Thursday, July 29, 2010

Gifts from our children!





Besides the indescribable, non-material gifts our children give us, they sometimes give us beautiful material objects as well!
My daughters fell for this beautiful kalamkari bed cover, and brought it for us on their last visit. Although it was intended to be a divan cover, I thought it far too beautiful to not be in our bedroom, so I added block-printed panels to the sides, and voila! The tree of life cushion covers on the bench are from Tilonia, bought years ago at an exhibition in Chennai. (The bedside lamps, from Fabindia, were also given to us by our older daughter, who was tired of the mismatched lamps we'd been using. I had to replace the lampshades, after melting the original ones with high-wattage bulbs! The photo frame in the last photo is a gift from The Mad Momma).
When my sons went on a brotherly trip to Goa last year, they brought us this beautiful bronze bell which hangs on the curtain rod outside our room, among other interesting things. It has a lovely deep tone, and both the tall sons often manage to ring it quite unintentionally!
The older son also bought us this extraordinary Azeri rug from Isfahan, on his recent trip to Iran. I find the design and weave most unusual, and love the muted colours.The elephant print cushion covers are from Jim Thompson, and were given to me by Moppet's Mom when we visited her in Thailand in 2008.
Our children's gifts make them a constant presence in our home, even though they are rarely physically with us! God bless you all.

21 comments:

Unmana said...

That rug is awesome. Everything you've photographed is beautiful - you have such a lovely home! But that rug...

The Bride said...

I love the kalamkari bedspread. Aww i want me some kalamkari now!

Nitya said...

You have a beautiful home, Dips!

Unknown said...

Looks lovely Dipali .

Arundhati said...

Your home is lovely, very tastefully done and welcoming. I love what you have done with the kalamkari, adding the panels

The Soul of Alec Smart said...

So beautiful. If I had to choose one thing, it would be the Tree of Life cushions and rug.. really nice :)

Banno said...

What nice gifts, and a nice 'presence' to have in the kids' absence.

bird's eye view said...

the bedspread is fab!!

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

aww what a cute post! (and everything is lovely too)

Sands said...

They all look absolutely gorgeous right down to how you have put them together :) I have a kalamkari wall hanging that I love and was a gift from a good friend!

the mad momma said...

i'm your child, i'm your child. yayyy!!!

everything looks awesome doosi nani

Lekhni said...

They are all very pretty, and while I love the kalamkari bedspread and the rug, I wonder why you didn't mention the ornate bed frame, which is also very beautiful and deserves a description.

On another note, why are the nightstands blue? I'm thinking an earth tone (or maybe matching the color of the bed frame) would be a better idea. What do you think?

uttara said...

they are all very beautiful

dipali said...

Thanks, everyone! My home is basking in all these compliments:)
@the mad momma: Yayyy:)
@lekhni: The night stands are blue because they are part of the original furniture in this semi furnished rented house, and the slatted folding tables that were my bedside tables have been polished and are now in the sitting room.
The wood and wrought iron bed frame isn't from my kids- we'd bought it from Usha Lexus in Noida about ten years ago. Much as I love wrought iron, it is a pain to dust, though.

Lekhni said...

Ah, that explains the blue :)

I can imagine the dusting part - I have a carved wooden bed frame which is a pain too, and this land is of course much less dusty than India. Yours must be really high maintenance :(

Tabitha Bird said...

Beautiful rug!

Thanks for visiting my blog. I twas lovely to find yours.

Sue said...

I really love how the bedspread coordinated with the cushion covers. :)

dipali said...

@Tabitha, Sue: Thank you.

radha said...

Your house looks so lovely. I finally got rid of a Kalamkari rug ( after replacing one with another!!) and that too with regret, but they had faded. I have a brass bell ( which I got from Sundari Silks, Chennai - yes, you should look at things other than saris at that shop.
And god bless your kids too!

dipali said...

@Radha: Thanks for your appreciation and the blessings to my kids:)
Yes, I also love the handicrafts at Sundari Silks- but I've been away from Chennai for some years now!

Trish said...

OMG!!OMG!! everything is beautiful!!!I so wanna come see all this in person! Someday ,D,someday!