Top Decor Trends of 2017: Hygge

          Denmark can get really cold around winter time and the last and first few months of a Dannish year can be accompanied by bitter chills, mind numbingly long frozen nights and endless grey skies. To sum up the picture, let's say winter can get pretty depressing there. But if you have a Dane's spirit your winter world can turn into a beautiful place.

         To combat the dark winters, the Danes have a strategy, a mindset, a way of life called "Hygge". This spirit in which they have chosen to face life with is pretty inspiring and definitely worth incorporating in your life, decor and much more. What you and I may think of as "dreary" the Dannish people have managed to make "cheery". A pretty difficult concept to describe, "hygge" has the world inspired this year with its courage, warmth and simplicity. And like all European "in" trends, hygge has a fancy pronunciation. Say hoo ga and get on this deliciously warm and wonderful trend with me!

     

Here's what you'll need to get your home in on this trend:

Let in Light and Warmth:

   Get rid of  harsh bright lights and add some natural light into your homes. Light up candles wherever you can and open up those windows to let the sunlight in during the day. Build a fireplace if you can!

                                       
  Change harsh white lights for soft orange glows and hanging up some fairy lights won't hurt either!

Create Coziness:

      A huge part of surviving a raging winter outdoors, is to be as warm and comfortable indoors. Let loose all your colorful dhurries, rugs and throw pillows. 

You can even change a formal seating area into a comfy floor seating option. Hygge in Danish equals cozy in English, if loosely translated.

Relax

   Your room should be a space you can relax in as much as possible. If relaxing means adding a bath tub, do that! 

If it means creating a cozy reading space, have one built it!

Add the outdoors indoors:

        Add in as many natural elements as you can to your home decor. Choose naturally finished furniture over polished, painted ones, indoor plants are friendly decor and usage of natural materials like jute, cotton and linen is a must!

Be Creative:

     Now that your space has been created to suit your version of coziness and warmth, let your creative juices flow. This space should invite you to be nothing but yourself. A perfect spot to do what you love most- whether it be painting, reading, cooking or writing!

   We can think of no better day than Valentine's day to get in on the "Hygge" trend. Candles, flowers, blankets - remind you of anything? Create the perfect cozy spot to share with a loved one and make sure it deserves the "Hygge" title!

    We think the Dannish people were onto something with this beautiful, heartwarming mindset. Definitely one to hold onto throughout the year, don't you agree?

Top Decor Trends of 2017: Marbling

      2016 proved to be a bold year in terms of decor trends. We had black stainless everywhere, metallic was in, Granny florals made a come back and geode was the rock of the year! 2017, not to be deterred, seems to be gearing up to take its place in decor trend history. While it is borrowing a bit from its predecessor, it is making up stuff along the way. The chill is still out, so who knows, 2017 may surprise us a lot more.

     This month we're going to focus on the up and coming looks of early 2017 and may explore how we can incorporate them into our homes.

      Last year, designers introduced marble in the form of tiny accents like wall pieces and clocks into home decor. Marble is here to stick around and 2017 has made marble the must-have on your walls! Yeah, that's right marble wall paper is the style of the season.

   

             Available in swirling blues and grainy taupes, metallic golds and sleepy pastels, marble wall paper can provide a soothing look, be a focal point or a lively addition! Marble has definitely moved from the floors onto our walls and how!

             You can get them as vinyl stickers and paste them onto your wall. If you're looking to DIY this trend, here's a few ways you can:

Milk Marble Paper

           This method uses milk (expired as far as possible to avoid wastage), food colouring, watercolor paper and dish soap. Pour some milk into a tray, enough to cover the bottom, add in drops of water colors followed by soap. Swirl in the two using toothpicks, lay on your paper and watch the magic happen! This might be too small for wall paper, but might work as pretty paintings, don't you think?

Shaving Cream Marble Paper

       This technique is similar to the one used above but instead of laying milk and soap onto your tray, add shaving cream and color and swirl. Lay in your paper, remove it out, dab off extra cream and voila!

Nail Polish Marbled Paper

         In this technique, you drop in some construction paper in a swirl of nail polish and water to get the marbled effect. Makes use of old nail polishes and your color palette will be your favorites!

     The best trends are the ones you can try out all on your own and marbling definitely fits that bill! 2017, we hope you have more DIY trends in store for us!

      

        

Dhurrie Decor

         Picking the right rug or dhurrie for you home can be a difficult task at times. A right dhurrie can be a unifying force and complete the room's look. While a wrong choice, can throw everything off balance! Today's post covers the basic queries you might have regarding dhurrie decor.
         With the perfect print, size and color a dhurrie can be a great focal point in your room.

• What size rug should I pick?

       

           Picking the right size of rug can be a task at times. The thumb rule while placing a dhurrie is to make sure that the edgesd of your dhurrie are clearly seen and don't get hidden underneath furniture or other decor. Your rug can be centrally so that edges lie between the coffee table and the seating arrangement in your living room, or in front of your bed. Another option is to place the rug underneath all furniture with its edges forming a sort of border around the furniture arrangement.

• Which material is the best for dhurries?

           Flat weave rugs are the best choices for areas where you think there'll be a lot of stepping on it. Cotton rugs are durable and easiest to clean making them the best choice.

