Scandinavian White Interiors with an Indian Twist

So cool for summer – the whites of Scandinavian interiors plus Indian style …

Via vtwonen, Scandinavian style in a house with an Indian charpoy (daybed):

vtwonen Scandinavian white home decor with India flair

Scandinavian white (though a bit antiqued and mellowed) meets Indian style at Maisons du Monde:

Scandinavian White Meets India via Maisons du monde

And they suggest this “blanc Namaste” cabinet, for sale, to get a bit of the look yourself:

White-Carved-Wood-Chest-via-Maisons-du-Monde

India home décor accessories with the cool feel of Scandinavian interiors, also from Maisons du Monde:

India-Design-with-Scandinavian-White-via-Maisons-du-Monde

Indian Chakki ottoman with whites at Serena and Lily:

Chakki-Ottoman-with-Whites-via-Serena-and-Lily

This is cool white and Indian influence, but in Mykonos! At the San Giorgio Hotel:

San-Giorgio-Hotel-in-Mykonos

So see, you can do this anywhere.

Keep the light touch with lighter block prints, such as Charleroi Paisley Embroidery in Linen from Schumacher Fabrics:

Charleroi-Paisley-Embroidery-in-Linen-from-Schumacher

And choose lighter rugs such as this Michael Smith Fret Work design from Mansour Modern:

Michael Smith for Mansour Modern

Keep it light and white, and you’ll beat the summer heat!





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Decorating a Country Courtyard House

This is a continuation of the previous post, which was a dream about a house with a courtyard in a South Indian village. I’m traveling quite a bit for work over the next few weeks, crossing the USA a few times, so I’ve scheduled a few posts.

So how could this country courtyard house be decorated? Well let’s see …

I’d choose the Roost Bamboo Cloud Chandelier:

Roost-Bamboo-Cloud-Chandelier

And how about these shoes and this rug as shown in The Style Files:

Shoes and Rug Via The Style Files

Rug via The Style Files

Somewhere, maybe everywhere, large vessels like these via Les Interieurs:

Vessels via Les Interieurs

The place might feel too weightless with all this white light stuff, so I’d add a few things like this side table from Arteriors at Horchow:

Arteriors-Table

And patterns from nature in natural colors, like these fabrics from Robert Allen:

Robert-Allen-Textiles

I really like this strong boxy cocktail table from McGuire, made of black marble and copper:

McGuire-Marble-and-Copper-Cocktail-Table

Ha, quite the budget for this place, huh? You can find more dreamy things for this imaginary house on my India – Country Courtyard House Pinterest board.





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Country Courtyard House in an Ancestral Indian Village

An ancient Hindu temple is being rebuilt in a rural South Indian village that’s two hours by road from any major city. It was over-run by roots and branches but people cared enough to want to save an old temple. These are some images taken by a photographer for the restoration committee, before work began:

Entrance-to-Old-Abandoned-Hindu-Temple-in-South-India

Old-Abandoned-Temple-in-South-Indian-Village

South-Indian-Hindu-Temple-Before-Restoration

This photo was taken by my husband when he visited the village. He said this felt like our own personal Angkor Wat:

Osur-Temple-2

My husband’s great-grandfather once lived in the village, on Brahmin Street. Back in those days, each caste lived on a separate street. Many people have left the village and headed for Chennai or other cities. Brahmin Street is now the most deserted. Here’s a house on that street:

Abandoned-House-on-Brahmin-Street

Here’s a view on the street:

A-View-Down-Brahmin-Street

Here’s a house that’s at least 100 years old, with the traditional courtyard in the middle:

South-India-Courtyard-House

Old-South-Indian-Country-House-with-Courtyard

Unfortunately they can’t figure out which plot or house was the family’s ancestral home.

Once the temple is complete, it will be promoted. People will visit. There’s already talk about people buying plots on the partly-deserted Brahmin Street and developing them. Oh we know where this can go. More new concrete boxy structures.

We heard the cost to buy a plot of land on Brahmin Street is less than what I spend at Starbucks annually for a latte a day!

So here’s a crazy dream … of building a traditional style courtyard home in the village. Here’s an example of a small columned courtyard in a South Indian home that’s been preserved by DakshinaChitra, featured at Shadows Galore (which also has a wonderful write-up about DakshinaChitra):

Dakshin Chitra Courtyard Home via ShadowsGalore dot com

People would go this country courtyard home to get away from it all. To rest. Meditate. Go to the temple. Read. Eat. Laugh. Restore themselves before heading back to the city. Here is what I see …

Natural materials and colors. Curved arches, wood, stone with some softness to cushion the hard surfaces. Like this room in a Mykonos home, at Houzz:

It would be white and light. Like this room at UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa:

UXUA-Casa-Hotel-and-Spa

I have an obsession with a certain chair. We found a chair just like the one below, in Kochi a few years ago and it is awaiting people to relax in it in our Chennai apartment. So this imaginery country courtyard house would have a chair just like the one in this photo from The Style Files:

Home in Italy Featured at The Style Files

Maybe a dining nook area like this, via recent settlers Flickr:

Dining Nook via recent settlers Flickr

Note the pillow with paisley designs like block prints.

And for the bedroom, how about something like this, via zaINTERIORA:

Mediterranean Bedroom

Oh my goodness, this is making me want this to be a real place now!





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