“One piece of advice for China: don’t buy anything”
“One piece of advice for China: don’t buy anything”
We’re travelling through China soon, and I would love to bring back some accessories for my home. But how can I find unique furniture shops abroad? And how should I avoid falling for cheap goods?
One piece of advice for China: Don’t buy anything unless it’s small, simple pieces. You could easily be duped into buying fake goods. As far as foreign furniture is concerned, only trust the Europeans. The English, Italian or French are best of the lot. Always carry a reference book with you, and the safest bet is to go for the branded stuff.
I love murals, but so often, they fall into the “corny" category rather than the classy. What do you think? Do you recommend any muralists?
Murals, if used in a restrained manner, can look classy. Try painting your wall dark and then offset it with a lighter mural, or vice versa. That will take care of the “corny" bit. One of the biggest Indian muralists is Satish Gujral; he also happens to be my father. So I highly recommend him.
We really like the movement towards oversized products: big vases; big sofas. How can we follow the trend without supersizing the whole home?
Only one big-sized furniture piece should be placed in a room. Big-sized furniture always coincides with big houses, as in the farmhouses in New Delhi. If there is ample space in the home, you can experiment with large pieces without cramping a room. It is not recommended for small drawing rooms in apartments.
My grandmother recently passed away and left me her incredible set of vintage suitcases. I would love to display them, but am uncertain how. Do you have any recommendations?
If it’s big enough in size, then you can actually use it as a centre table (depending on the structure) or you can just place it as a display in the corner of your drawing room. You can also leave it half open and have vintage fabric flowing out of it. But if it’s an old moulded piece, then better keep it in your attic.
Write to Raseel at decordilemma@livemint.com
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