Get Festive! For September 2015

Colour Stories

We’ve collected some fun decorating tips and ideas for you for the festive season!

As we gear up for the arrival of the Indian festive season, we thought it's only fair to share some real useful tips to make your home celebration ready. Whether it is Raksha Bandhan or Ganesh Chathurti, these tips will help you with ideas that you can implement with ease and are stylish at the same time. Give your home a traditional twist by incorporating some of the season's hottest trends like kansa tins, table settings, wall décor and quirky cushions, interesting lighting and much more.

• Raksha Bandhan: The special bond between brothers and sisters has a special nostalgia attached to it. Step back in time to celebrate this amazing bond by getting your childhood pics framed on the walls. And yes, don't forget the cheerful fairy lights. Decorate these around the frames for a special focus and glow. Also, if you are looking for a festive makeover, choose bright wall colours like yellow and orange for the living room. The brightness just adds to the festive spirit and plays as a perfect backdrop setting for all the fun moments. Apart from this, some small elements like fresh flowers around the house add a special glee. They make homes come alive; choose from roses, orchids or simple marigold. Go for bouquets and place them in metal pots for a more ethnic look. Place some beautiful candles around these pots and just like that you turn into a decorating diva!
• Ganesh Chathurti: Whether the elephant God bestows your abode or no, festivities are in the air. Let these positive vibes enter your lives through your home. Fresh fragrant candles and traditional silk cushion covers are some of the ways. Beautiful table settings with brassware can be arranged with interesting flower arrangements. You can also put together books and pile them up, place a little bowl of roses on them and tah-dah you have a stylist corner ready! Make sure every corner either has fresh flowers or candles. Set up colourful dessert display with diyas all around. And for the Ganesha idols, you can create traditional rangoli with flowers or colours and lights to brighten up the space. Go all out with bright colours, traditional design elements and bright lights. This autumn, welcome home the goodness and festivities of the season. Let your lives be full of positivity, hope and prosperity. Enjoy the sweetness of the festivities and have fun!

Colour Trivia

Colour Facts For September 2015

1. The name of the colour red is enough to evoke a lot of strong imagery for our mind to visualize. It is a colour associated with vitality, passion and aggression so much so that, the aggression of bulls has also been attributed to this colour. For those of you who don't know, bulls and red are said to not have a very cordial relationship and they go crazy at the sight of red. Well, research has proven otherwise and claims that bulls actually have no preference for colours and they are not bothered by the colour red. So, what is the secret behind them charging madly at the red muleta in races and fights? The surprising answer is that they are disturbed by the movement of the muleta and not its colour! Anything that moves is what their target is!
2. Brown and its various shades have evolved to be a set of chic and classic colours which are used for a sophisticated and timeless feel. It is created by mixing a variety of colours like red, orange, yellow and black. But did you know that earlier, brown wasn't even a particular colour, just an indication of a shade! There is evidence of brown being referred to as 'brun' in old English and this was to only indicate shades similar to that of the soil, wood, dead leaves, nuts, etc. Interestingly the term 'a brown' also meant a penny for the English.
3. Orange is one of those colours that evoke very strong feelings, and people seem to have strong opinions about this colour. They either love it or hate it but cannot ignore it! Well, that is a story for another day. Coming to the point, have you ever wondered which came first? The colour or the fruit? Just like the eternal chicken and egg theory. And, no we don't have a concrete answer but it seems that the colour orange was called 'Geoluhread', which means a combination of yellow-red. But according to another study, the word orange seems to have existed in the English language as early as the 18th century and it was used to refer to the fruit. So, we guess that leaves our question unanswered!

Colour Quotes For September 2015

• In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love.

  - Marc Chagall

• I found I could say things with colours that I could not say in any other way, things for which I had no words.

  - Georgia O'Keeffe

• Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I see before me, I make an arbitrary use of colour to express myself more forcefully.

