Blushing Pinks and Sparkling Silver this Diwali.

In India, weeks leading to Diwali: The festival of Lights I would spend looking for interesting diyas ( earthen or ceramic oil lamps) flooding the local markets.

Back here in Minnesota what do I do?

I visit estate sales. 

They are treasure trove for people like me who are on the look out for unique finds.

I love combining vintage with the new. Styling classic with a bit of kitsch.

So this Diwali I decided to put together some colourful vignettes with things collected, gifted, bought and inherited.

I picked up some vintage white & cream doilies at a church sale recently and the hot pink & orange ones were leftovers from a sewing project my mother was working on when she visited us in Spring.

A palette of hot pink, orange and white. A pair of floral silver-plated tealight holders from the estate sale gets teamed up with a Good Earth Silver cup with parrots engraved gifted by a dear friend.

The warm glow of sesame oil lamps. A divine photo card engulfed by dried rose buds and placed in a silver plated hinged box with painted roses...

The silver cup with engraved parrots transforms into a vase holding a bunch of blushing roses…

Single blushing rose buds in my favourite 'chai gilaas' adds fun element to the arrangement.

A closer look at the the floral tea light holder…


The sparkling bokeh sets the mood for Diwali festivities...

Add loads of fragrant candles and scattered some delicate metallic flowers...

The silver tea light holders standing out against the hot pink doilies…


A closer look at the silver-plated hinged box with painted roses…

A side view of the photo card…


This is a simple but charming piece, I took a 'chai-gilaas' filled it with a handful of dried rose buds. Placed a floating oil lamp on the rim of the glass. Voila!

While I was shooting this vignette I realised that  the colours in the frame were Rang Decor's masthead colours!

This is a simple Diwali vignette that can be created on your coffee table or a hallway table. It's all about combining different elements & textures, vintage & contemporary and most of all going with your heart!

Hope all of you have a wonderful Diwali surrounded by beauty, happiness, family and friends!

( Images styled and photographed by Archana Srinivas. They are copyrighted. Please do not use without permission)

Our New Kitchen!

Greetings, friends!

So, here we are in the kitchen right before we moved in ... beautiful wood floors, pretty birch cabinets and tile backsplash.  

And, then THIS happened.  Oops.

I know some of you may be gasping that I took a paint brush to brand new cabinets and tile backsplash.  Trust me, for a moment, I did, too.

But ... then I reminded myself that, while I love the dark floors, cabinets and backsplash separately, I didn't care for them all together.  To me, they blended into each other, not allowing one or the other to stand out.  Plus, knowing how much I loved the kitchen in our old home ... to have this one resemble it would make this house feel more like *home.*  

So, I continued to get busy! 

I sanded/primed the cabinets and then added three coats of Ben Moore's "White Dove" to each one.

To break up the white a bit, I painted the pantry, garage and storage doors Rustoleum's Semi-Gloss Black.

I also dug out a can of Chateaux Grey and painted our island, adding the same farmhouse legs that I did to the island in our home in SC.

SOMEday, we'll replace its granite countertop with butcher block.

With ample storage in here, I didn't feel *too* guilty when I asked my husband if he'd consider taking down one of the cabinets so that I could put up a few open shelves like we had in our old home.  With the help of our neighbor (and his crow bar) down it came,

and up went the shelves!  

An inexpensive project (shelves and corbels from Home Depot), which makes for a great display area!

Our Wal-Mart canisters made a return appearance, too ... an easy way to display seasonal or day-to-day items:

Yes, I "give thanks" alright ... every time I use the gas stove without causing a fire.  I admit it, gas scares me!

On the other side of the kitchen is our "walk in from the garage dropping zone."

Yes, keys, phones, mail and book bags are plopped here, especially while a scoop of a Fall mix is inhaled.

I thought this cute mug tree would be a nice addition to the coffee/tea "station," so, I clicked "add to cart" when I saw it on Amazon.

Along with spray painting all of the knobs pewter, a couple of little embellishments were also added, such as these drawer pulls (Lowe's),

along with wooden scrolls to two faux drawer fronts.  

One of my favorite additions to the kitchen is the bling (Home Depot)!

She's like the crowing touch to the room!

Of course, I had to add her twin over the table, too!  (With these chandeliers being a mere $99/each, it was an affordable and justifiable "splurge.") 

Annnnd, I had to bring back our "E A T" letters, too.  I thought it only fitting to place them right beside the pantry.

What's that saying?  One is good, two is better?!  

From this angle, you can see our Fall Family Tree (a yearly tradition in our home):

Tucked in a little corner.

I always add "familial" sayings ...

 and pictures of our family that mean so much!

One more time ...

Annnnd, AFTER!

We're not done in here yet ... as our budget allows, we'd love to add crown molding, a board and batten backsplash, a butcher block top to the island, and a wooden beam or two.  For now, we're enjoying our new space!

Thanks for stopping by,

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