They say our initial formative years in life effect us the most and shape our personalities to a great extent. And I absolutely believe in this thought. How simplicity is beautiful is something I grew up watching around my Home & I think most Indian Homes would be no different at least in the earlier times.
My grandmother who had the finest of everything being from a royal family yet she rarely ever changed her pair of earrings or flaunted any jewels from those simple pearl drops to her favourite ring, I never saw her wear her many diamonds, ruby’s, emeralds and as a very curious teen once even blatantly asked her Naanisa why don’t you wear these beauties ever. To which she had the most unusual & humbling reply. Diamonds are bad they create distances between loved ones, don’t value them so much in life ever I think it was her way of telling a child not to pursue materialistic things in life.
Anyways here I won’t divulge much about her life as a royal child that possibly contributed to this thought but yes her minimalist life did leave a great impression on me, her favourite pearl ring and drops and only a few pastel sarees and Ghagras that she repeatedly wore , washed by hand herself. This simple yet elegant grace was hard to match. Mom is no different I have rarely grown up seeing Mom being a hoarder of anything or a shopaholic thats inspite of being in the Defence and travelling and living in different parts of the country.
Goes without saying I have their genes and I do aspire to reach those levels of minimalism and simplicity someday. Far from it now I strive to strike a balance at least in this consumeric era of ours but hopefully we’ll get there someday.
This probably has rubbed off to some extent on our decor style too. To me Decor could be simple, inexpensive, yet stunning and need not always be about massive collections of expensive things. And I am glad the world is slowly gravitating towards this philosophy too.
So today I decided to quickly pen down few things that are almost free or found around the Home but make beautiful decor pieces without almost any investment….
Glass Bottles – Milk , Beer , Wine, Oil
Has to be my favorite…. Whether its Milk bottles, Wine or Beer. Make a propagation station out of them or Pop a simple pothoes cutting Aka money plant or a few foraged flowers. I have also seen some people use them like candle stands on Pinterest. A couple of months ago my help asked me if she could take one bottle with the money plant and decorate her home. Its probably the most Joyous thing anyone ever said to me.
Mason Jars
Not far behind the bottles are Jars. Mason Jars, Coffee Jars doesn’t matter. They look great with a few stems of any seasonal flowers or leaves even. Serves as the Perfecto Vase. Place them on a few old books and the rustic vintage vibes will be such a charm. If you love DIY paint them to make them look like vintage glass. Or you could decoupage them if Shabby Chic is more your Vibe. My personal favourite is some Fishnet Wrapped Jars that is made from Jute ropes and I shall try them very soon. If you lack DIY skills like me just put a bunch of different glass jars with flowers together to make an interesting center piece for a gorgeous table scape.
Candle Jars/Tins/ Cups
I use my Candle jars as Tea light holders sometimes and sometimes to store herbs. Storing herbs this way elongates their life and they look pretty adorable too. Take a look below Thyme resting in an old candle container. You can also propagate the ones that root into soil easily to grow your own herb garden. Old Tins/ Maggi Cups can be used as Planters or even a vase for rustic charm. Paint them or get creative with some stencil art on them to bring some farmhouse charm into your garden.
There you go a few ideas to start decorating your space on almost zero budget. Honestly there are tons more just look around and you’ll figure out so many things one could use creatively. Budgets should not be a constraint when creativity is the fuel to Decorate. I would love you to tell me some of your ideas too in the comments section below. Happy Monday to you all !
love, Kamakshi