  - Vincent Van Gogh

Colour Tips For September 2015

• Before you start painting your home make sure you are convinced with the choice of colour to avoid repainting. The best way to go about it is to look at the colour wheel. It shows the colours of the spectrum arranged in a circle. The colours are arranged in patterns and you may like one side more than the others - like the cool colours (blue, green) or the warm ones (red, orange). Pick a colour according to your like and the mood you wish to create. Another way to go about it is to look for trends. The internet provides you with the latest trends around the world, you can pick something that suits your taste and can be done conveniently.
• If your house is one of those houses where the paint is regularly affected by rains, then maybe you are getting a few basics about painting wrong. So, let us give you a few tips to keep your wall paint rain-ready! It is of utmost importance to get your first coat of paint right so try and get a water-proof first layer of paint and if possible, use a good quality primer or putty before going ahead with the first layer of paint. It is also good to go for multiple layers of paint instead of one. In this case, make sure that all the layers are uniform and none are too thick. Lastly, always ensure that you use lead free paints for your good health as well as your walls.
• Let us let you in on a few handy tricks with respect to the hassles we face while doing odd painting jobs. Painting the legs of a table or chair can be really painful but now you can just place them on bed raisers and paint them perfectly. The best part is you don’t end up smearing your floor with paint! While painting your bathroom, cover your flush tank with plastic wrap to avoid those nasty paint spill overs. We have saved the best trick for the last, which deals with our problems with paint fumes! The way out couldn’t have been easier, just add a tablespoon of vanilla extract and mix well to see all the fumes vanish!

World of Colours

Colours & Emotion For September 2015

• We all know that the colour purple has been associated with royalty for a long time now. Today, we bring you some interesting psychological associations attached to purple. In Christianity, purple is symbolic of pride and in the U. S. military, a Purple Heart award is symbolic of courage shown. In a stark contrast to the west, purple is worn by widows to mourn their husband’s death in Thailand. In Iran, it’s traditionally believed that a purple looking sun or moon was an omen indicating the possibility of bloodshed that year.
• While some colours soothe your senses, some can give you headaches. A University of Washington in Louisville has found that redheads are more prone to pain and therefore need more anaesthesia when they undergo surgeries. Redheads have a "defective receptor" for melanin, a pigment responsible for tanning. This same melanocortin-1 receptor cross-reacts with a related receptor on brain cells that increases pain sensitivity.

Colours & Fashion For September 2015

Glamour is a huge part of fashion, and today we are going to be covering the great power red holds in the glamour industry. A classic and timeless trend that’s making a huge comeback is red hot scarlet lips. Take for example Dita Von Teese, who has been honing this skill to the T for years. Another popular icon always sporting red lips is Taylor Swift, who has gone as far as waxing lyrical about it in her songs. Back home, symbolic beauty icons like Aishwarya Rai, Rekha and Sonam Kapoor have also been flaunting those incredible red lips. So, paint the town and your pout red with the prettiest red!

Colours & Gems For September 2015

• Gemstones and their astrological significances are well known in India. So, this time around we decided to bring you the folklore associated with these gemstones. We picked out the moonstone which is a very popular stone in India and also around the world. Here, it is believed that the moonstone is worn to befriend the moon and is used to open up the heart. While in other cultures, it is believed that it is formed from the rays of the moon and you can see the future in a moonstone during a waning moon. And, our favourite one which says that this stone has the power to make lovers faithful to each other!
• If you thought gemstones were only about beauty and astrological importance, then maybe you should read this! We love pearls and we are sure you do too but did you know that pearls are said to bring bad luck when used in an engagement or wedding ring. They say that a pearl should be never be gifted to anyone because it symbolizes a tear and can bring sadness to the person receiving it. It is also believed in some parts of the world that brides should not wear pearls on their wedding day because this might bring unhappiness and tears to the marriage!

Colours & Nature For September 2015

• Nudibranchs are the shell-less relatives of the snail known for their vivid colours. They have the distinction of being the most colourful creatures in the world! However, Nudibranchs smell, taste, and feel their world using head-mounted sensory appendages called rhinophores. They track food with the help of chemical signals. They have both male and female organs and can fertilize one another, an ability that speeds the search for mates and doubles reproductive success.
• According to folklore, the bright-red waters of Laguna Colorada in southern Bolivia are attributed to the Gods’ spilled blood. But the real, scientific reason for its brilliant colours is algae. The lake is clear blood red covered with gleaming salt and looks like a painting! There is an interesting tale attached to these colours. It is believed that centuries ago, the Gods lived here; they were so tall that they reached the sky. A beautiful Goddess named Tunupa became pregnant. However, her baby was stillborn, and as she mourned her loss, her tears mixed with the breast milk that her baby would never drink and together they formed a white lake. Tunupa, paralyzed by grief, became a mountain overlooking the salty expanse.

Décor

Décor Secrets for You!

We bring you a few décor secrets to help you transform your house with their magical touch!

We keep bringing you new and varied tips for doing up your home to achieve that special look for your home. Today is going to be a bit different. We decided to bring you a few décor secrets for a change and help you transform your house with their magical touch. These are some of the secrets from interior designers around the world and the simplicity of these tricks is simply going to blow your mind!

