India is a country with a rich heritage, renowned for its culture, art, and traditions. We, the Indian populace, are certainly proud of these facets, and we never miss a chance to announce our love and pride of being an Indian, in every situation of our daily lives. Home design is certainly a part of how we proclaim our feelings of being a part of this rich heritage.
Our home can be designed in such a way as to solemnly signify this facet. Each and every nuance, if crafted carefully, can add to the grace, warmth, and artistic elements of our home.
Let us have a look at some of the points that can be taken into consideration:-
Play around with colors
We Indians love shine, don’t we? But with a touch of grace. So, we can opt for lively colors for our walls, like green, purple, yellow, blue, or even gold. To give a contrast, furniture can be of softer colors such as pink, yellow, or light blue. We gave this idea to one of our clients, and see how the end result turned out to be.
Importance of relevant flooring in home design
In India, the most common flooring types are wooden flooring, ceramic tiling, and natural stone. But if you are of a modern mindset, experimentation is never out of vogue. For example, one can go for designer tiles to add a touch of gravitas while also retaining the basic Indian vibes, or go for unpolished tiles to keep a rustic feel in home design. Here is an image to validate our point.
The Spiritual factor
Every Indian home is incomplete without a praying area, or as we like to call it, the “pooja room”. At some homes, this can be designed as a separate room in itself. Another option is to have a prayer cabinet designed. Proper Vaastu guidelines are of high importance as this is directly linked to worship. Soft colors, if used in such rooms, can create an ideal atmosphere for prayers and meditation.
Kind of furniture used
Handcrafted furniture goes a long way in giving the much-required “Indian-ness” to your home. This is a highly underrated factor, but if sourced well, there is a wide variety of such stuff available in markets which symbolizes intricacy and authenticity. Go for sofas and chairs with curved armrests, or ones with metal work. Invest in items such as wooden chests, trunks, and teak cabinets. We created one such home design for one of our clients, as seen here.
Use of fabrics
Since the pre-independence era, India has had a rich history of fabrics, be it silk, cotton, or khadi. Use these fabrics to design your living room upholstery, curtains, or bed-sheets, and pillow covers.
Artifacts with the Desi charm
India has been a home to handicrafts since ages. Brass lamps, earthen pots, diyas, and ancient paintings go a long way in meeting your purpose. You can also use them to create a nice decorative wall dedicated to this skill.
Casual seating
A home inspired from Indian decor, is incomplete without “jhulas”, a swing made from wood. This can be placed in your living room or balcony, or even in a garden if you have one. Make sure the chains are heavy, and the seating is simple. Apart from jhulas, small wooden tables, couches, etc also add to the charm of your home design.
Old is the new in-thing
Old items have a certain charm and essence to them, which just does not allow them to fade away. Be it cabinets, cupboards or chests, they add to the Indian vibes of the home in a significant way. You can either leave them the way they have been to enhance the simplicity factor, or add some simple colors to them to brighten them up.
Wall-Art works magic in home design
Most home-owners do not understand that walls can actually have a great benefit in giving a certain kind of feel to the overall home. If you really want to give an authentic Indian feel, an Indian style wall painting or a photograph is what you need. Be it paintings of Indian kings or queens of the colonial world, or works of Indian artists, this addition is an important one to achieve the stated objective.
Accessorize to emphasize
Traditional Indian antiques, memorabilia picked up during your last Indian vacation, candles or religious artefact such as Ganesha, Buddha or Lord Krishna, can “Indianise” your home to the maximum. They create an Indian connect with your visitors too, as seen in the image below!
