Our Home Tells a Story…

Yesterday was a very special day for me and my husband as we celebrated a year of moving to our home. Our home means everything to us and we are really proud of our lill space. You would have already read how we bought our house and the exact moment we knew this was it (read here). 

Its been a year and now our home has taken a shape of a space that completely resonates with us, our choices, our personalities and more. It is peculiar in a way and when any guest visits us, he/she notices that its done with much thought and above all 'love'. I just wish to share a few bits of our home with you, so here it goes...

I love stories, they intrigue me, and that exactly explains why I love all things VINTAGE. If you follow my Instagram account you will know how I am always collecting things that are old, almost diminishing in appearance. Old coins, sarees, utensils etc. are some of the things that I have been collecting, restoring and using time and again, and this passion has been there since the longest time.

Earlier last year when we bought our home together, I knew what the décor would be. Minimalistic, whimsical with vintage elements and I hope to achieve it with time. I wanted people to be curious about the space we have created, to ask me what every element meant, why have we got it, what’s the significance and so on.

This blogpost will give you a first glimpse of our humble abode, which is still under progress and our favourite project till date.

1.   Vintage coins frame – Shivik’s grandfather was a coin collector of sorts and I am really thankful to my mom-in-law who kept it safe all this while. These coins date back to the 1920-1930s even before the independence and this also happens to be my first project when we came home. The teak wood frame is from a local market and armed with some glue me and Mr. Mode put this frame together one lazy Sunday afternoon. We simply love how it enlivens this rust-colored wall.

•       Study shelves - These used to be husbands book shelves and even my father-in-law used to use them in his younger days. He once told me that they are finest wood and are atleast 40 years old so yes they had to come home. While one is painted the distressed green one is not and I intend to keep it like that as it was painted almost 20years ago. I use them as floor book shelves and they are an interesting part of our little reading area.

•       Harmonium – Shivik’s grandmother use to sing and play the harmonium. He as a kid would sit next to her and would listen to her sing. My husband was very attached to his granny and so this harmonium is very precious to him and is symbolic to the very fond memory he has with her. Well, the MJ frame is one of the best gifts I received from Deepika and it was the husband's idea to place it there to create a quaint music corner. Also, don't miss the trunk, that was refurbished with some bright yellow paint and also belonged to Shivik's grand-parents.

•      Sari Frame – This frame welcomes you to our seating area in the drawing room. A vintage benarasi is immortalized in this distressed frame. This sari belonged to my mum-in-law and was a part of her trousseau. It was falling apart and she gave it to me as she knew I would do something out of it. The framing idea came to me randomly and Shivik was more than happy to help me execute it. Since, the sari was very very old, the silk was tearing up in places. We literally had to remove pieces from the body of the sari, along with parts of borders so that we could create a theme out of it. The upper border is from the top portion of a sari which gets tucked in while draping and the bottom border and the center square piece is from the pallu as well. It adds color and an interesting touch to our drawing room. 

• Binoculars – These are fully functional and definitely my companion on the next trip anywhere. They are again from Shivik’s grandfather and as he was a civil engineer he would carry them for site visits. It proudly rests on the chest of drawers in the bedroom.

•      Camera – This camera has my heart. The moment I saw this I knew this was coming home with me. It is not working anymore but, this belonged to Shivik’s grandfather and it was taken care of by my father-in-law. These cameras are hard to find and yes, it’s an original piece. A 50-year old beauty from Russia.

•      The quirky side table: It  is a fairly new addition and really interesting one. This is a storage container in brass, which was used to store rice and other things and again is also very old. Its commonly spotted in villages and my mum-in-law had one and she was ready to give it away as it took all the space. We also managed to find a round-cut glass piece and the lamp was one of the gifts so yes, our side table was pretty much done without spending a penny.

This post is very close to my heart and I was waiting for the longest time to share it with you guys. We are still trying to do things around the house that are unique and speak volumes of our lives together. 

Hope you guys enjoy it, and do let me know in the comments section how did you like it so far? It will mean a lot to me and Mr.Mode