And I am back with a home tour /blogger showcase and in
this post we will redefine hip and inspirational via images from Priya’s boho-chic home
and her online magazine (Curated) and blog (Once upon a tea time). Priya lives in Nothern California with her husband and two boys and is one of the pioneer design/lifestyle bloggers in the Indian/ global arena and her work is without doubt an inspiration to many of us. Her boho-chic
space on the www is my go to outlet for not just stunning visual imagery but
also articulate conversations and enriching life lessons! Recurrent images of
steamy cups of chai, intricate vintage
fabrics and her eclectic art wall give the aesthetic of her blog a legendary
stamp and a timeless appeal. Recently, she launched her own publication –
curated magazine and we at Aalayam love Curated for it’s classy, colorful and
highbrow content that is a must -read for any discerning reader!
Supriya had written about curated back in February when
Priya had graciously invited Supriya and me to be a part of the February edition and here is what Surpiya said “Curated is a veritable visual treat! Its
fresh, sets a serious design tone with its boho-chic influences, and blazes the
trail for all the bloggers in the business of self publishing. Priya, with
a keen eye for design detail and a refreshing repertoire of verdant
imagery punctuates Curated with oomph, style and tons of
inspiration” and I agree!
The rest of this post includes insightful excerpts and first-class images from Priya’s
blog and home, so grab your cup of chai and sit back!
So, here is Priya in her own words...
On herself : “I am
professionally trained in the sciences but am equally besotted with colors and
patterns and fabrics and art and connecting with people, their narratives and
with social justice. I felt guilty because I was doing one when I really
wanted to spend time on the other or vice versa. Science is a huge part of
life and the logic of it thrills my brain in the same way that a suzani or
a kantha work thrills my heart and brings joy to it. It took
me a while to realize that I can’t do just one. I feel lucky that I am able to
appreciate both and that they speak to my soul albeit differently. Just
acknowledging that I needed both science and the creative art has relieved me
of a huge burden, that of having to choose”
On blogging: “I am sitting in
my little blogging headquarters and thinking that I really need to spend more
time here. It is as if when I am in other parts of house I have
predetermined roles to play- spouse, householder, parent- but when I come in
here and sit at my desk, I am suddenly free to be whoever (whomsoever?) I want
to be. Free to dream. Sitting at my desk with its fraying vintage tapestry, I
could be a journalist filing a story about the revolution with barely minutes
to go until the deadline. A writer tap-tapping away at my keyboard, trying to
write his magnum opus, amidst the lawn mower whine and Japanese pop music
echoing outside the room. A dreamer day dreaming of traveling to beautiful
faraway places. Indiana Jones back from a thrilling adventure in South America
and typing out his adventure (though I don’t know if he ever did that).
Blogging is something I see myself doing even when
I am very, very old. To a lot of people, a design blog is just that: yet
another design blog. But to me, it’s a way of sharing with you what is
beautiful about life. Vintage. Personal. Grace. Chic. Creative. Handmade.
Art. Tea. A way of life that is an embodiment of these words. I find it
immensely reassuring that no matter what or when, I can always blog my way
through it.
On wearing
multiple hats (she wrote this a couple of years ago when she was about to turn
40 and was in graduate school studying disease biology) but we can all relate to her words even today: "Like many women, I am used to looking at
myself and focusing on the faults. Do you do that? But these days, I am
discovering the positives too. I went back to graduate school. Yes, I drive
back and forth from my university everyday and my commute is horrendous.
(HORRENDOUS.) I have two kids and I drive in 2 school carpools. I fix lunches
and dinners, write term papers, attend classes, take my kids to soccer, work in
a research lab studying the bacteria in our bodies and blog whenever I have the
opportunity. You bet, I am tired but I also feel amazing. And I am not the only
one. Each one of us works hard at life and living and it would be
wonderful if we could all see how amazing we truly are. Each. one. of.
us."
On her Ganesha wall
art (If you frequent Priya’s blog, then
you are familiar with her iconic framed
Ganesha!) "Ganesha is said to be the remover of all obstacles
in one’s path. This cloth painting of Ganesh has been ushering the season
in in our family for more than 30 years- it belonged to my mother and she
gifted it to me when my husband and I bought our house."
On vintage fabrics: "I am most inspired when I see
vintage fabrics- they provide a visual punch that reaches into the deepest
wells of my creativity and disperse any mental fog (sorry about all the mixed
metaphors!). Ideally, every time I feel dull or uninspired, I would step out
into an open air market full of vendors hawking colorful, handmade products.
