Look at your Skies, Look how they Shine for you!

      We buy wall paper for our walls, decorative tiles for our floors and yards of beautiful cloth for our upholstered furniture, but we somehow seem to leave our ceilings out of the style equation. We accessorise it with the most beautiful lights or border its edges with finely carved panels, but the entire ceiling face most often is left untouched with a coat of white paint over it.

      Maybe the ceiling isn't viewed that much in the living room or in the kitchen, but in our bedrooms it's seen a little more often. Wouldn't you like a galaxy of stars or a calming design be the last thing you see before you go to sleep?

    Whether it be interesting wooden panelling in the kitchen or intricate carved work in the dining room, don't overlook the ceiling's potential to be the most talked about aspect at your home! Here's a round up of the most fun ceilings in homes across the globe:

     You can paint an interesting pattern, paint it a striking color, add a structural element or change the outer material, the range of choices is infinite! It's a bold look to experiment with, but one that's definitely worth the risk :)

Make Walls that tell your Story!

        The way we dress speaks volumes about who we are as a person. Remember first impressions? They start right from the pair of shoes you've picked to the way you've tied your hair. A person can know so much about you just from the color of your dress! And like the color of your outfit, the color of your sofa can be a sneak peek into you. My point being as much as fashion style defines a person, so does the way he or she decorates her home.

        Now, while pairing those particular jeans to that particular top maybe our personal decision, it's not so easy in a house considering we share it with a few people in most cases. So why not pick a spot, a corner, a space and let it be just you!


       A perfect place to start with is your dressing table at home or your desk at home or work. From the way you organize your essentials to the extra items you add for flair (or not), let the space include items needed and added by just you.

        If you enjoy home activities like reading or painting or doodling, find a tiny space in your home to do just that and decorate that space to serve your activity. A space for your hobbies styled by you is like setting your character in stone!

       If nature inspires you, take your styling with you outdoors and create a safe space for yourself. It can be a simple garden bench surrounded by your favorite plants or as shown below a revamped trampoline swing!

      Whether your spot is the bathroom or the kitchen, the attic or by the window, spend time imagining it before bringing it to reality. Add in accents and items that you like, pick your favorite color scheme and keep in mind the activities you plan to do in there while setting it up.

      Now you've got yourself a space to be nothing but yourself in, and in this world I think that's a truly beautiful thing!

    

Away with Mold & Mildew this Monsoon!

         For the last few weeks or so, we've been waking up to pitter patter, fresh mud smells and gloomy skies. It's a great phenomenon-the rains! But along with the beauty accompanying it, it tows along excess humidity which might prove to be a discomfort in certain areas. All that extra water in the atmosphere settles down on our sofas, curtains and carpets making them perfect breeding grounds for a host of mold and fungi species. Not something you want happening to your plush sofa set or delicate curtains!

                So we at Sanctum thought we'd round up some tips on how to get rid and mostly, prevent this from occurring at all our homes.

Let's get informed: What is Mold & Mildew?

       Mold is a type of fungus that develops from airborne spores. It grows in humid areas that lack ventilation. Though mostly an occurrence of the monsoons, this fungus can develop due to a leaky pipe or badly insulated walls. So keep an eye out throughout the year! Untreated mold turns into a dark patch called mildew.

  Not very pretty is it?

                                 

     And what's more is it can have toxic and allergic effects on humans, implying we don't just want to get rid of it because its a sore sight for eyes.

How to get rid of Mold: Six Simple Steps!

       Found some mold on your wall or sofa? Read on to find out how to do away with this nuisance:

• Safety first! Don on a pair of rubber gloves, goggles and a mask. Now you're ready to take mold on!
• First lightly dry brush the area using a bristled brush.
• Make anti-mold solution by mixing one part chlorine bleach with  three parts water. You can use any detergent having bleach if you can't access chlorine bleach. Another kitchen friendly option is to mix one part vinegar with one part water. Apply this solution on the area.
• Repeat brushing action till darkness of area fades.
• Rinse thoroughly using a damp cloth.
• Air dry. Voila!

Prevention is better than cure: Here's how!

     Simple practices can help you keep the mold at bay:

• Keep a silica gel sachet or any other product that helps absorb extra moisture, in different corners around your house.
• Try to use an anti-mildew paint in moisture prone areas and keep an anti-microbial spray ready at hand.
• Use an electric dehumidifier in a very badly affected area. 
• However, the sun is the best mold killer. So make sure you catch those fleeting moments of sunshine and dry everything out!

          Now that you've got all of that smelly mold out, it's time to enjoy your home again. And 'tis the season to enjoy being indoors. So grab your favorite novel, a hot cuppa chai and let the outdoors get wet while you stay warm and dry inside.:)

What's in your Vase?

           Remember the tall beautiful Morticia Addams from the Addams family? While she showed us how to pull off goth with style, she also had some unusual practices like cooking eye of newt and giving her sweaters three arms! And oddly enough I'm basing today's tip on her practice of snipping off the buds of roses and filling her vases with the rose stems! Yes! Take a little bit of inspiration from Morticia and fill your vases with something that's uniquely you. Hopefully, not a lot of you will go in the slightly twisted direction Mrs. Addams took! :)

(Source: Pionik)

          Drawing directly from Morticia, how about giving your flower arrangement a swirl and placing them upside down in your vase? You can even place just a bunch of twigs and some fairy lights in a vase for a rustic effect. And a refreshing option is adding just leaves to your vase instead of flowers.

