One Good Thing For Your Home

Hello World!!

How is the weather treating you. I am enjoying the last of the winter sun in my part of the world

and trying to infuse more warm colours around me. 

I told you in my previous blog (Anamika's Home Tour) that I have One Good Thing for you so here it is- a set of new cushions for my living room.

How do you like these cushions. I liked them for two reasons; one is that the embroidery on the cushions is the famous tangible cultural heritage of India called Toda Embroidery, which quenches my thirst for incorporating Indian art forms in my home decor and the second is that it is a product from a brand launched by a woman entrepreneur Chitra Ghildiyal. Let's meet the brain behind the brand called 'One Good Thing' and know more about the woman entrepreneur and her brand. 

Chitra: I am a designer of home decor and furnishings products with a brand name 'One Good Thing'. Taking a hint from my enthusiasm towards fine fabrics, handwork, arts, history and home decor, I quit my job as a communication specialist and started One Good Thing in June 2016. One Good Thing offers distinctive home furnishing pieces inspired and influenced by the heritage arts, cultures, history and people from around the world.

Most of the fabric,  dyes, other material and handy work used on One Good Thing is sourced from different parts of Rajasthan and is done by skilled craftsmen from interiors of the state. 

Image Credit: One Good Thing

Our products are available on Jaypore.com, Pepperfry.com, Eindianaugust.com, and Mora Taara stores in Mumbai and Gurgaon.

Now you know if you choose furnishing from a brand like One Good Thing, you not only support the artisans of India but also do your bit in empowering women of India. Not to mention you support #MakeInIndia campaign too. 

Now let's know more about Toda Embroidery!

The toda is a pastoral tribe of  Nilgiris(Ooty) of Tamilnadu. Toda embroidery is also known as 'Poothkuli', 'Torhbohr' or 'Pukhoor'. It is an artwork done by toda women. Toda embroidery is usually done with red and black threads on white cotton cloth and design is made by counting the threads using reverse stitch method. Usually, geometric pattern is made by counting warp and weft in the cloth. Patterns of Toda embroidery are inspired from nature, for example, Sun, Moon, animals, reptiles and rabbit ears. Out of practice, Toda women produce the design without even tracing the pattern on the cloth. Embroidered fabric can be used from both the sides. 

Embroidered fabric is worn by both Toda men and women as a traditional garment. Toda embroidery fabric is liked and purchased by lots of foreigners who visit Ooty. Toda tribe is proud of their heritage!!

Chitra has graciously sent me a set of these beautiful Toda embroidery cushions and I paired these celery Ice green cushions with burnt sienna cushion and throw. The fabric of these cushions is linen and its quality is excellent. To add a bit of drama I covered sofa with the patterned fabric in black and burnt sienna which is complementing both cushions and throw and creating a pulled together look.

If you liked the products you saw here please check out the links to One Good Thing's social media platforms:

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest

I am taking a break from blogging as I need to concentrate on some other more important things in my life but I'll be back for sure so stick around :) 

Happy Decorating Fellas!!

Make The Atmosphere In Your Home As Beautiful As The Decor

I am a very well organised and meticulous person when it comes to my home so home
odours have never been a problem. But the stickler for freshness that I am, I cannot help but
continuously try to make my home smell better!

Don't you think that a particular smell or fragrance is so strongly associated with our brain that the moment that particular smell reaches our olfactory receptors it brings back a lot of memories. A particular smell can easily transport you to the place where you have been to once. For an instance, the smell of unappetizing foods can take you to neighbour aunt's home whose home's smell and food you never liked as a child.

The problem with house smell is that the homeowner remains unaware of it or they become used to it and can't smell it the way other people can do. Between food, pollution and unattended water puddles, the odour of your home is something you might not notice.

Do you think your home does not smell well enough? Are you boggled as to why despite all the efforts, there seems to be something amiss with the freshness? Here is how you can keep your home enveloped in an ambience of freshness.

How to make your home smell better:
We are all well aware that urban apartments are spatially challenged. This is the most common reason why the odour lasts for long in tiny apartments. Your home may not exactly be smelling bad, but it may lack a certain freshness which is often almost impossible to detect.

The smell can arise from various sources like cooking, pet odour, old furniture, carpet, mold, cigarette smoke, trash cans, smelly bathrooms or sometimes even a strong body odour can contribute to house smell. If you are able to find out the source of smell you have already won half the battle. Now let's fix the issue.

If unappetizing food or cigarette/cigar smoke is the cause of house smell just open up the windows and let the fresh air circulate in your home. Now spray some best smelling air fresheners for home, I have Godrej aer spray and it works just amazingly. Your home will smell inviting and fresh. They have a special fragrance – Musk after Smoke that does wonders to mask the smoke smell. I use it frequently post parties at home. 

What if old furniture, carpets, and trash cans are the offenders. Then house cleaning, steam cleaning or vacuuming the carpet, repainting the furniture and emptying trash can regularly are the solutions to the house smell problem but if you don't wish to spend a lot on all these then air freshener spray is the answer. If you have guests coming over, it’s great to get your home and bathrooms smelling fresh and ready to set the mood for the party. 

Next comes the odour from pets that can be really annoying because if you are staying with them, it is almost certain you will not be able to identify it as a cause. Give your pets a nice bath and try to keep them clean regularly. Get them house trained. Once you have fixed the problem it's time to fill your home with a long lasting fragrance. Yes! I am talking about air freshener.

Toilets smell for obvious reasons. Maintaining them well and cleaning them regularly can totally dissipate the smell. Make sure that after cleaning the toilets you use the best bathroom freshener that doesn't fade with time.

These are some tips I follow religiously to make my home smell amazing all the time. After all, your home is your den where you stay day in and day out and you know well how smells have a great impact on our mood. So, encourage a cheerful disposition with a fresh, beautiful home aroma.

Now we'll meet in the new year dear readers. Take good care of yourself and have a great time with family and friends. In case you missed reading my previous blog on my blogging journey till date here is the link for you!!