• How do I fit rugs into different areas of the house?

           People often make a mistake of equating a dhurrie or rug with the living room, but dhurries can just about fit anywhere if you've kept all the aspects in mind.

    

           A dhurrie can make a lovely style statement at your entry way!

          In the living room a dhurrie can be used to tie up your furniture arrangement.

        As mentioned earlier, in bedroom a rug looks great either at the foot of the bed or below your bed.

       A dhurrie also works well in the dining room!

• How to choose the right rug for my room?

         While choosing the rug, make sure the color theme and print match with the feel of the room. When I say match this doesn't mean brown furniture equals brown rug. Not in the least! Choose a rug whose looks contrasts but fits into your room theme. Hence if your furniture and other decor has an upbeat feel, choose a colorful printed rug. If your room has a sober formal effect to it, choose a solid colored or minimally printed rug that probably amps up on texture instead.

          Remember your dhurrie needs to connect with the remnants of your room first and foremost. Whether you want it to be your focal point or not, is up to you!

   If you're interested in a dhurrie decor, we've got woolen and cotton dhurries in beautiful prints and patterns at Sanctum. Check them out here: 

  

Floral is in!

      Flowers are pretty, we all have to admit that. Last year floral patterns make a come back in a huge way with designers taking the bright floral prints of their summer dresses all the way to darker vintage prints on their winter coats and shawls. We got in on the floral sneaker trend too!

     Flowers while fresh and in a vase are the preferred choice, who wouldn't love a little floral in a more permanent way?! And no I'm not talking about floral wallpaper (which is pretty too!). No, I'm talking about one of a kind furniture pieces with a bit of floral infused on them. We've got just the collection for you. From tall mirrors to dressing tables, these pieces make "sitting pretty" a true statement!

       Whether it the border of a mirror, the panel of a drawer or the surface of shelves, adding a touch of these flowery prints makes a big difference. You can even take an old piece of furniture of yours and paint on a floral print.

     Post the New Year blues and the fading winter cold days, I think it's time to welcome summer a little early with this pretty idea!  

Bins to Beauty!

 We're always talking about reusing old decor pieces and converting them into something new. Turning trash to tasteful is all the rage now!

  But have we ever thought about turning the trash containers into something pretty? Yeah, you heard me right! The wire baskets that hold all things dirty have capacity to sit pretty too, who knew?

The Basket Table

       Turn an old wire basket upside down or keep it upright, spray paint it if you have to, fix on a wooden plank and you've got yourself a Scandinavian coffee table good enough to sit in an Ikea store! You can even keep the wooden lid removable so that the table can doubly function as a storage space.

The Bathroom Basket

        Remember those bathroom caddies you see college kids carrying to common bathrooms in movies? Well you can turn this into a fixed storage decor item in your bathroom! Mount them on a wall, a few of them on a ladder or place them on a shelf for some stylish storage!

The Basket Lamp

        Nothing says industrial chic better than a lamp with a clutter of straight lines! And what better than one that you've recycled from the corner of your floor to the center of your ceiling!

If you don't have any old baskets, head down to our store to pick up the pretty wire baskets we have!

"Cheer"ing up the Place

   When I say "pom-poms", your mind immediately goes to cheerleaders with their bright uniforms and classic "cheering accessory". But it turns out pom-poms can be easily incorporated into your home décor! And I don't mean the clusters of shiny streamers, cheerleaders clutch in their hands. I mean the tiny balls of wool that can easily be attached to home linen items to enhance their over all look.


    Here's an image showing you how you can make these cute pom-poms, using coloured wool, a fork and a pair of scissors.

         Now that you've got your tiny fuzzes of fun, look around and find places to attach them on. Grab a needle and thread, and line up some pom-pom trim on the edges of your curtains, runners, cushion covers and more!

                   

You can add these to wall hangings, bedcovers and much more. "Cheers" to a great idea!!

                                

Pantone shade of 2017 & how to incorporate it in your decor

Greenery is the Pantone colour of the year for 2017 and we could not be happier about it. This is what they have to say about their choice of colour:

"A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.

Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.

Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront - it is an omnipresent hue around the world.

A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality"

 We all agree that plants are beautiful, they are beneficial and they are great for home décor.  So how do  we incorporate “greenery” into our lives?

1.       Grow your own herbs. Even if you are living a tiny apartment, you can still do this

(Image Courtesy: Pinterest)

2.       Get houseplants. Here’s a list of plants that purify the air. http://bit.ly/1gwFi17

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                                                   (Image courtesy: static1.squarespace.com)

3.       Get some colourful planters. Our collection of fibre planters is good lucking and durable

(Image Courtesy: fibrecraftsindia,com)

4.       Self watering cones: If you are worried about watering your plants when you travel, you can invest in our self watering cones

Image Courtesy: Amazon UK

5.       Creative vases / pots. Use kettles, mugs, old bottles, cages, empty candle jars, canisters to put your greens in

6.       Terrariums are easy to maintain as long as they get adequate sunlight. We have some interesting terrarium pots in geometric shapes

7.       Give a green gift

8.       Add some animal / bird figurines or butterfly sticks in and around your pots

       Bring in some designs inspired by the greens like these cushion covers from SANCTUM