Saturday, November 15, 2008

Northeast Chic?

A recent post from http://www.thekeybunch.com struck a chord....India's Northeast has been rich with bamboo weaves and textile crafts all along and yet today all we hear about is Rattan, Water Hyacinth, etc etc all from South East Asia.

Here is a beautiful Salon in LA by designer Seyie Putsure in LA who brings her influenced from Nagaland into this contemporary salon. Enjoy!

salon-northeast_LA

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Time for a good natured debate!

So, what is contemporary design really? I do believe that they are simpler lines, more fluid designs, less crowded prints, combining a dotted salt shaker with a solid coloured pepper shaker. It is about surprising and delighting the senses with the simplest of shapes. Less crowded and intricate motifs. 
Here are some pieces of decor that I have come across that I thought were super examples of contemporary design:

A simple chest of drawers combined with Ratan type baskets for drawers - an ingenious and simple design from a manufacturer in Rajasthan

Use of simple aluminium containers as wall mounted storage from a design house in the UK

A hand made sugar and creamer set by Whitney Smith in the US
And - here are some pieces of decor we have created as part of our launch collection at Stylkist.com


Giving Benarasi silk a comtemporary look.


Quoted Ceramic vase that says quirky can still be gorgeous


A piece of art by Artist Rekha Krishnan that turns the traditional Indian lotus into a contemporary jaw-dropper

So its fairly obvious by now that I am a modernist when it comes to design and decor.

So, we asked Charu Tewari, an Interiors Stylist,  Colour and Décor Consultant as well as a Regional Manager at atmosphere by day, for her thoughts on contemporary:

She believes that Inspite of the fact that minimal and fuss free modern décor has become very popular,Classical and Transistional designs and décor styles are here to stay. The reason according to her is that the  world has a rich historical  past of décor and  design styles. Whether it is Ornate or Gilded frames for mirrors or  Potraits and Art or   decorated niches with  curved  floral  mouldings; and that every classical décor item has a very strong personality.
Here are some examples she shared with us:

A modern set of fully upholstered Stools or Pouf’s with  Classical fabric on them inspired by the european era



 

Roman Blinds and Roller Blinds are quite contemporary. Designers and Decorators add that Pizzaz and Style by  using fabric with bold motifs from the Classical Era 


Plump  cushions  with Classical motifs in  rectangular Marble seating niches in the wall

So modern and contemporary or classical yet contemporary....you take your pick....As Charu and I take our debate elsewhere.