Black and White Sketches

A sketchbook of childhood sketches ...

Inspiration: Favourite Blog

I was very thrilled to receive a mail from Patricia the popular face from the beautiful home decor blog Colours Dekor, stating that my home will be featured on her popular blog ... my daughter was super excited and could not wait to check the blog... thank you Patty!



Patricia has a huge fan following and I simply adore the homes featured on her blog; as these homes exude love and warmth and are so well lived ... I also love the non fussy way she has of decorating her own home and her lovely rich photographs ... in fact her blog inspired me to start my own blog ... don't forget to visit my home featured on her blog ... home-tour-esther

Decorous Corner - Blue sky and Yellow sun ...

As I have already mentioned, I love opening doors to discover what they reveal ... beautiful paintings, lovely furniture, colourful paints and accessories, handcrafted decors, etc. Let's open my front door and see what it has to reveal...

In the far end you can see a blue pot containing crimson anthuriums.

The heart shaped anthurium plants really fill my heart with joy ... they are also so easy to grow and need very little sun .. and though they are available in different colours the crimson ones really attract me ...


I placed my anthurium plant in the balcony which receives just the moderate morning sunlight ...

The painting in the background is made with acrylic on marble stone ... I copied this painting from http://www.kshs.org/p/online-exhibits-marijana-women-of-strawberry-hill/16498...

I love the play of the blue sky and the yellow sun ... and lovely colourful clothes swaying gently in the breeze ... I especially adore the two gossiping women in the foreground ... reminds me of this poem ...The Clothesline by Marilyn K. Walker.

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link

For neighbors always knew

If company had stopped on by

To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the fancy sheets and towels on the line;

You'd see the comp'ny tablecloths

With intricate design.

Inspiration - Doors ... an entry to ...

I love doors ... especially the lovely old worn out entrance doors ... I love the thrill of opening such doors and discovering what they have to reveal...

The other day as I was browsing over some photographs of interesting doors ... I came across the website www.terragalleria.com  which featured beautiful doors of Jodhpur Rajasthan ... I simply drooled over the combination of the beautiful indigo coloured walls the simple patterns on the doors and the brightly dressed women ... I also discovered this website http://www.doorpaintings.com/  which featured the paintings of K.R.Santhana Krishnan an artist from Tamil Nadu ... the paintings of doors were simply amazing ...

All these doors inspired me to make this painting using acrylic paint on wood ...

The traditional way of bathing babies by placing them on outstretched legs is a beautiful sight to watch ... the love and attention lavished by the mother as she massages and bathes the baby strengthens the bond between the mother and her newborn ...

Decorous Corner - Trash to treasure - Granite pieces

We had recently visited a clubhouse ... many changes had been carried out since our last visit ... but the best among them was this creative use of trash granite pieces ...  I was simply bowled over by the breathtaking wall mural near the poolside ... all sizes and shapes of red and black granite pieces, gravel and pebbles were embedded into the cement to form this attractive mural...

 

The whole mural had been divided into three layers ... sea, land and air ... and accordingly the animals and birds were distributed ... 

 

Fish, frogs, water birds, crocodiles, alligators, crabs decorated the sea ...



Wild animals, domestic animals and farm animals were distributed on the land.

 Birds of all types decorated the top of the mural ... there were also animals which live on trees like squirrel, monkeys, etc ... looking up ... it looked like the birds were in the sky ...

My favourite corners were these two ... big uneven pieces of colourful granite in which lines were carved out to look like flowers and leaves ...

Inspiration - Glass painting

Long ago when I started my career as a secretary, I had worked, for about six months, for a company which made beautiful stained glass and glass etchings … I would while away my lunch time by simply drooling over  hundreds of catalogues they had on display … the studio where I worked was filled with samples of stained glass and etchings … however I had never seen how they were actually made … I still love glass paintings but regret that I never learnt how to do it …

Some years later my sister-in-law joined a short duration course on glass painting … I was happy as I thought that I could learn from her … however she soon discontinued as she was getting married … when she left she gave me her left over paints, brush and liner… most of the paints had dried up … except for blue, green and red…

I was overjoyed with her offering … I could try painting on glass … but as I was a beginner it was also very intimidating …

I tried painting on one panel of the window in our bedroom … it looked okay … however as the glass was already on the window it was a little difficult to maneuver the brush … another problem was as the glass was serrated, the paint being runny did not stick properly … however I still forged ahead … and with my husband’s encouragement … I finished painting all the three panels …

The windows looks better when the rays of the sun fall on it …

Decorous Corner - Medicine corner

How much do we use the medicines at home? ... Do we keep a lot of tablet foils, syrup bottles, etc., at home? ... Most people do not really use their medicine cabinet too much ...  and so they are mostly empty or filled with rubbish stuff like used toothbrushes, used toothpaste, or creams, lotions, etc.,...


