“Har ghar kuch kehta hai” — this tag line from a very famous paint brand advertisement aptly captures the essence of home and what it reveals about us. Decorating your home can be exciting and daunting at the same time — you have about thousands of ideas waiting to be implemented and limited resources.
The first and foremost way in the process of shortlisting the ideas is to focus on ideas that fit into one’s budget. An important thing I have always seen and experienced is to give time to each idea, if not all, but surely for the shortlisted ones. Many a times a thing or an object might look beautiful on pictures but is impractical to use and implement. And the impractical nature usually comes to the fore once it has been implemented, e.g. having a white pebbled drive way, the picture of an Italian Villa seen in a home décor magazine looks beautiful in the first few months but turns black with mould and dust especially in a country like India. A fancy looking side table might be just that — fancy but not sturdy.
A few more practical ideas can be like having a neutral colour scheme. I know all of us agree to this concept that an unusual colour gets boring soon. However, to deal with our colour cravings, try putting a bright coloured accessory or smaller furniture item. Invest in good paint — you might not need to repaint in the next 8–10 years (naughty kids like mine notwithstanding)
Just in case there is a Termite attack, and this happens in spite of all the anti-termite treatment, having your woodwork like crockery cupboards not attached to the walls, wherever you can, really helps. A friend who had had a tough time against the belligerent termites, actually got steel almirahs put inside a covering of wooden doors, so from outside it is like any wooden closet but inside is our good old steel!
Have a few extra sockets put on the wall — you never know where you might want to sit and talk on phone or work on the laptop and wire extensions can be a real mess. If one has the liberty of being involved at a construction stage, factor in the space and sockets for gadgets that you might want to install sometime in future. This thought actually comes handy especially in the kitchen for electronics such as a dishwasher or a double-door refrigerator.
For the curtains, cushion covers, bedcovers try and have a material that can go into the washing machine unless there is a readily available manual washing help. Bathtubs always look and feel more enjoyable in a hotel room during a leisurely vacation. Bringing this fancy idea to home is more like inviting high maintenance monsters. Low maintenance on common items is the key aspect that needs to be factored in.
Being practical is the key to home décor and this can not only make our homes beautiful but also make our lives convenient for a long time to come.