Figurines, pots and pans, paintings, baskets, puppets, fabrics and
tapestries. I love vintage fabric tapestries stitched together from embroidered
cloth remnants, especially those from Northern India (especially the Ladakh
region) and from Tibet. These tapestries and other vintage fabrics
provide me with a jumpstart like no other- it’s something about the way
different types of colors and fabrics are stitched together to make the whole
tapestry. Each segment is beautiful and preserves its individuality while
contributing to the gorgeousness of the entire piece. For some people,
it’s art or a book or meditation or a walk but for me, it’s being surrounded by
these fabrics."
On her love of tea time :"When we were
looking for homes, there was one feature that I always searched for. It wasn’t
an extra bathroom or color or material of countertop or a fixture of any kind.
I wanted the house to be one where teatime could be enjoyed (I would even say
celebrated!). Yes, you could enjoy it anywhere but there are some houses that
are just perfect for it. It’s not so much the tea or chai that
is most important (though it is a vital component) but the time set aside for
it- for preparing the tea, for getting the cups lined up, for choosing the
accompaniments, both sweet and savory, for the laughter and conversation."
"When
I was a child, my family would travel to India in the summer holidays and we
would visit relatives and stay with them for a few weeks. Each day, everyone
would come together for teatime and it would all start- the men would set out
the mugs in trays and the women would start brewing the tea. We didn’t use
teapots but the chai was brewed, milk and sugar added and
poured into the tea mugs. There were always biscuits (cookies). I remember the
biscuits were stored in clean, shiny glass jars lined up in the kitchen
cabinets and in pretty, tin canisters in the little storeroom- biscuits were
essential to tea time. There were also savory/salty snacks for those
without the almost ubiquitous sweet tooth. Once everything was ready and
lined up on trays, there would be a moment of quiet as hands readily and
gratefully accepted their cup or mug, savored the warmth of the chai and
the rising aroma of cardamom and ginger. And then, it would resume- the
conversations and the laughter. Time stood still, worries were forgotten and
all that mattered was that it was teatime. Everything else could wait. There
was feeling of permanence about those times (what an oxymoron!). That’s what I
wanted in our new home- I wanted it to have that feeling that any minute
teacups would be lining up on trays, that fragrant steams of ginger and
lavender hovered in the air and that you could hear the distant clink of glass
jars being opened. We saw many houses during our search but one stole our
heart- it had teatime written all over it."
On Decorating nirvana : "One popular meaning of ‘nirvana’ is an ideal or
idyllic place or state or mind or a state of peace. When I say decorating
nirvana, I mean a state where you have achieved your ideal look. Whether you
live in a rental property or your own, whether it’s an apartment or a house or
everything in between, if you can create your ideal surroundings, you have
achieved decorating nirvana! "
"Let me explain. We moved into our current home 3
months ago, it’s our dream home and we love it. Though we still have to
change some furniture, we are almost done setting it up. Which means I
have hung art on the walls, there are frames leaning on the floor, a mix
of contemporary photographs and traditional paintings; I have draped my
beautiful vintage fabrics, set up piles of books and arranged my
collection of objects from around the world. Add some flowers and a fern or
two. This is how I create our home in every apartment, condo, townhouse or
house we have ever lived in. I don’t see myself changing it. This is what
interior decor means to me- creating that signature look which tells anyone
entering the house our story and what we love (boho chic, all the way!). Once I
have created this look, I am done. I will change the paintings around, rotate
the objets d’art or switch this fabric for that or buy more but that’s it.
After years of figuring out, we have arrived at a state of nirvana!"
And finally
her thoughts on what home means? "I am fascinated by what ‘home’ means to different people. As a project,
I have started photographically documenting what it means to me
personally and to those that I know. Is it a platform for expressing
creativity, a large canvas where you, as the artist, execute your ever-evolving
vision? In these times of blogs, Facebook and Pinterest, is it a place
that is constantly striving for perfection? In that case, what does perfection
mean? New and shiny or layered with the patina of life? "
Thank you Priya
for sharing some exclusive images of your gorgeous
home and allowing me to use your work to bring your story to our readers! Make
sure to catch more of her awe inspiring work on lifestyle inpsirations in her magazine!
Cheers!
~deepa
P.S: all images in
this post belong to Priya of Curated magazine and Once upon a tea time
