Colour trends for 2012, straight from the Milan Furniture Fair

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If you have ever wonder where the trends in Interior Design originate, the answer is from the Milan Furniture Fair. This annual event is the design world’s answer to Paris fashion week! 

Although some people might be put off by the fact that a fair somewhere in Milan directs the way the entire world decorates. Others might be fairly relieved to know that they have a ready-made colour scheme to pick from. It certainly helps to avoid the agony of indecision - spending hours with colour palettes and not knowing which colours to choose. So if you belong to the latter category here are the hot colours for your home for 2012. Now you can go ahead and decorate without any stress. Just don’t forget to thank me for letting you in on the secret!

So what trends are emanating from this year’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile? The dominant colour this year has to be Blue - Aqua, Cobalt, Sky and Retro hues of the colour are everywhere. You would be bang on trend if you have a sleek Cobalt couch in your living room or you could go by the book and pick up a bright blue armchair for your study.

Blue also gets combined with Mint, Yellow and Orange in a hark back to retro trends.

Orange and Yellow seem to be the accent colours this season. You would do well to pick up your accessories in these two colours. Take inspiration from the way these shades are used to create gorgeous pops of colour.

Blue seems to be everywhere as it gets combined with Pink and lavender in an interesting albeit feminine combination.

Purples, Pinks and Lilacs are also quite prominent.

   All images courtesy Anthony at Design Field Notes

Earth Day with Anthropologie

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My Earth Day resolution for this year is “saving water”, by giving up leisurely (read wasteful) baths and taking quick 5-minute showers instead. 

If you are wondering where my inspiration comes from, just look at how Anthropologie are marking Earth day this year – by putting on stunning underwater theme windows at their stores across the US. These windows are public art with a very relevant message, which will no doubt inspire thousands of people to make small changes to their lifestyles. So what change are you making to your lifestyle this Earth Day? No matter what steps you’re taking - big or small – every little change will help make the world a greener place.

Rockefeller Centre, New York, NY

Rockefeller Centre, New York, NY

Columbus, OH

Dunwoody, GA

Edgewater, NJ

Nashville, TN

New Orleans, LA

Burlingame, CA

Allen, TX

Boston, MA

Paramus, NJ

Indianapolis, IN

Corte Madera, CA

Next month, one of us could own these oceanic creations. In May, select stores will be auctioning off their displays to benefit the marine habitat activists –the WylandFoundation - who raise awareness for the importance of healthy oceans and waterways through public art programs.

All images courtesy Anthropologie.

Cambridge in Holi colours!

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Holi the Indian festival of colour was celebrated recently by the Cambridge University Indian Society at the Queen's Green. I will let the photographs speak for themselves as they sum up all the fun and frolic, colour and camaraderie of this unique festival, enjoy! 

All photographs courtesy Max Liu of Cambridge University Photographic Society (PhoCUS). Thank you so much Max.

Cambridge Raincoat Company

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Here is something to brighten your day next time it rains - beautiful raincoats in yummy colours from the Cambridge Raincoat company. I love the way they have focussed on the cyclists and combined style with utility. Most of the pictures in their brochure show students with their cycles in a quintessentially Cambridge setting, as they go about their day in and around the colleges.

Picture courtesy the Cambridge Raincoat Company

A little yellow pick-me-up!

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I have been working flat out on my thesis since a week. I'm mentally fatigued, my eyes feel gritty and tired and my neck feels frozen stiff. And to make it worse today was the dullest, greyest most depressing day in weeks. Guess it's high time for a pick-me-up and what can be better than a cup of Vanilla and Camomile tea, Shortbread biscuits and a bright yellow chair in my study. There, just the thought of that makes me happy.

 

      

Rickshaw recollections

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I was in Paris recently and spent an immensely enjoyable afternoon walking along the Champs Elysees, ogling the impossibly elegant window displays and enjoying scrumptious Ladurée macarons (more about that in a separate post). It was all fun and good but by the time I reached Place de la Concorde my sore feet reminded me how far I had walked from my hotel. Imagine my surprise then on coming upon a rickshaw, right under La Grande Roue! Talk about finding something just when you need it.

Parisian Rickshaw and my friendly driver

Tempted by the drivers friendly summons I went for a short ride on the Parisian rickshaw. It made me smile as I compared this comfortable rickshaw, smoothly gliding along the grand boulevards with the tangle, screech and jolts of a rickshaw ride in “purani Dilli” or old Delhi. My mind drifted to a hot summer afternoon – three girls crammed into a tiny rickshaw, hanging on for dear life as it maneuvers speedily through the narrow alleys. We wedge our toes tightly into the foot-rest, for we know that when the driver brakes sharply at the next obstruction, it is the only thing which will save us from toppling over.

