... :) ... just never know how a little time in the sun gets me all solar charged and ... ;))

 ... so there I was reading a book in the sun ,that just peeked out of the Gurgaon fog today ... and little do we know ... out come the scissors ... chop-chop ... :)) ... decided to revive my love of topiary,with these two cypress plants I picked up a little before Christmas ... and I love doing that thing with green cuttings (take them indoors) ... :) ... Oh! did I forget to tell you ... this pottery piece ... was my buy at the potter behind our conplex, while Sarah was looking for a diya for her diwali project at school ... wooohoo ... look what I dug up lying in their junk pile ...

 ... I really love the beautiful weathered patina on it. Don't ask me what is it ... hell! I have no clue ... but just liked it ... and I have a feeling you may get to see more of them if I can find them and yes ... these are sure getting used in some future photo shoots ... :))

... as each year that I grow older, there is something coming over me ... I am getting comfortable with my choices ... I don't necessarily get influenced by what others think about them ... if it makes me happy ... never mind if it looks weird or gets all myfamily and friends to go ... what's THAT ... ;))))

Its a brand new year ... I got my resolutions in order ... going to be all me ... arranging with greens and not just flowers ... I love the tarnished look so more of that elements are going to be in ... stone, yep I want to bring that architectural feel indoors with more of something in stone ... hmm ... :)) feels nice to have said that aloud... :))

How about you ... how much about your home are you thinking about making all about you ... ??? ...  drop me a line, incase you are in a mood to share your thoughts ... would sure love to hear from you... :)

Winter entertaining ... :)

 Its no longer just a nip in the air ... its winter chill all right ... mercury sure still needs to dip way more ... but, if you are anything like me .... ;)) ... looking for an excuse to celebrate,well ! ... lets share, this is what's on my mind... :)

 I love an excuse for tea and I love tea with company ... loads of friend company. So if you too need an an excuse ... how about .... hey! its winter. Couldn't be a better time for some fun tea parties or just cozy time with friends over tea.

 You might wonder why I always use the same darn, whiteware set for every tea shoot ... :)) ... well! actually there are a couple of reasons for that ... firstly, I loooooove whiteware .... secondly this is the only complete set I own under the sun (love this reason, good enough to go shopping next time)  ... and thirdly, I guess you too could be in my situation ... trying to create a new look with same thingies most of the time (well! I assume a few of us are in this boat ;)) ... )

Well!... either which ways, I hope I 'd inspire you to get celebrating ... enjoying ... style up a bit ... and if there is no reason, that is wonderful ... lets have a do, cause there is nothing much happening... ;) And if you are as neurotic this morning as me ... ;)) ... enjoy your tea.Its the blissful winter time.
Not to forget all the winter blooms on their way .... weeeeee-hee ... aren't you gearing up for all the colorful winter blooms that'll soon be popping into our homes ... ;)Love ...  love ... love ... Winters ... :))

Are you up to voting for me ... ;)

Prismma, the  interior and design, e-magazine ... not only announced their Stylish Home contest last month ... but guess what , Wooo hooo...! I got invited,to be part of it ...here's sharing with you all... that I am full on, part of the Indian homes across the globe that have found a feature in this contest ...
So ... ???...are you voting for me :):) ...??? :))... COME ON... , what's the fun in a contest,if there's no cheering and voting ... ;)
I sure promise to be a very sporting loser if I have to be and pretend let the best entry win ... but while it is still on  ... HELL!!! ... come on vote for me ... that's what friends are for  ... :):) ... Right ... :)
The rule book says ... you spread the word around ... share it on Face book ... mail it to your friends(make them vote for me too ;) ...)  ... and follow the link ... leave a comment( you have to do that) and vote for  Rajee to win.
 ... weee hee ... that simple eh! ... :)... so here's the linky ...

http://www.prismma.in/2798/rajees-stylish-home/

Hey ! and age no bar ... SOOOOO... ;);) ... VOTE ... VOTE ... VOTE FOR ME  ...
.................gosh! do I love this  ... :):)............... ;) ... Big Thankyou's in advance ...:)

A Styling story ... color, texture and a coffee table ... :)

I do happen to have a lot of color on my mind these days ... :) Its a wonderful high ... to play around with ... colors ... textures and finishes .... ask any designer ... that's just what you'd get to hear.And if you also happen to be in the thick of things with your projects and make overs... at home or at work ... and I'm pretty sure there are those moments ... where you go ...'gosh now what is not right here' ... try this ... take a camera and go clickty -click ... a camera never lies and what you couldn't quite pin point ... will be, ah! so very there for you to figure out ... :)

Hope you enjoyed this lil' burst of color ... :) And as always ... would love it if you shared your thoughts with me ... :)