So, let us begin with some pillow talk. Most decorators believe that one pillow looks skimpy so always go with placing two or more pillows and make sure to have them in contrasting patterns and colours. We have all been told about how not to have bigger furniture for smaller rooms but our expert designers would have us believe otherwise. Their advice being that small furniture makes a room look smaller so go for a higher bed and headboard to make your rooms appear larger.

Another décor myth is that dark walls make a room look smaller but experts say that they will make your room open up and what they do is make it look bigger. And, here is another interesting idea for those of you who want to merge their sliding closet door with their walls. Simply wallpaper them with a theme in close resemblance to your walls and notice them merge with each other!

As for your bathroom, get rid of bath mats from and go for a rug, which along with adding a touch of elegance, can also withstand much more than wet feet. Another important thing to remember is that there are no fixed rules of décor and it is perfectly okay to not have a sofa in your house. The only rule that you need to follow is do what your heart says and your home will be a reflection of everything that you love!

Colours & Ancient Sciences

Feng Shui For September 2015

We came across the amazing benefits keeping a tortoise at home can bring and we are simply besotted with the idea!

The Tortoise Story!

Feng Shui being an ancient science is full of wonderful secrets which are extremely beneficial for enriching our day to day lives. You must be wondering, what is this all about? Well, we came across the amazing benefits keeping a tortoise at home can bring and we are simply besotted with the idea. The plus point is that this does not need a lot of work; you just need to get a tortoise home and place it properly. The best part is that they look good too!

You can get a tortoise made of resin, mud, metal, glass, crystal or even wood. Since tortoises have a long life span, they are believed to bring the gift of long life. However, a few Feng Shui rules need to be kept in mind before placing one in your house. If you have a tortoise made of resin or mud, place it in the north-east, centre or south-west of your house. If you have one made of metal, then place it in the north or north-west and those made of crystals should be kept in the south-west and north-west.

One more thing to keep in mind is to keep your tortoise always facing the east and it is always good to keep it in your living room because this can also help you in increasing your family harmony. Always keep your tortoise immersed in water and in a dish with some depth of the same material as the tortoise. You can also add a few colourful stones as it will help you bring harmony, peace, prosperity and long life into your home. Time to get a tortoise home!

Reiki For September 2015

According to Reiki, surrendering to soulful music can help you in treating disorders - we explore how!

Music for your Soul!

Music is something that creates a soothing ambience; it also has the power to activate the healing mechanism of the body and is known to be a healer. In Reiki, it is used very beautifully for the purpose of healing multiple ailments. Reiki has this range of serene and truly relaxing music which imparts the listeners with good health and a radiant glow. Reiki believes that we can enter into the realm of peace that music creates and this aids us with relaxation, rejuvenation and recovery.

According to Reiki, surrendering to soulful music can help you in treating disorders like stress, grief, depression, schizophrenia and also helps in diagnosing other mental disorders. The secret of healing through Reiki lies in the fact that music has the power to touch our heart and soul and can affect us physically, emotionally and spiritually. Music has been used for long to make positive changes to the mood and emotional states of the mentally ill and now it is used in oncology units, preoperative and postoperative care units, paediatric, obstetric and cardiac units.

This has only been possible because people are becoming more and more receptive to the therapeutic and healing properties of music and this different approach of Reiki is being lauded widely. Music is a powerful way of healing patients and the fact that it can evoke emotional and spiritual responses works in its favour. One of the major reasons why Reiki is heavily in favour of music therapy is because it is safe, non-invasive and is easy to administer with the best part being that it aligns your physical, emotional and spiritual senses for holistic wellbeing.

Vaastu For September 2015

A few changes here and there in your life style as advised by Vaastu can bring about positive changes in your general health!

Health Benefits of Vaastu!

The goodness of Vaastu Shastra is never-ending and there seems to be no problem whose solution is not available in this ancient science. Our only true wealth is our health and even Vaastu confirms to this old adage. One of the important reasons for ill health or prolonged illness could be a problem with the placement of things around the house, says Vaastu. A few changes here and there in your lifestyle as advised by Vaastu can bring about a very positive change in your general health.

Firstly, you could start by sleeping with your head towards the south which will help in improving your overall health. You should also make sure to not keep heavy furniture in the middle of the house and keep this position as empty as possible. For your peace of mind, make sure that no light beams are running across the centre of the house as they are disturbing to the mind.

To maintain good health, you can also light a candle daily in the south east direction of your house. It will also help to burn a candle in the room of a sick person every day in order to improve their health. You should also make sure that you are facing the east or the north while having your meals. Finally, always make sure to keep your bed three inches from the wall. Add these simple touches to your home to enjoy good health!