Swagatham, Suswagatham - A Bengalooru style home in Virginia!

Hospitality is second nature to any Indian, as I am sure the Aalayam culture aficionados will agree. Hospitality reigns supreme in this sublime South Indian abode, nestled in suburban Virginia, USA. 

With cheer and vitality sparkling in every corner, this home resonates with the warm welcome  (Swagatham) of namma Bengalooru.  Hence, the title of this post - "Swagatham, Suswagatham" : a glorious welcome to the Aalayam readers into this gorgeous Kannada mane, resplendent in ethnic glory. 

Welcome to the home of Gowri and Vikram, whose sweet story has fascinatingly lent itself to making their living space, one to remember!

I met Gowri and Vikram at the local Indian store. Many Indians living abroad will agree that the Indian store, and the local temple is the best place to run into fellow desis living in the vides. :)

The conversation picked up simultaneously with the connection, with our language, our home town, our customs and the fact that we had Twins!! drawing us closer with each passing meeting. It only took one visit to Gowri and Vikrams' home for me to realize that I HAD TO FEATURE IT IN THE AALAYAM HOME TOUR SECTION!!

Gowri and Vikram graciously agreed to get featured and let me stomp around with my SLR taking pictures of their home's beautiful nooks and crannies. And as usual, I had to pester them for their life story. Here's a synopsis of the tete-a-tete !

Tell us a little bit of your story - how did you meet? how did you imagine your home is going to be when you "grew up"?

            My husband and I, we are childhood sweethearts and we know each other since we were 10 years old. He was my next door neighbor and we grew up together as best friends. Our friendship grew into something special and before we knew we were in love. 

As teenagers and in our early adulthood we both loved going for long drives and exploring nature. One more interesting and relaxing past time for both of us was looking for beautiful houses, architecture and landscaping. So we explored various neighborhoods for hours driving around and appreciating all the beautiful ideas and creations. 

We always talked about having a dream house of our own one day and thanks to my dear hubby he brought me to a foreign country which is an amazing land of opportunity, where we could lead a dream life and also bring harmony by balancing Indian culture and American ways.

What makes your home "your home"?

            When we move into a house it’s just a house. For us a house becomes a home when we start a new beginning, bring in new life, capture beautiful memories, joy and laughter, treasure moments, decorate each wall, each corner and each room with our presence in our home. Our best ideas and creations has flown into our house making it our home.

 Does the decor in your home fit the bill for any one particular style - if so, what drove you to that style?

                              I grew up back home with lovable and caring parents who showed me the righteous path of leading a beautiful life. I have brought those family values into a foreign land and put it into use. I am my parent’s reflection, emitting love, following tradition and bringing value systems into my family and into our beautiful home. 

Every artifact and décor in our home is fulfilling my childhood dreams and my beautiful Indian culture. As I started to bring closer those pieces, my vision of completing the puzzle in each room came together as a fusion of Indian culture and American blend.

 How does your personal decor style influence your personality or the other way around? 

                              Our personality has influenced all the décor pieces and styles in our home. We love to collect very unique artifacts for different places. I must say when it comes to choosing a décor for our home my husband and I have a unique quality of visualizing our home with that décor in it. 

All those beautiful pieces which we hand picked together over a period of time and each one of those unique collection reminds us the beautiful memories of our love together in this journey of life thus imprinting memories of different time zones.

 What are your favorite places to shop for your home? Are you budget savvy or would you rather own pieces that truly strike a chord with you even if they are expensive? 

            There is no one particular places that we shop at, we have collected artifacts from different parts of the world. Budget was never a big issue and I must thank my husband for that. Sometimes we might go overboard but at the end of the day we enjoy and relive the beautiful moment we captured into our lives which makes it totally worth the experiences.    

 Where do you draw your online inspirations from - any favorite resources that you can share?

            Speaking frankly and openly I am not a much of an online shopper or a browser. I am old school; I love to window shop and like to visualize that article in our home. 

I want to share one of my wonderful memories here, as I was growing up along with the love of my life. We loved shopping together; he wanted to buy me jewelry for a special occasion. We  went out shopping and I  liked a piece in the first jewelry shop we walked into but guess what? we didn’t decide on it and buy it until  we both visited another 13 more  jewelry places and then coming back to the first one and then brought it. 

Why I wanted to share this with the reader is to express our meticulous search of something which we both agree upon and confirm in our hearts that THIS IS THE ONE…

 Are there influences from your home state  (Karnataka/ Bangalore) in your décor? How do you balance the modern, clean convenience of the western decor to the intricacy of Indian decor? 

            Yes, to some extent our décor reflects our home town, Bangalore. We both call it the melting pot of modern lifestyle and also traditional living. Lots of our décor as been collected from various exhibitions, some exclusive handicraft shops in and around Bangalore. 