If you're like me for whom a medicine cabinet can wind up becoming a junk cabinet then you can try this project ... I decided to keep the few essential medicines that I have in an open shelf ... away from the reach of very small children ...

My husband received a very pretty 'pop-out' greeting card from his employees ... and I did not want to throw it away... so this is what I did ...

I pasted the card at the back of the open shelf and placed my box of medicines on the shelf ... I painted tiny dancing warli figures on the box and arranged the medicines in it ... the box has three partitions ... I filled one partition with the cough syrups and nasal drops ... another one with medicinal creams ... and the last one with antiseptics, bandages and band-aids ...

Now my medicine cabinet looks so appealing....

Decorous Corner - Tiny drawers

If you've ever visited restaurants in India ... you would be familiar with the mouth fresheners or the aid for digestion that is served at the end of a heavy meal ...

Mostly they are sweetened fennel seeds which are called 'saunf' in India ... there are also multi-coloured sugar coated jeera sweets called "palli muttai" ... sweetened dried ginger ... shavings of betel nut ... roasted sesame seeds ... the list is endless ...

On one of my shopping jaunts I spotted this beautiful tiny drawer set ... they were so colourful and cute ... that I had to simply own one ...

As soon as I got home I could not wait to set it up ... I filled up the drawers with toothpicks and all sorts of mouth fresheners ... and kept the set on a small stand on the wall ...

It comes to the table after a heavy meal ... and gets passed around the table ... people can help themselves to the lovely goodies ... Doesn't it look perfect?

Decorous Corner - Singer machine

I love de-cluttering the house … as this is the time I find treasures which can be used differently … One day during one of my treasure hunt I found an old rusty Singer sewing machine stand … it was lying in the loft all forgotten …

I was ecstatic … I got it painted a lovely cherry red … and placed a discarded piece of marble … then I filled in a glass bottle with water and kept some money plants … BUT it still did not look attractive enough!


My daughter placed her pretty teddy bear family ... and voilà …the scene was complete …

I placed it in my balcony so people can view it from my living room … Don’t the teddies look cute!!!

Inspiration-Partition

Take a look at a DIY partition that was inspired by my mother-in-law’s casual remark…





There is an arch separating our dining room from our very tiny living room … through the arch one can also have a glimpse of our bedroom … sometimes it is awkward when we have unannounced guests while we’re dining … I could not fully cut off the living room as it would become tinier … One day my mother-in-law was talking about the swinging half doors that one finds in western movies … a bulb burst in my head and I further developed on this idea and got my hubby to help me make the partition …






Let’s take a closer look at the partition:

The wood used for the partition is cheap packing wood usually used to make crates … the pieces of wood are held together by a piece of wood and the panels are held together by brass joints … I made the drawings using acrylic paint and after it was completed the partition was sprayed with clear varnish…


Closeup of the colourful warli figures

I love the simple warli drawings … the joy of drawing simple line figures that together ends up in such attractive scenes depicting the simple life of villagers … is simply amazing!!

As the partition is half length it does not suffocate the living room … instead it opens out the living room and makes the whole place cozy and cheerful!!  ….

Welcoming Entrance

All over the world we find people using charms or decorations at the entrance of their homes to ward off the evil eye … In India too we find common sights of lemon and chillies hanging from the door … or masks of frightening demons … however these are mostly found in Hindu homes …


I was inspired by this  … but being a Christian I had to think of another way of having something at the entrance to ward off the evil eye … and voilà … I got the perfect idea …


I found this comforting Biblical verse written on a wooden bird … the verse reads: Teach me thy way O Lord and lead me (Psalm 27:11) …

I learnt to make a hanging planter from the following link: http://www.tattooedmartha.com/2013/05/14/hanging-mason-jar-planters/…

After making the planter I placed the bird with the verse right on top to protect my home …  the painting in the background is of a village scene painted on a broken piece of discarded marble slab …

I used our desi pickle bottles, thick coir rope, and money plants … To cover the ropes I hung some colourful clay bells … and our home was ready to ward off the evil and welcome people …

A Brief Introduction

Welcome to Demure Decor!

Hi! My name is Esther John and I’m a busy mother of two lovely children … I’m also an English language Trainer by profession … I love designing creative interactive child friendly learning materials to help young learners learn English … I also like to do artwork on wood and wall …  in fact it’s my dream to join a professional course and really learn the tricks of the trade …


As the name of my blog suggests … I love simple, ethnic and contemporary decor … something which should be unpretentious  but at the same time attractive enough to kindle my curiosity … lovely corners that beg me to explore … cozy seating that soothes me to curl up and dream … creative walls and colourful outdoor arrangement … the list is endless …  I love visiting other home decor and DIY blogs and try them out …  I also love looking out for lovely homes displayed in serials, ads and movies…


Through this blog I hope to share a few of my DIYs as well as favourite corners from everywhere … I hope that you would also visit and share yours …