Food for thought!

There are some days when a post on design just does not do it for me. There are far too many important things besides that I need to share.....


From a culture of sharing we have become a culture driven by possession and profit. The century of self. This short film comes from the kitchens of the Golden Temple (which I have blogged about before) where every day around 100,000 people, regardless of colour, caste or religion, donate, prepare, consume and clean for nothing more than compassion. Are we really moving in the right direction?
This year the world will produce enough food to feed twice the world's population, yet every day almost one billion people will sleep hungry.

Freedom of Food and the Golden Temple two from the source project on Vimeo.

Mom cave?

Do you have a Mom Cave? Yes, that's the latest buzz word in home design and consumerism. Men have always had their Man Caves, a place for them to to celebrate all things masculine including sports, cars, and yes....bodily functions. But now its time for them to move over and give us moms our refuge too. 

via

There are endless debates by sociologists as to why its "Mom" cave and not "Woman" cave and the answer is something to do with "societal fears and ignorance" ....but all that aside, a Mom Cave is essentially a place for Moms to sit; a space to organize their stuff; an area for them to do the things they love and a room for a mom to visit with all her girlfriends! 

via

Homegoods was the company that coined the phrase, read here to know more about it.

via

Kelly Porter of Porter House Designs ( which by the way is a great design blog) also made the whole Mom Cave thing a rage after The Washington Post featured her in a story entitled "Carving Out a Mom Space of her Own".  The story showcased her home office -- a space she coined her Mom Cave.  

The story received national attention and spawned a Mom Cave design trend that is still catching on. See the video below....

What I have at home is more of a Mom Corner than a Mom Cave, but it works for me.  I sit here, I organize and am surrounded by things I love.....and as for all that stuff about a place for girlfriends to visit, we just meet in the living room!!!!!

And here is a really funny post by a guy whose Man Cave is now gone and replaced with a scrapbook table and crafting items!

So what do you think? A lot of hooplah about nothing??? I am not so into all this talk about mommies getting their "me time" and so on. After all if you choose to be a mommy and bear children, you have made a decision to sacrifice some of that "me time" till the kids fly the coop right? I'm getting all the me time now that I never had or wanted when my kid was growing up. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. 

Giveaway time!

Yay, its time for another giveaway and this time its for no reason at all, other than all you wonderful readers being just that - wonderful readers. As we say in India, "simply because"......


So, here's what is up for grabs: 2 absolutely lovely pillow covers, 17" x 17" in size, from Saffron Marigold. 

Some of you may be familiar with SM, but for those who are not, it is a California based company fully committed to the revival of the traditional art of block printing in India, run by Anisha and Sandip. All their linens are printed on superior grade cotton with high quality dyes. They are stunning....trust me I know because I have them!!!! 


Here is a sampling of some of their cushions to whet your appetite and get the juices flowing!


The Moroccan inspired Sultan's Palace. Now who among us does not like anything "Moroccan"? I thought as much, no one!

The Peacock inspired Dance O Peacock.

One of my absolute favorites - Maharaja!

For you lotus lovers - Midnight Lotus. 

And their newest launch - the very French, very summery, La Chasse Aux Papillons

This is just some of their prints. Check out their website for the entire breathtaking collection to decide which print you want when you win!


So, here is what you have to do:


1. Leave a comment letting me know which print you would like if you won, including the url/link to that product, please. 
2. Blog, tweet, post about this giveaway, leave me a comment that you did as well as the link to the post and you get a second entry.
3. And if you want a third entry, (and for slightly selfish reasons) - go to my S & S Facebook page and click on "Like", and leave a comment saying you did.


The giveaway ends the 9th of September, and is open to residents of US and Canada. Yes, Canada is also included on popular demand. (Indian residents I will have one for you later this year, I promise.)


So in 2 weeks, I will pick a winner using random.org and announce the winning name on the 10th of September, so make sure you check back to see if you have won. I will then request your e mail and contact info accordingly.

All the best! Let the games begin.....

Giveaway sneak peek....

Do you like what you see????

If so, stay tuned for a fabulous giveaway for my US readers!!! I'll give you a hint - think Saffron......

Come back tomorrow, same time, same place :-)

Photographer Jeffrey Becom

Bringing you some lovely photographs by well known photographer Jeffrey Becom.

