Home Tour: Saritha’s residence in Netherlands

Hey everyone! I got busy with family for the past few weeks that needed my attention but I am back to blogging now.  I am so glad to resume to what I love because I missed you all. But I have to say I not going to be consistent with my blogging for the next one month because of my family commitments that needs my attention… Meanwhile I am here with another beautiful home tour. This home is from one of my favorite travel destination, Netherlands.

Saritha Ashok has converted her home into a cozy retreat and strives on minimalism, because of her constrain in space. She focuses on living a clutter-free life and as a result making her space peaceful home airy and surrounds herself with soulful elements like flowers, candles and books. I love how she puts together different elements to create beautiful vignettes.

 Let’s hear more from Saritha herself on her inspiration for her décor style and enjoy her home tour!   

“I am Saritha Ashok and I am from Kerala in India. I live in a small town in Netherlands called Leiden, with my husband and 12 year old son.  

When we moved here, on the decor front I decided I will keep it all bright and clutter free and minimalistic. I do slip at times, but I think I have managed to stick to it mostly. I can’t say that my decor style belongs to a specific category. I think it’s a mix of country cottage/farmhouse with hints of boho and Indian traditional. I love to decorate with earthy and handmade accents. Most of our furniture in this home was bought from used furniture groups online and most of the decor accents are flea market finds. I also carried a few of my favorite pieces from India. So you can call it a “thrifted home” :)  

My favorite piece of furniture in the house currently is the blue sideboard. It is an old piece that I painted and it looks stunning now, if I may say so. My favorite space in the house has to be the living area. I spend a lot of time on the couch enjoying the view of the canal outside! Also, we mostly have our meals here (not on the dining table, I confess).  

My decor tip would be to keep it simple and minimal. You can add pops of colour using flowers, candles or even books! Plants can also add a lot of character to any space. And do not hesitate to experiment, because I think that is how you develop your own style. “

Thank you Saritha for opening up your cozy retreat to us.

If you wish to follow Saritha's home décor inspirations, hop on to Instagram and click here to follow.

I will be back with more home tours... Stay Tuned!

All the above pictures are copyrighted.

Home Tour: Rithu's beautiful apartment from New York.

Hey everyone! I hope your week has started off well. Are you ready for some Monday inspiration?

Today I am featuring a cute little apartment of a dear friend, Rithu from West New York, who recently moved out of this apartment. I wasn’t surprised at all when I had a look at her crisp minimalistic home through her pictures as she is a lady brimming with creativity. Her décor is casual and not too pretentious. Rithu is an aspiring fashion designer who recently completed her course, passionate about her art and a food blogger.

So quickly grab a cup of tea or coffee… and let’s hear more from Rithu herself and have a look at her old beautiful apartment.

“Greetings everyone! I am Rithu, and I am the food blogger of ‘Gastronomy Illustrated’, where I share easy, yummy recipes and about my little adventures in life.  I am beyond excited and thrilled to be a part of the honorable home tours’ feature from ‘Tickled by Inspirations’. And so I would like to start by saying thank you, thank you to my lovely family friend, Rachel, for this wonderful opportunity!

I was born and raised in Muscat, the lovely capital city of Oman, and went on to reside there for 22 years. In the 22 years, I did most of my schooling in Indian School Muscat and completed 4 years of Biotech Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology. Although I have Malayalee roots, I studied and practically lived in Kerala only for 2 years, to complete my high school in Kottayam.  But the rest of my life so far, has been overseas of India. After my Bachelor’s at BIT, I was fortunate to pursue my Master’s in Bioinformatics at King’s College London. Learning with some of the brightest at KCL was an honor in itself, just as much as making it through the difficult course and finally being awarded with the Master’s degree. But behind all the years of science and engineering, the actual truth was that I have always been an artist at heart. The obsession began when I was just about 11 or 12, when I started doodling some of my earliest fashion illustrations, on whatever paper I could find, even if they were pages of my school notebooks and texts! After getting married to my wonderful husband of 4 years, I moved to the US in 2012 and a year ago, I was so happy to finally fulfill my dream to attend fashion school! I enrolled for a short program of 6 months in Brooklyn, New York, but in those few months, I gained so much knowledge that I will forever be so grateful for.

