Today's Frontier Girl – Fashion savvy, style focused and one who follows her true calling!

Ruchika and Sarvpreet  enjoy a stroll by the beach - hand in hand!

Welcome back and today I am shining the spotlight on yet another frontier girl as she shares her story of balancing work and home. I am sure this elusive topic resonates (quite loudly) with the majority of us. I am taking you to Columbus, OH to introduce you all to Dr. Sharma –a pediatric oncologist and a dear friend! 

Metropolitan columbus - a great midwest city with a bustling art scene and a fun entertainment district

Being a physician myself, I know that professional demands can be challenging at times. But over the years, I have learnt to roll with the punches and understood the critical importance of work-life balance. We all have this image of a perfect life that does not always reconcile with the realities and conflicting everyday demands and therefore certain necessary life skills have to be learnt. Trade offs and priorities being the big ones! 

I admire Ruchika. She is young, ambitious, fashionable, accomplished and an inspiration in her own right and she has a beautiful home!

She spends her days taking care of sick children and in her down time enjoys traveling and decorating her home and of course our countdown to a century would not be complete without a home tour and we could not have asked for a better home! Ruchika and her wonderful husband Sarvpreet graciously agreed to feature their contemporary style abode on Aalayam and I am excited to pull back the curtains and share this beautiful home with all of you!

In conversation with Ruchika

Ruchika on what drew her to Pediatrics – “I grew up in New Delhi, India and moved to the US for my residency training in pediatrics. I love taking care of children and always wanted to be a pediatrician. Currently I'm training to be a pediatric hematologist in Columbus, Ohio.” The path to becoming a physician is a long and arduous one and staying true to one’s calling takes an enormous amount of hard work and patience as well as a clear vision. Ruchika’s chosen profession is a testament to her commitment and passion for helping others.

Ruchika on balancing priorities – “Being a physician and (being married to a physician!) with a busy schedule presents several challenges to leading an active social life. I realized early on that a fulfilling personal life is super important to retain one’s sanity and to succeed professionally. I try to spend as much time as possible with my loved ones and try to stay engaged in activities that give me personal satisfaction. 

Knowing myself and having an honest conversation about things that I can and cannot handle and trimming my to do list to make room for some creative interests has always helped me keep my head above the water.”

Ruchika on her interest in home decor –“I have always liked pretty things and admire beauty! Growing up in a large metropolitan city my design aesthetic is modern contemporary. I love to watch home improvement TV shows and websites for inspiration. I have to say that my husband and I are both home décor enthusiasts.

 Collectively, we try to pick decor items that fit our personal style and design aesthetic. We live in a high-rise condo in downtown Columbus as the hustle and bustle of the city keeps us closer to home. We want our guest to feel comfortable and welcome in our home. 

We want them to get who we are as a couple; young and vibrant with a clean and modern design style and an eye for uniqueness.”

 Ruchika has successfully tapped into her personal interest and through a process of exploration and self-discovery created a contemporary chic nest for her and her husband. I love her home! In spirit, this home matches the young couple’s effervescence and exudes an inviting aura. I love how this charming little home, in the heart of downtown Columbus, stands tall in a fun and gorgeous color palette!

Ruchika on wearing multiple hats  “I believe as women we always wear many hats and try to take on a lot of responsibility. It is imperative for us to take out time for ourselves doing things that WE like to do to have a successful career as well as personal life and maintain equanimity when faced with a tsunami!” Wise words indeed!

Thank you Ruchika and Sarvpreet for letting us into your beautiful home!

There you have it – our 2 part series on today’s frontier girl. We chose to feature these two gorgeous (Ruchika and Sripriya), talented, hardworking, passionate, fashion and style savvy women. There is one simple lesson to be learned from their stories and that is to go after your heart’s desire! Often, we let our insecurities and self doubt bring us down but the stories of these young women is a simple reminder that doing what we like and doing it as well as we can is good enough! Hope you are inspired!

And next up is our 100^th! Yes, Aalayam is going to be a 100 posts old! We continue to grow, learn and be inspired ourselves and we are also learning not to get too comfortable or stay focused on any one area, as there is so much to explore. In our countdown to a century series we took some risks and moved away from our travel, décor and culinary posts for a little bit and focused on social media, photography, and fashion. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as we have bringing it to you. In our 100^th, I hope to capture the true spirit of Aalayam. Join me then!

The lounge in Ruchika's downtown high-rise.

Cheers!

Deepa

All pictures in this post belong to Ruchika and Sarvpreet and may not be used without permission. Ruchika’s home pictures were shot by UJ.

Home tour- An ode to antique brass!

Are you a lover of antique brass accents? Then you are in for an absolute treat - this home is a brass collector's inspiration! We wanted to kick start our home tours for this year with a home that celebrates our cultural patrimony and a brass collector's haven seemed to fit the bill consummately. 

Join me as we tour the Westerville, Ohio home of my dear friends  - Shalini and Bhagavan.

It is not just another Indian home in North America but it is an ethnically exuberant space that pays homage to its roots. Their home is also a true reflection of Shalini's vivacious smile and Bhagavan's affable persona and my husband and I experienced their affection first hand when they hosted us for a photo shoot of their home over Thanksgiving break. Shalini served up one of the yummiest Masala dosas I've ever eaten and Bhagavan brewed the filter coffee to perfection. I knew right then that theirs was a match made in heaven. And today, the readers of Aalayam get to experience their virtual hospitality. 

