Decking up the living room

India is a country with a rich cultural heritage. Every state in India has its own traditions,language,art and culture. There are craftsmen and master craftsmen who for centuries have produced exquisite handicrafts in different materials,woodwork,items of décor,woven beautiful fabrics etc.

In our homes the drawing room is the room where one entertains guests and it is the one room in the house which is adorned with various decorative pieces and artwork. The doors,windows,light fixtures,flooring and the ceiling are the fixed part of the drawing room and the furniture,door and window coverings,rugs,carpets,artwork and loose items of décor comprise the moveable items in a drawing room.

If one wants to have a traditional or Indian décor in the drawing room in our homes our choices are limitless. Let us first talk about how the fixed part of the drawing room can be adorned. Door and window frames and shutters can have wood carvings or be hand painted and the shutters can also be embellished with panels of jaaliwork in wood or metal. The lintel and vertical surfaces of fixed openings can be clad with carved or hand-painted wood or stone panels and decorative brackets can be used to embellish their junctions.

Ceilings too can be given a decorative look by cladding carved wooden panels on the ceiling surface. For the flooring other than the obvious choice of stone,many companies nowadays are recreating the look of the old floors by manufacturing what is known as heritage tiles. These are machine made cement tiles and are available in a variety of patterns and colours.

Coming to light fixtures both ceiling and wall mounted ones,hanging lights and lamps,one can select fixtures and bases in brass,stone,terracotta,carved wood,hand-painted wood,metal,papermache,cane etc.,

Now the furniture which comprises the major part of drawing rooms and is inclusive of sofas,dewans,cabinets,chests etc. As far as furniture is concerned every part of our country has something to offer and the choices range between wooden carved and hand-painted furniture,cane furniture,furniture with decorative tiles,low dewans,jhoolas from different parts of our country such as Gujarat,UP and parts of south India etc.

The fabrics for upholstery for the furniture with an Indian flavour range between cotton,silk,jute,woven fabrics,khadi etc. in all vibrant and earthy colours. These could be plain or patterened,with block prints,embroidery or mirrorwork. Sofas,low dewans or jhoolas can be further adorned with cushions having decorative covers of mirrorwork,brocade or banarsi silk,zardosi work,embroidered cushion covers,or with block prints,kanthawork etc. Similar choices of fabric are available for window and door coverings i.e. curtains and blinds. Other than fabric blinds one very popular traditional blind is a natural woven blind of matchstick bamboo,locally known as chik. These come in a variety of textures,weaves and colours.

To adorn the walls of a drawing room we have a choice of miniature paintings,Tanjore paintings,Madhubani paintings,paintings on silk fabric,paintings on marble slab with gold paint and other vibrant colours. Fabric with mirrorwork from Gujarat popularly known as chakdas,and thangkas from North and North-East,can either be framed or dislayed by hanging from a decorative rod on the walls of a room. Prints of paintings by Indian artists with a traditional theme or subject can be framed aswell. The theme or subject of the paintings and artwork can be varied. It can depict incidents from mythological or folk tales,historical events,festivals etc. With such a vast range of choices to decorate the drawing room,this can be the one room in a home which showcases the rich Indian culture and handicrafts produced from every part of our country,in addition to being a visual delight for the guests and the inmates of the house. l

The author is an architect

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