In December, my husband and I bought and moved into our very first home, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and each day we are excited and working on doing up our new residence. But until December of 2015, we lived in a cozy little apartment in West New York. My requisites for a home space have always been the same and very simple – no clutter, functionality and chic with a little quirk! I also like contrast and hints of bold color. Me being a cleanliness freak and a bit of someone who strives for perfection, everything in my space has to be placed just right, and sometimes in exact right angles! But apart from my strange OCDs, I like bringing the outdoors, indoors, if that makes sense. Especially when living in a concrete, boxy space like an apartment. I like greens around me, lots of natural elements like wood, … At the entrance of the apartment I even placed a watering can on the floor, just because it gave me a cozier and homelier vibe. Even to this day, it is very important to me that every piece of furniture my husband and I decide to invest in, has to have more than one function. For example, the sofa in our living room was a futon that could easily be converted into a large sized bed for two. Another dual functional piece was the red ottoman that provided seating in the living room and had so much space for storage, inside! Convenience is also definitely a requisite. Whether it’s the sleek console table at the entrance to hold keys, or the patio chair by the shoe rack for people to sit and wear shoes. I like knowing that there’s something to make things just a little more convenient, and I especially like having things contained, rather than keeping them out in the open and adding to clutter. I only like to showcase the knick knacks my husband and I have collected on our travels, which I would mostly display on the quirky book ladder in the living room. My favorite space in the apartment was the living room seating by the window. We had an Ikea rattan chaise lounge that was so comfortable to lie down on, and it’s where I used to read or have a nap on some afternoons. And in the evening I could catch a view of the Manhattan skyline from the same spot… This apartment will always have a special place in my memory, as it’s where I developed a love for cooking and baking, started my food blog, made a few paintings and put them up on the walls, and studied more about fashion designing whilst doing the course in Brooklyn.

To all those who are reading, a humble thank you for taking the time out… “

 

 



 

her artwork

 

 

 

 

 

love the fabric of her storage

 

Thank you so much Rithu for sharing your old apartement with us and wishing you a happy stay in your new one... And we hope we get a home tour of your new home as well!!

 

 

All images are clicked by Rithu

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Dhi

Recently I came across this minimalistic lamp on Engrave, which is something new and fresh. And I found myself browsing through similar gorgeous lamps made by the same home décor brand, called Studio Dhi.  Kavya Sundaram, an architect by profession whose passion is interiors, is the brainchild behind this brand and Mithun Stephen is the co-founder who takes care of marketing and technical sphere. If you have an old wall unit or a coffee table that needs some kind of upliftment, Studio Dhi is the right place to be.

Have a look at the lamps that she has designed and let’s get to know more about Studio Dhi from Kavya herself and about the décor services that she offers… 

 

 

 

 

Tell us a bit about yourself and your inspiration to start Studio Dhi

 

I am Kavya Sundaram an Architect by profession and a designer by passion. I hold a degree in Architecture and am passionate about interior design. I am the founder of this concept design studio and Mithun Stephen is the co-founder, who’s behind the technical knowhow and marketing.

We all know that there are talented architects and interior designers to design innovative spaces, but there is hardly any expertise in the home decor area. Home Decor plays a role equally important as the building envelop. “The space you inhabit is an extension of yourself” it defines your character, mood, work everything. This is how Studio Dhi’s intervention began. Also during our on field research with the home décor items, to our surprise we discovered that the kind of décor and furnishings existed 10 years back are still continuing. Everyone has their own dream space to create but with the existing products in the market, they are forced to choose the products which are at the least close to their expectation, which results in having a regular space like any other… But Studio Dhi focuses on creating a new grammar to your space!

 

What does “Dhi” signify?

 

“Dhi” is a Sanskrit word which has many meanings like being meaningful, understanding, reflection, design, intelligence, opinion, meditation and lot more. Everything we wanted to say about our brand, fitted in just these three letters.

How unique is Studio Dhi?

Every product at Studio Dhi is made entirely by hand from heart taking inspiration from around. The idea behind this brand is to create a complete environment, both interiors and exteriors by simple and innovative designs. We dream of bringing luxurious, hand‐crafted décor accessories to living spaces across the world. Presenting you is a platform to celebrate art and culture through great products.       

 

What is your vision for Studio Dhi?

 

In today’s lifestyle, we see décor and furniture as two separate elements. These two elements together complete a space. Future of home décor is about slowly transforming these two elements as one, where your furniture doubles as a décor. We are currently working towards that.

 

 

Any home décor tips for my readers?

 

Most of my clients have one question in common i.e ‘How do I make a space look appealing?’ Well here are some tips

 

·         Try to follow balance, proportion and harmony.

·         Choose Quality over quantity

·         Add some Details — small touches of designs on elements in the room.

·         Choose Neutral, calming tones with earth tones.

·         Last but not the least Light plays a huge part.

 

We always follow our decorating mantra "less is more."

 

Thanks Kavya for sharing your inspiration and experience with us and for the lovely home décor tips.

 

You can follow them on

 

website: http://www.studiodhi.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StudioDhi/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studiodhi/

 

 

Images via Studio Dhi

 

 

 

 

 

House of the Month: Residence of Kaho from Mumbai

I am back after a small break from blogging and it's time for some home tour treat, my favorite segment!! I stumbled across this beautiful expat blog called Chuzai Living and Kaho the author, has made me see my home country in a new way. Kaho, born and raised in Japan, is based in Mumbai, loves to share her cultural experience through her blog and beautiful pictures. One of the best things about Kaho’s blog is that it doesn’t just revolve around her travel and cultural experiences and her life abroad, but also gives inspirations to design enthusiasts, fashion and food. And moreover her photographs attached to all her posts are beautiful, giving a gorgeous visual appeal to the blog and to the readers.

 And I particularly loved her home because her home is so inviting, warm with a lot of natural elements with a modern touch and minimal… I love the feel of that perfect balance of comfort, neutral tones and the rustic feel in Kaho’s home.

 

Here is what Kaho had to say about her inspiration to start a blog and decorate her home

What inspired you to start a blog?

Kaho: "Being an expat encounters a lot of challenges. Getting acclimated to a new country is a daunting task not to mention managing to survive in a city where people speak a different language from your is intimidating. Thus, I thought that I wanted my blog to be a place where people can come and grab the information that they need in order to make their lives easier.

With this blog, I want to become that person, a friend, who can refer places to people who are looking for recommendations because I knew that I could achieve it by using my passion for photography, interior design and food. I take pictures of the interior of a restaurant or store which I enjoy and take photos of the food or items that the restaurant or store offers which I find very intriguing."

What is your inspiration for decorating your home?

Kaho: "Scandinavian design… I love have a lot of natural light, white and natural woods in my home.  I am a fan of simple and modern interior design with a bit of rustic or industrial flare.  Since we are an expat family, we don't get to use our own furniture except for a few pieces we were able to bring with us.  It's been a challenge to show my style using the fixed furniture, but I try to be creative."

a living room that's highlighted with neutral tones and filled with comfort

a nice rustic table that goes well with grey and beige

Dining area that has a huge wooden cabinet with Kaho's collection that's arranged beautifully

my personal favorite - a huge chalkboard to write that has a happy quote

the dining area

a relaxing foyer

the girls room with blue pompoms and blue frames

a minimalistic living room style

Click here to visit Kaho’s blog, Chuzai Living for more inspirations. Thanks Kaho for sharing your beautiful space with me and my readers. I hope to meet you when I visit Mumbai!!!

Images copyright Kaho from Chuzai Living

 

House of the Month: Aradhana Rathore from Bangalore

When I received Aradhana Rathore’s beautiful home pictures, I could feel her love for antique furniture and paintings. Aradhana, based in Bangalore and married to an army officer, often move places and gets her inspiration for her interiors through her travels. Her interior style is minimalistic and aesthetic that makes her space warm and inviting.

Enjoy this lovely home tour!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Aradhana for your sharing your beautiful space with me and my readers!

Images via Aradhana Rathore.