The famous Channapatna Gombe (wooden toys) was introduced to our twins to give them a flavor of Karnataka heritage. We have also displayed many heirloom objects in our home to depict our family legacy. 

We have collected relics not just from our home town but also from different states of India. We have furnished our formal living room with traditional Indian furniture giving our ethnicity and warmth for the people how walk into our home. 

We also wanted to bring in western décor and nice even blend with our India décor. 

We have furniture depicting a long deep Amish culture in American history, these Amish craftsmen bring in lineage of tradition into present times. 

Live wood end tables, warm leather couch and excellent choices of wood with detailed craftsmanship used in our dinner room set, and again our fusion of merging American furniture with traditional Amish furniture gave us a taste of rich sophisticated American culture.

We live in Virginia Beach and enjoy beautiful weather and sunny beaches. Our sun room gives us the feeling of coastal living stirring our heart and cleansing our thoughts with its serenity & peace.

 Finally, what is your favorite place in your home to relax, recharge and rejuvenate?

            There is no one specific favorite place in our home. If I had a pick one I would pick them all because every room is filled with beautiful memories as to how all the things came together. When I walk through each room they talk to me and remind me what a cherishing and a blissful journey it has been for me and my family. 

Reminds us about all our hardship in life and also how we, has a team over came that and remolded to make it magnificent memory. Life is beautiful and we as a family live it to the fullest.

Hard not to adore them and their home right? 

Thank you Gowri and Vikram for letting us into your homes, your hearts and your cozy living corners. Aalayam readers and I will forever be grateful!

Lots of love,

Supriya

Home tour- A food blogger's shabby chic abode!

Hello!

When it rains, it pours! Literally and figuratively.  Today is the 18th consecutive day of rains in my neck of the woods, I kid you not!
I am not complaining though. The incessant rains remind me of the Indian monsoon. The pitter patter of rain drops, the smell of the rain kissed earth, a warm cup of adrak chai on a rainy afternoon -ah, monsoon memories come flooding back as I write this.

Talking about monsoon - I am going to take you today to tour the home of Sia, the wonder woman behind my favorite food blog Monsoon Spice!  

A Cook's nook!

Yes, it's pouring home tours and today we bring you yet another visual inspiration with a candid and heartfelt write-up, this time from the home owner herself.

I love her blog and I have my reasons why. I love the way her blog is set up. It is easy to navigate.  I can find recipes by vegetables, by ingredients, by meal, by type of dish, you name it! It is not always that I plan ahead,  find a recipe first and then go shopping. I do the reverse …often! I realize I am down to my last set of vegetables and want to find a quick recipe that I can probably toss the assorted medley of left over vegetables into and Sia's blog is great for that. I can click down to cabbage or carrots and an amazing host of recipes and pictures pop up. Just what I need!  I love her recipes - simple, no fuss, authentic recipes that always yield a fresh tasting home cooked meal!  I also love the affable aura that her posts carry - she writes from her heart and you can tell. 
Sia's Monsoon Spice is a fabulous food blog. Period!

I pestered Sia and asked her to see if I could feature her kitchen. I was curious to see where all her gastronomic delights are created, her work space, if you will. I was going to do a feature post on the "Cook's nook"   I knew she was super busy - being a mom (to her adorable boy Paarth), having a full time day job and a passion that requires considerable investment of time and energy is no walk in the park. Ask me how I know!  And yet, I emailed her, keeping my fingers crossed.  She was amazing - she sent me a ton of pictures of her entire home, a great write -up and enthusiastically responded telling me she was in! 

And so, without much further ado, I present to you Sia and Krish's adorable shabby chic nest in Yorkshire, England.

The moors of Yorkshire

Talking about her home, work-life balance and her food blog,  Sia writes....

"There is no  particular  decor theme running through our home.  Eclectic with a  touch of shabby chic would rightfully define our style. Our home is warm, inviting, relaxing, and comfortable and has a lived-in feel to it ! When we brought this house at the end of 2009, we envisioned adding bright colors to the plain magnolia walls.  But life took an entirely different course when I became pregnant with my child! And now, 3 years later, we have grown to love what few others may label as dull or boring! Our magnolia walls  brighten our home even on a typical dull and grey England day!  At night with the corner lamps switched on and with candles  flickering, the room transforms into a tranquil space and seems  perfect to unwind after a busy day at work!

The sun filters into Sia's living room filling it with light and warmth!

Light colored walls  allows me to experiment with brighter shades via soft furnishings, wall décor and a few select knick knacks. I love freshly cut flowers and indoor plants  and I believe they make the room look fresh, bright and cheerful. 

