Daily Herald: Home & Garden

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Saturday, 12 October 2013

MANAGING MONEY!

Every single rupee counts, especially during downturn; adopting a method to your purchasing and spending pattern could indeed help you manage your household better.

Every household is in India is feeling the pulse of the changing economic dynamics. While investing carefully during these testing times is one aspect that every woman of a house pays utmost attention to, listing things that will make life simpler is another aspect that would ease the tension off on how money flows out of your bank account.

Here's how to avoid spending more money?

Buy things that you would need the most and most important, buy things that you are going to use the most.
Cut down on your lifestyle needs which do not come under bare necessities.
Plan your weekly budget instead of a monthly one. This would give somewhat clear picture of what exactly you are thinking of spending on.
Don't buy toiletries and groceries in bulk as you used to do. Calculate how much of each stuff you are going to need and then make purchases accordingly.
Similarly, avoid stocking frozen food stuff in large quantities. Ditto for vegetable shopping. Planning vegetable purchases and frozen food purchases according to one's needs on a weekly or a daily basis would not lead to wastage, especially of vegetables.
Think economy and don't look for exotic vegetables which cost a bomb.
Reduce your spending on cosmetics that you can do away with till good time arrives.
Pay a careful watch on electricity consumption. Use the minimum of your microwave oven, electric rice cooker and also geyser. Refrigerator is a basic necessity, so you can't avoid that. However, you can save some units by lowering the coolness level according to the season. If the weather is pleasant and the atmosphere is cool enough, you can also do without the AC.
Cut short of your movie going and dining out spree. Arrange for a gourmet dinner and experience the fun of watching a movie at home with a homemade popcorn - unlimited fun and good sleep, good food and good life - that should be the priority in life, albeit with a well drafted list of dos and donts.

Friday, 11 October 2013

Home & Garden

The Perfect Sofa!

Unknown at 20:19 No comments:

Here's what you need to keep in mind when choosing one.
Sofas have always been and will be the focus of attention in living rooms, and so needs attention in both purchase and maintenance. Here's how you should go about selecting the ideal one for your home...

Size wise
It is important to first determine the sofa dimensions that will fit into the space in your room. Before you purchase, you must know the approximate width and length of your living room or hall.

Material matters
Once you know the size, select the upholstery. Choose a fabric that best suits your lifestyle — cotton, silk, wool or a blend or synthetic leather. Silk looks beautiful and classy. Cotton is perfect but is thin and linen wrinkles quickly. Chenille and synthetic leather are both soft and durable.

Pattern policy
If you place your sofa in a high-traffic zone in your home, or you have active kids at home, then it is wise to go in for a multi-colored pattern on the upholstery or tweeds which hide stains well.

Color coded
Color is the other important factor that is decided not only by your personal taste and preference.

Style mantra
You have to decide on the style — whether you'd want an ethnic one like a Rajasthani style or a modern style one in an abstract, eye-catching design.

Not getting these things? We will be posting the list of sofas you might like and where to buy them.

Sunday, 6 October 2013

Home & Garden

Ways to organise your book shelf

Unknown at 12:03 No comments:

Are you an avid reader? A book worm, who loves collecting books? But do you get depressed every time you take a look at your teeming book-shelf.

If you want to be a proud bibliographer and maintain all those precious books you've collected over years, here are a few tips on how to neatly arrange your book shelf.

Empty your book shelf and if you have more books than space on your shelf, pile up all the books that you will never read or those that your children have outgrown. Now you can either sell these books (a lot of internet websites buy second-hand books) or donate them to organizations, libraries or people.

Once you have decided on the books that you want on your shelf, it's time to categorize them. There are many ways to do that. You can slot them according to authors, titles, alphabetically or as per genres. You can also categorize them as fiction or non-fiction. Warning: Always store heavy books on the lower shelf and lighter ones on top. - Once you have your books classified, start arranging them. Place them vertically on the shelf (unless their too tall). Always put the binding side outwards, so that the title of the book is visible.

Tip to remember: Intermittently, dust the books shelf and the books with a small vacuum cleaner; this will keep you books in good shape.

Saturday, 5 October 2013

Featured Home & Garden

Your home reflects your personality

Unknown at 20:44 No comments:

It is a well-known fact and an accepted society norm today, that the way you dress, your lifestyle choices and the home and environment you live in, reflects your social standing. It is therefore not unusual that the concept of 'luxury living', an ever evolving concept is definitely here to stay. At the end of the day, everyone strives to achieve the perfect home and lifestyle that not only becomes your comfort zone and an extension of your personality, but also a special space that can be flaunted to friends and family.

