Home sweet home...

When you live alone.... as an international student... with no support system... its pretty easy to get homesick  especially in times of stress.... today being one of those many days ... But like I always say...you need to find a reason to smile.... So I went down memory lane.. thinking about how I had set up my room back in India.

Everything was handpicked.. from door knobs to  chandeliers to art pieces from around the globe and different regions of India... I got to design my wardrobe and the entire wood work in my room. ( because in India, you still have to hire professional carpenters....and getting your idea across to them is a challenge at times !!:)

Now along with all this I was trying to stay a little practical too.  I didn't want to spend too much money on furniture... so expect for the bed and the dresser...the rest of the furniture was inherited from my grandmother or was lying around the house (that no one wanted) :P

Take a visual tour of my room...

Here you can see some cane furniture, that my parents have owned for more than a decade... The entire wood work was designed by me.. I have a small settee and below it is a drawer.. which is actually my shoe rack..:)...and above the settee is a wall art and ceramic lamp from the streets of Nepal ( from my med school days)

Can you see my study desk there... on the right??  This has a beautiful story to it... it is my dad's study desk from his school days.. when he was just about 12-15 years old.  Since the theme of my room is traditionally Indian  This table fitted into it ..PERFECTLY!!! :D

 Here is a closer look to the table.. simple yet beautiful.  The wood is heavy and pure sheesham. I just got a glass over it to make it more practical to use.

My precious chandelier.  We got this especially ordered from Firozabad, which is famous for its glass industry.. I have similar and smaller ones for the walls.  They have multicoloured glass on them which dazzles as they lit up.

Take a closer look here... isn't it beautiful...:)

See my wardrobe on the right... I designed it.. I wanted it to have more of stained glass and less of wood.. so that it keeps the cost down... but I told you at the very beginning..*getting ideas across is a challenge sometimes*... so they got this made.. I didn't mind it too much.. oh btw the stained glass was designed by moi ... :).. Then you can also see my dresser here... it is tiny.. but functional.. because it actually has an in-built Almira that stores all my stuff without being outside ( read...doesn't show my mess.. keeps it away from dust).. I wish I had better pictures.. :(

I know the picture isn't too clear here... but my favourite part in this pic is... my curtains.. *STORY*... my mom had white lace curtains for her room.. which were washed and used...and washed and used...... till they became creamish-yellow-ish.... so I begged my mom to give those to me for an experiment... *tie -and-dye*..... and here is the result... so vibrant... with a new life!!!.. I have been dry cleaning them since and the colors haven't faded much.. :):).. on the wall... is a caricature I got done on the streets of Chicago... and a pic of my "Miss talent-Nepal".

And now for my most favourite part... My bed... I love my wall art.. It was a precious gift from someone...I loved her as much as my grandmom..:).. The small neck rolls that you can see are made at home by stuffing crap into the desired shape and my aunt stitched me covers for it ,out of some Banarasi saris.  The small cushions/pillows were bought from a kutch stall at an exhibition. On my bed you will always find a most recent copy of Vogue India and Femina and the best seller of the time .

A few rules for myself.. 1) my bedspread and curtains always match... somehow.. 

2) All the fabric is bought from cottage industries that make handmade stuff....3) Recycle as much of the fabric as possible...

How I wish I had better pictures.. if only I knew I would blog about it one day... But I promise you better pictures from my next trip home...

Did you like it... it made me happy and nostalgic writing about it.. 

Since I am feeling better now... back to writing thesis... did I ever tell you * I hate last minute deadlines*... grrrhhhhhhhh

To better tomorrows .....xoxo

Pictures by @ create-me