A Bohemian Home Tour

In one of the residential streets of uptown Colombo, Sri Lanka is a small colonial villa whose facade is shadowed by a wall of creepers surrounding the gate.
Enter,
and a purring cat welcomes you along with Mrs. Padminee Nanayakkara, the charming owner who has traveled far and wide in her heyday.

(This was the first time I walked into a truly Bohemian home, it had only been Pinterest, Blogs and Instagram images of "bohemian homes" in faraway lands, so far.)

The Facade of Plants

A glimpse of the garden. (Doesn't look Boho, not yet!)

The highlight of the villa is the breakfast in the backyard garden, which is dotted with plants, terracota artifacts and masks from different parts of the world.
You can check out Padminee's website here which has pictures from her villa.

Now, we got to spend a day at her colorful apartment (next door) which is tastefully peppered with artwork and collectibles from the world over.

Stylish furniture, Plants, and interesting Fabric take centre stage framed by the Yellow wall

The beauty is that despite the presence of rich musuem-style artefacts, the apartment is casually styled and looks lived-in, as if the owner just stepped outdoors after a cuppa coffee.

Large floor cushions, books and footwear on a dhurrie in the middle of the room

Plants, Earthenware, Green, Paintings - my favourite corner

A corner on the floor for a quiet read, or for playing chess on a wood board 

Zoom in - The wooden chessmen

Another wall... more artefacts, Orange, artwork!

Much more for the eye to devour, the red painting on the left caught my fancy instantly

The home of a well-traveled person always springs up surprises, don't you think?

On a visit to Colombo, you can keep Mrs Padminee Nanayakkara's homestay in mind for a quiet stay in the middle of the city, interrupted just by bursts of color!

Savouring the last of summer

A week's holiday at home in Kerala is a rejuvenizer beyond compare. Life is relaxed, and each time I go down to my hometown, I manage to find time in abundance to sit back or walk around and savour the slow pace and nature's bounty. While this part of the world awaits monsoons, I relished the last of this summer.

My mom had cleaned up the vase to set in fresh flowers of the day ... what she tossed out of the window as "yesterday's" looked beautiful on the ground as well.

Curry leaves for the daily tadka come from the backyard. The shrub planted long ago in the backyard has flourished into a tall tree, what with the ample ground water, nutrient-rich soil and sunshine. This season, the tree is done flowering, and is in bloom with bunches of fruits.

My father had lovingly planted a cherry plant long ago. We hardly had hopes of it bearing fruit, but this time it did, and how!

I see him smiling through this freshly plucked branch.

The 60-year old mango tree in front of the house has done its deed for the year. This year's supplies of mangoes were collected, some sold off, some relished at home itself. Its that time of the year when within minutes of sweeping, the tree gets back to weaving a carpet of shed brown leaves on the ground.

I found these wicked nail extensions (thanks to a Gulmohar flower), and grinned delightfully to myself. I probably did this last on my evening walks with cousins nearly fifteen years ago.

Ah :-)
Once monsoon sets in, there's no respite. It pours until you wish the rains away. But as kids we never wished it away ... what better time to race paper boats and splash in muddy puddles.
Like those days, this monsoon I plan to mock-squeal at all noisy thunderstorms, I hope the child in you does too! Good day!

Dear Paint, love the way you do that rainbow!

'tis the story of five mud pots that lived in a corner of home, and needed some Color!

Out came my acrylic paints ...

Did a deep blue on two of 'em

With a white twig on one.

Merged blues, white and green on another ...

Popped out one dirty fellow with a yellow...

Gave the fifth a worn out look, as if the blue-green-pink pattern inside was washed away with many years of the dark brown.

Up they perched on my ledge, 

Along with a painting of mine.

Go, Show off yourselves to all, 

The shapes and colours of thine!

What is your critique, and pick-of-the-lot?
Am linking this to The Weekly Story @ Colours Dekor.

DIy Ideas - Retro Repurposed Jug

Time to put some inspirations to action!
Some of you might remember the steel jug which I dished out of my cupboard after it was tucked in there for a very long time. This Saturday gave me the time to hunch up on a bean bag, jug in hand, a design on my mind, paints and brushes strewn all around me - my fingers itching to repurpose this otherwise not-too-useful object at our home.

I love the symmetry of bare brick walls. And flowers peeping out through the bricks. So here goes!

I intended it to be yellow, but it turned out an almost flourescent leaf green. Nevermind!

Let me make it clearer with the writing on the wall <grin> - a name board of wooden pallets at the bottom, claiming "repurposed"

Electric blue for the handle and knob,
and random brushstrokes with generous dollops of paint for the lid ...

Pebbles are the other surface apart from paper and fabric that I have ever experimented with. So inevitably unlearned-learned a couple of things after these few hours of trying to figure out how to paint on steel. A Google search would've been easier, but this was more fun! 
One: To cover a large surface of metal, it is best to spray-paint. Paint brushes leave their bristle-trail throughout.
Two: Not one, not two, but three coats of paint will be enough. Just one will definitely let the steel show through.
Three: Acrylic (fabric) paint is extremely versatile. It apparently can be used on wood, earthenware, and thermocol as well. (Hmmm!! There is a small wooden table lying bare-brown at home, if only S would agree :P)

Done! I dust my hands in satisfaction, stretch my legs out, and head for a cup of tea.

Meanwhile, I'd love to hear if you have painted jugs, or pitchers, or mugs, or the town ;-) Do share a link if any in a comment.
Until then, let the sun shine on your day!

Linking this to SNS @Funky Junk Interiors, Creative Bloggers Party Hop, Colours Dekor and Lovely Crafty Weekend.

Berries, ferns and a dash o' color ...

for a bright n sunny Monday!

Painted windows

Wooden windows are pretty quaint stuff and I found plenty in Sikkim ... this being my third post inspired by the trip to the beautiful place!

I wonder how many of us have wooden shutters at home these days. I guess if I had them, I'd want to paint them up like these too..

Maybe not the top part of this one... but the panes are brilliant!

An apartment complex with columns of windows which looked like these would look stunning I think. (Could be priced at a premium though ;-)

White n blue's a classic.

If they were painted thus, would the air rushing in be colourful too? ;-)

Good day and do share your window joy if you've spotted some too!

Transformed Windows

If I had a sunny window,
             It would be bursting with foliage n flowers ...

So when I look out,
            I'd see the world with rose colored glasses!

Window boxes as Garden Decor

Monday starts with a link-up to Mosaic Monday.

Have a great week ahead!

Images courtesy 1, 2, 3

Come Spring!

The garden at my parents' home in Kerala is in full bloom now! The greens are lusher, and there are bursts of colour everywhere.

And when the sun shines, the green patch looks extremely inviting!
Peep in ...

Tulsi and bougainvillea ...

The overgrown palm trees make an effective green wall ...

And there are bunches of mangoes waiting to ripen and be plucked!

I'm sharing this spring joy at Patty's green thumb link party, Southern Day Dreamer and at Mosaic Monday!