An Indian wedding is so much fun but due to the hustle bustle of ceremonies and shopping, everybody forgets to decorate the house. If youre looking to give your home some Indian style, choose colours, fabrics and accessories that create a subtle yet inspiring look, says an expert.
Gunjan Agnihotri, founder of Amila Finishing Lounge, a fashion and lifestyle start-up, shares some basic yet trendy tips to decorate your home.
* Lights, lights and more lights: Most special ceremonies in India traditionally involve the use of earthen diyas. If you can’t get your hands on diyas, you can use tea lights and candles to achieve the same effect. Place floating candles in bowls with flowers and line the entryway with tiny twinkling tea lights. If you are not allowed to open flames at the wedding venue, you can use electric tea lights and strings of LED lights.
2. Traditional flowers like marigold and jasmine: While all weddings include flowers, there is a difference in the flower arrangements for Indian weddings. Traditional flowers are easily available and much cheaper than using western flowers. Even lengths of these flowers strung together can be hung all over the house with pictures of the bride tied between thread.
* Traditional accents and accessories: Highlight the space with easily available and fun accents. You can use pinwheels, colourful pots, kaleeras, temple bells, traditional Rajasthani puppets. Earthen pots and hanging accents can create the perfect ‘desi’ effect at your wedding. Use unpainted versions of these, or colored in terracotta, rust and white tones for extra visual appeal.
* Bold and warm coloured fabric: An easy and cheap way of transforming the house for wedding is bringing in bold and fun colours like fuchisia pink, lime green, yellow and ice blue. Using such colour palettes will also make your home cosy and welcoming for your guests. For more drama and solid colour scheme, you can match the chair and table runners with the colour of the drapery.
* Beads and tassels: Add beaded or tasselled fringes to table runners, seat backs, centerpieces and even napkin holders. You can get pre-made trims from fabric stores or buy them online if you aren’t keen on putting them together on your own!
* Rangoli and traditional Urli: These can be used to create a dramatic entrance. Rangoli can be made by sand and coarse glitter to create appealing images on the floor of the venue and fill them in with petals from different flowers. For extra effect, place a diya stand or an idol in the centre of the image and use tea lights to make it glimmer.