In the current times home design and styling has become intrinsic to this expression of the self, almost becoming a story told through design. The home space is being passionately converted into an 'object' or possession reflecting the social status of the owner and his personality. To cater to this new-age demand, developers, architects and interior designers are continuously raising the bar, by adhering to international standards in terms of architectural and landscape design, amenities, facilities and services offered to the consumer.

There is no doubt that an increase in the trend of luxury living has lead to an influx of high end projects, luxury brands and cutting edge designs. In fact, this is one sector which was least affected during the economic slump, in the past couple of years. One of the most encouraging outcomes of this 'hip and new' mindset, has been the development of innovative concepts in interior design.
Homes have graduated from being just comfortable living spaces into the luxury segment that was earlier associated only with the hospitality industry. Newer and innovative materials are being explored in ways never done before. Furniture has been transformed into pieces of art, while art is increasingly used and adapted to define and help modify the space to add elegance, chutzpah and style to the end-product.
When it comes to luxury homes, it has become essential to design and finish one's space as per the latest, trendiest and most exclusive finishes, fixtures and fittings, furniture, furnishings etc. Easy availability and access to hi-end, custom- made designer furniture, furnishings, modular kitchens, a wide range of bath fittings and concepts and latest technology ensure that one's home can be modified into an ultra luxurious space, created to reflect one's social standing.

Also, with increasing double income, nuclear families, it has become much easier to afford designer homes. Additionally, the present generation has the ability to recognize, acquire and put together an ideal collection of unique, hand-picked objects (furniture, artifacts, art, knick-knacks, furnishings etc) that reflect ones personal style, taste and hence social status. Subtle yet classy personal touches not only enhance the home interior, but speak volumes about your actual personality, profession and position in society.
For example, little knick-knacks collected from all over the world immediately portrays the fact that the owner of the house is a well travelled, informed individual who would not hesitate to loosen his purse strings if the object of desire were to enhance his social standing amongst his peers. The younger generation are not afraid to live comfortably, flaunt their eclectic style and explore new aspects of design. They are well-informed and would not hesitate to go the extra mile to express their lifestyle choices.

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Featured Home & Garden Life

Eat well: The ayurvedic way of life

Unknown at 18:50 No comments:

Ancient wisdom suggests if you start your meal with heavy and sweet food, then move on to the savory part, and finally finish off with salad, you'll digest better and also manage to keep the flab away.

Ayurvedic cooking is about foods that suit your dosha (constitution). It involves a balanced meal, which nourishes and fulfills the requirements of the body, builds immunity, heals the body, aids digestion and eliminates waste. To avoid contracting season-specific illnesses, ayurveda recommends seasonal diets to help the body acclimatise to the season; warm spices and heavy grains on cold winter days and lighter foods such as fruits and vegetable salads during summer.

How to Start....

To start with an ayurvedic way of life, have a good look at your current diet and try consuming foods with fewer preservatives, artificial colours and chemicals. Check out how much of frozen, fried and fermented foods form your diet and find out if you can replace them with freshly-cooked meals.
Identify your dosha (vata, pitta, kapha) based on your physical attributes and emotional strength. Doshas define the requirements of your body and lifestyle. If you have a thin, long frame, are lively, chatty and always on the move, you have a vata constitution. Try to include warm, moist ingredients like ghee, oils, ginger, garlic and eggs in your meals. People with a pitta dosha are intense, intelligent, and goal-oriented and have a vibrant complexion. They require cooling foods like coconut, lots of fluids, salads, greens and fruits to pacify their fiery nature. People with a kapha constitution are lazy, often bulky, calm and patient by nature. They benefit from warm, dry and light foods like besan, hot spices like cloves and black pepper, pungent flavours like ginger-lemon, garlic chutney and teas.

Ancient wisdom for modern minds

To achieve good health, it's essential to digest the meal and assimilate the nutrients well; mealtime plays an important role here. Eat when you're hungry, and follow the rhythms of nature. For instance, the digestive fire is weak late at night and stronger in midday and around sunset. Have an early dinner. Replace coated aluminum cooking vessels with pure iron or brass vessels.
Moreover, use spices that ignite the digestive fire but only in the amount required to induce hunger and digest the food. Excessive is again against nature and health. Eat heavy, sweet foods at the start of a meal, sour and salty in the middle, and bitter astringents, like salads, towards the end for easy digestion. Because sweet and heavy oils ignite fire, salty and sour flavours process the foods eaten, and bitter astringents subside the ignited fire to complete the process.

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MANAGING MONEY!

The Perfect Sofa!

Ways to organise your book shelf

Your home reflects your personality

Eat well: The ayurvedic way of life

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