A rickshaw ride is the best way to explore the sights, sounds and smells of any new place. You are on the street, moving along at a leisurely pace but at the same time you don’t need to worry about getting lost. Moreover, it is a green mode of transportation, reduces congestion and creates jobs. For this reason, the rickshaw is increasingly becoming visible in tourist hot spots of London and Paris.

An artist who like me seems to be completely enamored by rickshaws is Rajkumar Sthabathy, he has done a whole series of watercolors depicting this ubiquitous mode of transport on the streets of South India. I love the way he captures the colorful patterns painted on the rickshaws along with the burnt sienna of their rusting iron bodies. What makes his work take on a deeper meaning is the fact that he captures these strong hard workers in a moment of quite reflection, lined sun burnt faces telling a story of lives filled with endless toil. He depicts the rickshaw as a precious source of livelihood; the driver waiting alertly for the next passenger adds to the sense of anticipation in his work. I find myself waiting along with them, wondering when the next passenger will come along. Here is a selection from the beautiful paintings for you to enjoy. The rest of the collection can be viewed here.

    

Food Discovery Friday – Pink Grapefruit!

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All right so I have to concede. I am finding it incredibly exciting discovering the new and exotic variety of produce in Cambridge. It has to be one of the highlights in the initial phase of expat life. I can say with certainty, because I am enjoying it to the fullest!  

I love roaming around supermarkets and farmer’s markets like an Alice in wonderland. These places hold endless surprises for me, and I can happily spend hours browsing through fruit and vegetables and herbs and greens. It is hard to believe how much there is to see, and eat!

I have to say it’s a pleasant surprise for me, I did not expect to find anything exotic in the food department here. Unlike countries such as Italy or France, Britain is not exactly known for its cuisine. However, being a former colonial power, it has always been a melting pot of culture and food. Foodstuffs from all it’s colonies reached Britain’s shores and were readily adopted by the people - tea from China, spices and herbs from India and bananas from Bermuda which arrived as late as 1633. The country today is home to diverse ethnic groups and the huge variety of produce available, is a reflection of this multi-cultural society.

Also being a small island country it’s impossible to grow everything here so most of the food is imported. The supermarket shelves are stacked full of thousands of different ingredients from all corners of the world and I am having a wonderful time discovering all of them. One Friday at a time!

Each Friday I will write about one ingredient that is completely new to me – something I never ate, cooked with, or even saw before in my life. As far as possible I will try to keep it seasonal.

The Discovery for this Friday is a Pink Grapefruit! A fruit, which looks like an orange from outside, but inside, it conceals the most loveliest surprise - deep pink colored flesh. A color that will make you gasp – it is so gorgeous! I find myself cutting it open eagerly just to look at the color inside. Almost like opening a specially wrapped gift.

But for all it’s beauty the taste is a bit of a letdown, you would expect such a richly colored fruit to be extremely sweet, but it’s usually quite sour and takes some getting used to. The sourness does go away with cooking though, so many consider it the perfect fruit for baking. I decided to give that a go today morning. It was beautiful and sunny outside, after almost a week and I just had to match that with an equally bright breakfast. Yes, you can have it for breakfast on a weekday! It's one of the quickest breakfast recipes.I Promise.

The recipe is adapted from Sarai’s recipe for baked Grapefruit on her blog “Sweet Sassafras” that I really enjoy reading. I cut the Grapefruit in half, sprinkled some brown sugar, dusted a little cinnamon, chopped a few walnuts over the flesh and popped it into the oven. It was beautiful when it came out of the oven, better than I imagined. The earthy cinnamon tones add depth to the grapefruit while the brown sugar lightens the sourness. All the flavors complement each other perfectly. I am hooked is all I can say. In addition, It’s a gluten-free-feel-good start to the day, what can be more perfect than that?



Like a piece of the Sun on my plate.



Baked Spiced Grapefruit (Adapted from Sarai's recipe on Sweet Sassafras)

Ingredients

1 Grapefruit

½ tsp brown sugar

Sprinkle of Cinnamon powder

1 Walnut – chopped into small pieces

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. Cut the Grapefruit in half then cut around each section so that it will be easier to scoop out later. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Put it on the top shelf in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes.