Attention Grabbers

Image Courtesy: www.home-designing.com

Wall stickers - a trend long buried, and revived recently, or a whole new concept of making a style statement? While wallpaper has come into its own as an entire industry, stickers were so far constricted to diary covers and at max, the whims of a toddler in the confines of her nursery. 

A look at stickers, especially like the ones displayed on www.home-designing.com, will show a whole new range of style statements meant for all - the bold, the expressive, the subtlety lovers, the classy and all. With neutral being the new colour, making a statement about you, your personality, and the people you entertain within that space, is paramount. Colour and shape are not restricted to accent furniture or pillows anymore - stickers add that right amount of whimsical class in all the right doses. Plus, with today's hectic life pace, one does crave an indulgence of imagination without having to step out of the house all that often. Eclectic is also the new decor style everyone is craving - this option may be for you if you're looking to incorporate the same in small doses. On the downside, there is the scope of getting utterly bored of a very loud sticker and suddenly wanting a whole new look. Well, they said that about wallpaper as well, right?

Pop goes the...

(Image Courtesy: www.arachnestore.com)

Retro, pop art or simply Indian wow, homes are embracing colour, and how! The picture above shows a creation from the house of Arachne. Notice how the braids signify a typically vibrant Indian/South American feel, with the colours playing up in subtle drama. Who had ever thought that drama and subtely could come across so well in bright colours? Well, its now a reality - and here to stay. And the tie backs add fun in detail.

With industrial spaces and non descript greys and beige to welcome you at work everyday, it is no wonder that the soul craves colour at home. So it is back to basics - grandma's old braided mats, old sarees are robbed of their zardozi borders to enhance a solid coloured cushion, low seating from the old family home - polished or maybe not (for that raw feel). Suddenly, cosy seems like the go to theme for all homes. This symbolises not only a shift in priorities but also the solution to a fine balance. Career AND family? Well, why not!

The Great Outdoors

 (Image Courtesy: www.home-designing.com)

Time spent more than generously at work stations, in the kitchen or anywhere indoors has given rise to a conscious need for escape. And what better place than the great outdoors? Adventure sports, long walks, hikes or something as simple as a long drive, are suddenly the statement that our weekends are craving for.

How does this translate in style terms? Well, to begin with, a merging of the indoor outdoor divide is well underway, if recent trends are to be believed. From driftwood for tables, to leaf motifs on cushions - it's all over the house. Outdoor furnaces and framed wall art of shells and pretty branches collected on a weekend away are also fast catching on. A courtyard for green relief, indoor gardens and terrariums are now the perfect style statements that infuse the great indoors with the even greater outdoors. Typically, an average household will turn to a barbeque evening to entertain guests - keeps the indoors clutterfree, and makes better use of outdoor spaces for seating and casual dining.

Which brings us to the all important point of how casual? For starters, the concept of using the outdoors as an inspiration for decor or entertaining, does involve having a laid back attitude to carry off the said trend. Imagine a Jacobean Style dining room and whimsical jute napkin rings - a complete mismatch!

The perfect solution here is to work in small doeses. If your formal dining room opens onto a terrace or a verandah, you would do well to have seating outside in wrought iron and wall art in similar metal frames (varnished in a glossy finish, maybe?), for a constant look. A jute rug between your formal and informal spaces can be tied in with a lifting white silver polish for the wood in your formal space, and colourful ottoman for coffee tables in your informal space. Demarcation and style statement in equal doses! This is where the basic colours of your walls, soft furnishings and kind of lifestyle come in. Do you entertain often? Pets or kids in the house? Working couple? The answer is simple - easy clean for an easy home. If not, then you have the luxury of indulging a little more!