Sanvari Alagh Nair, is the director of HouseProud.in, and has headed creative production of several hit TV shows like Nach Baliye, Oye its Friday and Zor Ka Jhatka. She shares practical solutions to those numerous decor dilemmas of yours.
I am looking for colour inspiration as we are redoing our younger daughter’s room. Is there something we should consider in particular?
– Khushi Mehrotra, New Delhi
There is so much that you can do with a girl’s bedroom today; you’re redesigning at just the right time! Remember, you want to pick something that she won’t grow out of too quickly, preferably something that adapts as she grows, allowing her to add more or change as the years go by.
Definitely avoid any current heme (princesses, TV characters, etc.) as they change their mind often enough with regard to raging favourites and then you end up stuck with the look! You may want:
- A light oorlike wood or marble that brightens up the room.
- Coloured cabinets that are not age specific—pink and white if she’s partial to pink, or yellow and green, purple and white, hints of orange, plum and teal— all add to a happy look. Stick with pastelcolours rather than primary solids.
- In terms of furniture, you may not want to change what you currently have; you could simply re-polish/re-paint the current furniture to what you plan to add. Distress white works beautifully in a girls’ room, as does a light teak nish.
Q I live in a rather small 2-BHK and the television set, which is almost always on thanks to my kids, becomes a distraction when I have friends over. Can you suggest a way to place the TV so it does not come in the way? Also, how many TVs should I have at home?
Shradha Parekh, Mumbai
Luckily, this is an easily fixable dilemma. I would recommend a wall TV cabinet with shutters for the living room. Get a larger one that doesn‘t just cover the television, but extends both vertically to the door and horizontally to include a book/Dvd rack, or with shelves of about 10-12inches in height, so, you can place larger books or decor accessories on them too. This is becomes a design centric piece and not just a TV unit, giving you ample storage or accessorising space in a somewhat unused area currently.
If you have white walls, then nish this unit in white or the dominant colour of your wood to maintain the look in the room. If you’re adventurous, duco paint the cabinet for a glossy finish in any colour you think you won’t tire of! Plus, book backs add vibrant colour to your walls, so this whole unit will end up adding a lot of vivacity and pop to what was just a regular wall. When guests come over, simply keep the shutters on so the TV is not in exposed view.As for the number of televisions in the home, apart from the children’s room, there should be a TV in every bedroom. Nowadays, with so many choices, everyone likes to watch their own thing and sharing a TV may lead to some emotional fracas….best avoided!
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