With Navratri celebrations underway, you can add a touch of ethnicity to your home to intensify the fun, fervour and festive feel.
Navratri is all about fun, food, music, dance and of course beautiful and vibrant outfits, which are embellished with Kutchi embroidery, bandhani prints, Shisha or Abhala mirror work, Mochi Bharat, Soof, Kharek, Paako thread work and so on. The craft is breathtakingly beautiful making it popular globally. Now how about bringing some of the handicraft home and making the interiors more colourful?
Sangeeta Parekh, Surat-based interior designer, suggests that one need not revamp the entire home to make it look like a typical village in Kutch but create an understated Gujarati feel by using statement pieces.
“Although the festival has already started, you can still embellish your home with Navratri-inspired décor which can become a part of the regular décor and work well for the Diwali season too.
The key is to not go overboard,” says Parekh adding that Gujarati handicrafts, handloom and pottery add a lot of charm, colour and Indianness to the home.
Sourcing them is also easy as there are several handicraft stores selling these items. Besides, the products are also available online.
DECK UP YOUR HOME
Hansa Rawal, city-based interior designer who has her roots in Gujarat, shares a few tips on how to add a Gujarati flavour to your home décor:
Handicrafts
Gujarat is home to diverse art forms and each one is full of colours and intricacies. “From playful kathputlis (puppets), different toys and door hangings made from cloth, buttons, beads, etc can adorn your living area and bedroom, and beautify the doors and windows,” says Rawal.
Mirror-studded umbrellas are also a great way to add a traditional feel. “You can hang them in your balcony or simply use them to decorate the corners,” she says.
Embroidery
Gujarat boasts of a large handloom and embroidery industry with each region offering a distinctive embroidery style. “One of the best ways to add a touch of Gujarat to your home is to buy a few cushion covers in Kutchi embroidery and mirror work and spruce up your couch and give a rich feel to you interiors.
Another way is to get embroidery/ mirror work on a piece of cloth and get it framed like a painting and hang it on the wall. Warm colours like red, orange, yellow and others can add a rich feel to the interiors,” suggests Rawal.
Torans in Gujarati embroidery make the door look extremely beautiful. “If you are fond of embroidery and mirror work, you can further experiment with coasters and table runners to enhance the festivity quotient,” she adds.
Pottery
Pottery from the state has been popular and appreciated since time immemorial. Besides, they are eco-friendly. “From earthen lamps to clay figurines, coloured matka (pots) with mirror embellishments, planters with attractive murals, gudyali (terracotta pottery) items can serve as great statement pieces which can be displayed in the seating area and adorn corner spaces in your room, beautify entrances and provide a traditional look to your home,” says she.
Tie and dye
What better way to jazz up your home during Navratri than opt for bandhani to add a splash of colour to the décor? “Bandhani (tie and dye) bedcovers and curtains will make your interiors more warm and welcoming. You can also use bandhani sarees and dupattas to drape your doors and windows,” says Rawal.
So let your home have a festive feel and let the positive energy flow.