Over the course of a wintry afternoon, with light playing peek-a-boo, my husband managed to capture a few good shots of their beautiful home. Here's to merry conversations, our common love of home decor and several cups of freshly brewed coffee! 



Shalini and Bhagavan moved into their home 9 years ago and over the years , she has lovingly and painstakingly transformed their home into a stylish and inviting space. All it takes is patience, an innate interior design capability and a willing partner. She is the designer and he is the DIY guy- again, a match made in heaven! Shalini's passion for a good home is also shared by her sister-in-law, Veena (maybe she will share her home too on Aalayam, someday?) whom she describes as her decor soul mate! Shalini refers to her sister-in-law fondly and remembers bonding with her over their shared passion for ethnic Indian decor.  She expresses her gratitude for this kinship entrenched in common taste and says her sister-in-law who lives in North Carolina has been her long distance design partner!

As soon as you walk into their home, you can tell that Shalini is drawn to Indian decor. Brass accents with amazing detail and intricacy adorn accent tables and greet you at every corner. For me, it was a transformative moment- I forgot that I was in Westerville, OH! Interestingly though, most of Shalini's far flung home finds are sourced from local stores - Pier one imports, World Market, Home Goods and even Kohls, she says. 

The key is to collect over time and buy pieces that intrigue you. Shalini never began with an inspiration board or a look-book. She has stayed trued to her inherent style and bought and stored pieces over time. And that's how she has an assemblage of antique accessories that are similar in style but different in detail which she has lovingly placed around her home for a cohesive look.  Several of these pieces were brought much before the home itself and she chuckles at the thought of how they boxed and carried them across several states before they moved to Ohio. Every home decor enthusiast has a unique home making process and story and this is why I am inspired to tell the story of real-life home owners!. 

I requested Shalini to allow me to showcase her beautiful home on Aalayam over a year ago. I was stuck by the layers in her home that added so much visual interest and at how effortlessly she had pulled it together. Shalini wanted me to wait. She said they were working on getting some of the walls painted. And when she called me a few weeks ago to tell me the home was ready, I was thrilled. I am amazed at the transformation. It was a beautiful home to begin with but the accent colors infuse a vibrant personality into their space! I love the rich terra-cotta in her family room. It lends an earthen appeal and paired with house plants and indoor greenery, the space has a natural freshness to it. Bold colors punctuate the other rooms too and serve to create a warm and cozy space to beat the long and cold Ohio winter!

 Shalini loves entertaining- they have friends and family visiting them year-round and her culinary skills are legendary in our local social circles! They have created the perfect home for relaxing and entertaining. Stylish, uncluttered, personalized, love-filled and welcoming - nothing formulaic about this home!  

This is also the home where their two adorable girls are growing up and a part of the home rapturously reflects the girls' personalities. 

Their rooms are playful and fun and mom says she knows what the girls like best and she took the liberty of decorating their rooms as well! A family that functions in harmony!

You can tell that the look and feel of the whole home has been crafted with profound consideration and Shalini tells me that it has taken her a few tries to get it right and that speaks to her ardor. It is not done yet, she adds -" After all, our home is our joy and we keep adding new things. I plan to work on our study next and add some much needed shelving"

What I like the most about this home? The synergistic blend between the home and the home owners' cheerful personalities and of course going home to INDIA!

Hope you've enjoyed touring our first home of 2014. Please share your thoughts with us and we will pass them along to the homeowners who were kind enough to share their beautiful home with all of us!

Thank you Shalini and Bhagavan.

It's a new year and we are only warming up! A design blogger will be in the house next with her stylish inspirations - join us then!

If  you are looking for more homes filled with Indian decor inspirations - check out our other features here, here and here

Cheers!
~Deepa

p.s: All pictures are copyrighted to the homeowners' and were taken by my husband. Please ask before using!

Color Love

Supriya and I are color connoisseurs. No, we don't keep track of runway trends or designer predictions for hot home decor colors  but we are  inherently enthusiastic about color and we have both incorporated color in our homes with confidence and today's post is all about that.

A colorful vignette from Supriya's home

But first, the winner of our giveaway  - I know, you've all been waiting excitedly and so have we..

Congratulations Preety - you are the winner of Aalayam's first giveaway!!!!  

Preety, please email us your mailing address to aalayaminspiration@gmail.com so we can work on mailing your gorgeous tray. Congratulations again Preety!

And once again, thank you to all the participants for making this giveaway that much more exciting!

Now back to our post on weaving color into your life and space…Please head over to Nayana's Cherish Dream Live to read the rest of this post!.

Nayana is an Indian home decor blogger from New jersey and we love her blog and her motto. She writes for Cherish Dream Live and believes "It's all about Cherishing yesterday, dreaming about tomorrow and living for today" We teamed up with Nayana and we are guest authoring at her blog today.

What you will find at Nayana's is some great DIY features, good photography and more that will make you want to visit her blog repeatedly.

A colorful vignetter from Deepa's backyard!

Hope you enjoy this post on Color love!

And as always, we would love to hear your feedback. Leave us a comment sharing your thoughtsand opinions.  We are also interested in knowing if there are any special topics you would like us to feature on Aalayam. Please write to us!

Cheers!
~ Deepa and Supriya