(Source: Chase)

(Source: Pinterest)

(Source: Etsy)

     Filling your vases with fruits, dried or fresh is another fine option. Pumpkins and pine cones can be just what your home needs for a festive flavour. Additionally they can be spray painted for added effect. Keeping lime in a vase might seem absurd, but it stocks up on scent as well as can keep your flowers fresher for longer if you choose to keep flowers and lime.

(Source: Pinterest)

(Source: The Budget Decorater)

                                 

(Source: lilaccandylilyfloraldesign)

     If you want your vases to really stand out, move away from the flora towards the fauna. Feathers can be colourful, rustic or bohemian in a vase. The look is up to you!

                    

                                                                    (Source: SoulMakes blog)

(Source: juliasvitadrommar)

            Want to find a way to store stationery fashionably? Vases are your answer!

            

(Source: Oughton Limited)

                 

                        (Source: Good Homes and Garden)                                  (Source: Pinterest)

 

              Variate your vase, variate what goes in the vase! 

                  

Magazine Art

         Ever look at a picture in a magazine or a book and think, "Now that's art!"? On the other hand ever looked at a painting on a wall somewhere and wonder, "That's art?"? Well, lucky for you we are in the 21st century and that means, we make our own art. Especially if it's in our homes or office spaces!

        Magazines, books and newspapers can be unending sources of creative images. If you find a picture that you like or a piece of poetry that strikes a chord with you, or even if it is a beautiful black and white photograph of your favorite musician, turn those articles into art!

       You can hang these cuttings simply in frames around the house or you can try some of these crafty art projects:

Modge Podge Canvas:
   

(Source: www.craftedlove.com)

         All you need for this project is a bunch of your favorite magazine cuttings, some modge podge or watery glue, a canvas and some paint brushes. Layer your cuttings onto the canvas, adding generous amounts of modge podge over and under as you go. Let the glued on paper dry, and voila! You've got yourself a piece of art. You could make a collage of your favorite pictures, of your favorite comic strips or a bunch of your favorite poetry clippings. You can also use the collage as a background and paint something on top of it.

(Source: www.mrkate.com)

Magazine Stripping Art:

        This colorful project is a twist on the above project. All you've got to do here is modge podge the magazine strips into a shape or silhouette you like. 

(Source: Linda Jacobs)

(Source: Etsy)

Magazine Wallpaper:

       For the bold ones out there, this project is for you! This project might take a little longer and may be a risky one, but is so worth it! Especially if you have an uncluttered blank wall staring at you! 

(Source: www.brit.co)

  Don't let those old magazines or newspapers take up unwanted space in your house any longer. Find the art in them and let it out!

                                          

The Good Ol' Bunting

        At a friend's bachelorette party recently, the maid of honor had decorated the venue. While there were the usual before/after boards and quirky photo props, what caught my eye was the lengths of white buntings stringing across the ceiling. Simple white chiffon flags on a gold ribbon coupled with a length of fairy lights and the maid of honor had changed her sitting room into a fabulous fairy tale themed setting!

      Colourful plastic buntings being the decoration of choice for small outside parties, religious functions and the like, we've encountered them our whole lives but hardly ever consider them the decor item of choice in our homes. Let's take a look at these images showing how buntings work around house:

KID'S BEDROOMS:
     Colourful buntings are perfect accessories to brighten up your kid's rooms. Hang them against a wall, a bunch in a corner or let them crisscross below the ceiling.

(Sanctum)

(Sanctum)

LIVING ROOM:

     Subtly colored buntings work better in a living room setting. You can add sheer cloth ones across a window for a little play on light or add seasonally themed buntings across your hall!

                                                                             (Pinterest)

UNIQUE BUNTINGS:

(Pinterest)

         Step away from the conventional triangle shaped buntings and try out the unique ones available in the market. Or spare and hour or so in your day and sit down to make yourself one!

                                                                   (Pinterest)

        Don't take the bunting for granted, it's guaranteed to liven up any room it swings across!

Let the Pieces Fall in Place

      Remember those good ol' rainy afternoons when a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle kept you company? There's something almost beautiful and calming in the way a jigsaw piece fits into place. The completion of a jigsaw puzzle produces the sweetest sense of satisfaction. To me jigsaw puzzles symbolize fulfillment, patience and a whole lot of childhood memories. What great symbols to put up around our house!

      WALL ART:

(Misanthropy Creations)

       You can paint a jigsaw pattern on your walls or makes a jigsaw puzzle pattern by fitting in different pieces, be it crockery, photo frames or painted jigsaw tiles made of a material like MDF or ceramic.

(Puzzle Projects)

(mary@ home the bay)

(Useful Diy Projects)

FLOORING:

(Pinterest)

    The geometric pattern on your floor need not necessary be the traditional round edged jigsaw one. It could be sharper, bolder or something more soft. If you're considering tiling your entire floor with a puzzle pattern make sure there aren't any contrasting designs happening on your walls or furnishing. A rug or carpet is an easier add-on.

(Pinterest)

OTHER DECOR ACCESSORIES:

      Throw in a a puzzle patterned cushion or a curtain between some solids for a geometric look.  You can also use cushions shaped like a puzzle piece! Smaller decor accessories like a photo frame or a painting can be easily diyed. Just gather up your old puzzle pieces, paint them (or not!) and hot glue them to create a piece of art!

 

(Pinterest-all above images)

      Look around your house for the perfect spot and let those pieces fall in place!