I forget sometimes how much color there is in our country. Living here one tends to get so caught up in the day to day things.....politics, weather, traffic, heat and so on...sometimes you have to step back and see the country with fresh eyes! Or sometimes stumble upon photographers who have managed to capture the beauty of the country.....especially in the rural villages, the heart of India!

Enjoy these lovely images.....

Red bundle, Bundi. Rajasthan

At the temple entrance in Varanasi

Red pillars, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

Red sari, Lahar, Madhya Pradesh

Street shrine, Varanasi

 Taj Mahal, Agra

 Street in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

 Blue passage, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

Greek idyll

Am absolutely in love with this gorgeous house in Cyclades, Greece on Tinos island. Anything in Greece will be fabulous I know, but this house is stunning in its simplicity! Built by Zege architects and designed and owned by Greek designer Marilyn Katsaris (lucky her), this home is located on a mountain and is actually made up of two separate houses which have been brought together through a picturesque veranda. The landscaping surroundings and the views outwards are breathtaking. It is as if the world is at a stand still once you step out on to this haven and look out as far out as your eye can see.


I won't blab on and on, I'll just let you take a look and drool...this is a total eye candy post. No big descriptions, just lovely pictures. 

Color overdose - Lucas Risé

I'm so confused....! On one hand I find myself being drawn to pristine, serene white spaces where the architecture shines through unfettered by color and chaos. Then on the other hand I am so attracted to colorful spaces loaded with texture and pizazz and zest! I mean, here is a perfect example...just yesterday I posted this house that had me oohing and aahing and determined to keep my next house all white. And I was perfectly happy with that decision. Then today...I SEE THIS and I know that I cannot live without color.

This home and studio of Lucas Risé. 

Lucas is an Argentinian who studied Graphic Design in the Design and Urbanism School of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. His unique style matured during his travels and experiences in South America, Africa, the United State and Europe. Painting street signs and murals in Buenos Aires since the age of 12,Risé focuses on art that interacts, that transforms from different angles to become a universe of its’ own. His dimensional art has been featured in publications and capitals the world. In 2006 he was a finalist in the prestigious National Art Awards (Buenos Aires) for a functional sculpture featuring 20,000 individually painted pieces...and as they say, the rest was history. 

And here is his home and studio.

Lucas has his own shop where he makes beautifully painted cabinets and textiles. I'll bring that to you in another post...I thought the color overload would be too much of I did it all in one day!

I apologize for the slightly sad quality of the pictures, but thats all I could get from the website! :-(

Architect profile - Elding Oscarson

Its been a while since I did a post on some amazing architecture. While I did come across many gorgeous blog worthy architectural masterpieces , I didn't really feel the need to blog about them, till I came across this today......this small little house on a street in the southern Swedish town of Landskrona, built by architect Elding Oscarson. 


Do you see it, the white house in the middle of the street? Look at the street!!! Forget the houses, I'd be happy living on this street...how beautiful is it???

Just like clean, spare interiors, I am drawn to simple, clean, modern exteriors too. This tiny little townhouse stands out, literally, from its surroundings. You would think a stark white modern building like this would be totally incongruous and out of place in this street filled with traditional, gable roofed cottages....but for some mystifying reason it seems perfectly at home. Not only that, it seems to accentuate the beauty of the little homes around it and vice versa. 

This 125 square meter townhouse is home to a couple in the art business. The architects created a single space, softly partitioned by thin exposed steel slabs that span the entire width of the house and divide it into the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, the library, the bedroom, the bathroom and a roof terrace.  A home office was also incorporated but in a detached building across a small garden; mechanical and service spaces fit next to the entrance.

 All in all, the stark-white townhouse is designed in such a way that it allows for the occupants to enjoy the uninterrupted views of the urban streetscape through the transparency provided in the architectural design.   The architects have exploited the small plot of land, to utilize it to its maximum as they have filled the empty plot with a conformist slab, sandwiched between the old-fashioned but unassumingly beautiful surrounding architecture.

And here is a side section of the townhouse....

 Don't you just love it? Too white or too stark for you? Maybe, but I think its absolutely amazingly beautiful. Its that same white pull I'm feeling these days...or the Swedish pull. I don't know which.....