We had someone over for breakfast yesterday morning. We got talking about homes, the challenges of finding a new apartment within a modest budget in a great location, and the lack of availability. After exchanging notes about the travails of living in a home with mosaic flooring and underneath of sink home to generations of roaches, we wondered what takes precedence: location or floor plan? It is a well-known fact across the world that homes are often decades old in the heart of any city or well-developed neighborhoods. In this case, the home had both the factors, location and floor plan, in its favor. The only thing going against it was its age. So what do you do? Renovate, of course. If the foot print…

This home screams, “don’t shy away from the brightest and bold colors.” Learn how to make it work for your home. There are links to similar products you can buy locally. In a profile of over 1,000 images, this unassumingly simple image of a day bed in a high rise apartment in Brazil slithered its way into my heart for reasons unknown. Is it the teasing laid back character of the chaise? Do you have the same thoughts – day dreaming about lounging in this plush bed with a cup of tea on this lazy monsoon afternoon? I tried digging more information about this project in vain except pictures of this colorful apartment. I love it when one breaks the rules. Purple lamps? You bet.…

So if you were to choose just one accessory to decorate your home with, that you had the liberty of changing any number of times, what would it be? I’m leaning towards textiles going by the above picture. New Orleans based designer, Alyse Rodriguez, shows us how versatile furnishings are in infusing color, bringing life to a room, and in changing its mood in a jiffy. Against a white backdrop, I feel the room in its various avatars is conversing with you. The kilim and African patterned cushions in vivid colors are designed by Alyse. Bohemian? Eclectic? Call it what you like. To me, Alyse’s abode comes across as a form of self-expression and uninhibited color flow that is well balanced with its surroundings. A clever mix…