With one hyper active toddler on my toes, we have stopped buying things for the house on an impulse. We have tried to keep the décor simple and clutter free to allow for a kid friendly decor scheme.
The living room décor has splashes of copper, gold and orange for a cozy colorful ambience. The Buddha sculpture on the side table is our first purchase for the house and we absolutely love it! 

Tenderly placed knick knacks add personality to this cozy corner. I spy auto rickshaw!

The little study room houses my pride and joy, my book collection and on  the walls you will find  amateur watercolor prints made by me during pre-pregnancy days. It is here, in our small India corner, sitting on low seating/diwaan I write most of my blog posts surrounded by memories of home!

Paarth has an adorable space of his own.Winnie, the pooh waits in antiicipation for a playmate.

 My little ones play room wears a cheery air with his favorite animals on the wall. We spend many happy hours here coloring, reading, cuddling and creating beautiful memories!
The master bedroom is a sea of calmness with white, duck egg blue and sea blue color scheme defining this shabby chic space.

A mobile adds a pop of color to this shabby chic bedroom

The kitchen décor is very simple with bright glossy white cabinets and integrated appliances. We  brought in color creatively via accents such as  floor mats, rug, wall décors, chalk boards and fresh fruits and flowers to take away the sterile look!  Since we do not have much storage option in the kitchen, we brought a stand-alone white glossy cabinet from Ikea which holds most of my large kitchen utensils and cookware. 
 

Books, pots, spice jars and more get stacked into neat piles and add visual interest.

The cookbooks you see on the top of the cabinets are mostly gifts from my friends and also the review copies sent to me by cookbook authors. I love to flip through the pages of glossy cookbooks from time to time to draw inspiration for my food blog, but my most treasured cookbook is a handwritten, decade old book with turmeric stains and dog eared pages given by my mother that has precious recipes from my ma and grandma’s kitchen! 

And this is where the magic happens! The magic of monsoon spice!

, I wear many hats in my day to day life.  During the day I am a full-time  IT professional in a very exciting organization and I am a part-time food blogger and photographer by night. I am also a  full-time daughter/wife/friend/sister/mother, voracious reader, doodler, curry plant killer, nature and adventure sports lover, tree hugger, bon vivant, bathroom singer.! 

A girl after my own heart! Chunky beads make a great fashion statement!

Like this wasn't enough I also believe in living life to the fullest and believe in making everyday moments count.  I make sure that I don’t mix my professional life with my personal one and  never bring my office work  home as I want to give my family my undivided attention. I cook simple food during weekdays that take little time to cook and yet do not compromise on taste! Thankfully both my hubby and son loves simple south Indian fare and are not fussy eaters like me!  Planning our meals and a little prep work  helps a lot in weekday cooking. I cook the lentils and prepare the vegetables on weekends and freeze them in a freezer to be used during the weekdays. I also want to acknowledge my husband for pitching in with his share of work and that helps tremendously allowing me more time for my personal interests such as the blog. 

Kitchen magnets that speak for the homeowners sense of humor!

It takes around 3-5 hours of food blogger’s time for every individual blog post, from cooking, plating, photographing, editing the photographs, writing and finally publishing the recipe.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg! I often get questions from my readers and one thing that pops up every now and then is how I manage home, office, family and kid and still find time to blog?! Well, the answer is very simple. If you love something and are really passionate about it, you will somehow find time for it! 

You can find the recipe here!

Every person needs a space/place of their own where they can be creative and let the artist in them shine. Before I used to blog with the sole intention of keeping a little online journal of all the recipes I learnt from my mom and grandma. And after a year or so, I began blogging for others as my blog got recognition and picked up more traffic around the globe! But now I blog for the simple joy and pleasure I get from it without expecting anything in return! May be this is the reason why I still enjoy food blogging even after 6.5+ years of blogging! :) Only tip I have for any aspiring bloggers is do it for  the fun and joy it provides and not for any tangible benefits! i believe that when you put your heart and soul into your passion, you will strike chord with like minded individuals!"

What an absolutely adorable home! Everything in its place and a place for everything. There is a touch of romance and that's what makes this home Shabby Chic!

Romance + whimsy = shabby chic!

Love it! Do you? We would love to hear your feedback.

Thank you Sia and Krish for sharing your darling shabby chic home with all of us.

Be sure to visit Sia at Monsoon Spice as she unveils the magic of spices and dishes out one yummy recipe after another!  I am cooking my way through Sia's recipes already and you can join in the fun too..

Next up - a  2 part feature on a jewellery artist  and her gorgeous home. She is the force behind the Karmasuthra brand and I can't wait to meet her myself!  Join us right here!

Cheers!
Deepa