The Sunday Mail
GIVE your home a nice, rich, warm face-lift with the exuberant colours and intricate patterns of vibrant Indian decor.
Make sure the design you choose for a room depends on its utility and style
Unique and inspiring, you can glam up your home in the most elegant way by borrowing some inspiration from the rustic yet extravagant Indian home decor.
Indian decor usually makes use of strong colours and rich patterns, bright fabrics and tapestries, dark wood or terracotta tiles, ornate arches and lovely wooden pieces, beautiful enough to make any one’s heart race with admiration.
It melds traditional style with modern techniques to create the perfect impression. When you wish to create an impression with your home, the traditional yet bright and jazzy feel of Indian decor is sure to win hearts.
Obviously, the design you choose for a room depends on its utility and style. The driving force of your design should be your systematic plan tallied well with your requirements and budget.
Colours to use Indian decor comprises of bright and vivid colours. Bright reds, jewel green, cobalt blues and marigolds lined with gold are the hues Indian interiors are made of. These colours can be used in combinations.
Wooden or bronze bases can also be used to add accent to the entire bright theme. To tone down these vivid hues, shades of white like the pale “Taj Mahal” white can be used. However, it’s the bright and vivid colours that take away the cake, there isn’t much room for neutral and subtle colours in an Indian styled home.
As India is a huge country; geographically some places are cooler than others are. Hence, Indian rooms are designed in a way that they are properly insulated to match the varying temperature.
The floors are made of stone, wood or ceramic tiles usually in lighter colours and ceilings are higher so that the air can circulate well and keep the settings cool.
The seating area in the living rooms is kept closer to the floor to keep things cooler. There are plenty of windows in Indian homes to allow sufficient ventilation and they are often meshed to prevent mosquitoes and other insects from entering.
Fine detailing in the house like the cornices that border the home also add a lot the beauty of the Indian home.
Furnishings
The furniture used in the Indian-style home is dark in colour, usually crafted out of wood like teak, ebony and rosewood. It is handcrafted with significant Indian designs like the sun, Indian gods and mythological figures with a lot of concentric circles and lines.
A carved wooden bed for the bedroom or wooden framed couches and sofas work well for Indian themed decor. Make sure you use rustic and ornate furniture rather than the sleek and dainty-looking ones.
Indian style furniture is also very unconventional and offers a lot of scope for experiment.
For instance, a neatly polished trunk can be used as a centre table for the home or an old wooden door can be used as a tabletop.
It’s all about being creative.
Fabrics
The fabrics used in Indian decor are very rich in texture and colour. Beautiful block printed fabrics with floral and animal prints can be used for bedspreads, pillows or curtains or just settle for bright tie and dye fabrics.
For a more elaborate feel, silk and velvet spreads with golden trimmings, embroidery and beads can be used. The pillow covers can be made from the traditional kanjivaram saris. This really brings out the complete Indian accent.
Eye-catching strips of silk or velvets can be used to adorn the consoles, centre tables and dining tables too.
Accessorising
There are scores of peculiar Indian accessories that are essential to such a decor. Statues of the Buddha or Indian deities can be used to adorn the shelves and console tables in the home. Mirrors with rustic frames make for great wall decorations.
Hand-painted ceramic pots and vases with glass or mirror work is quite typical of many regions in India.
Dynamic wall hangings with stunning applique work with patches and mirrors can add a lot of drama to a plain wall.
You can also pick up some elaborate Indian artwork from the exhibitions as they best capture the true essences of India.
Additional details like decorating with candles, diyas and coloured powder called rangoli are significant to the traditional Indian home.
With the lush palette of colours and absolute rich textures, decorating the home the Indian style can be very interesting and is sure to invite a number of compliments.
These interesting ideas should help you bring in Indian royalty into the corners of your home easily and effortlessly. — Home Decoration Concepts.
