Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Sentiments in Decor and A Project

I am a sentimental fool and I am quite happy being one :) I am very zealous and protective when it comes to family and love preserving memories......be it scraps of paper, frayed photographs, heirlooms and so much more. Every trip back to India, I insist on working on some project or the other related to the past! It keeps everyone including my parents on their toes :) 

My aim is someday to self publish a coffee table book about our family and gift it to my children.....maybe on their 18th birthday! It is going to require time, a lot of effort and research. I need to get information from a lot of people to make this happen!The book will be filled with pictures, letters and memoirs and my hope is that they will treasure it! 

I think along the same lines about my decor. I want our home to be a visual collage of our memories, our life and our roots! The anklets/payals  in the image below belonged to my Grandmother. Displaying these anklets at home make for an unconventional decor accessory and yet, I want to find a place for them somewhere in my house. I don't want them tucked away in a drawer! These anklets might never be used again !! The reason is simple.....they are simply too heavy to be worn unless you are a modern day princess:) I don't know how the ladies managed it in those days!! I wore them at my wedding, so I know just how much they weigh :) 

I would love to hear suggestions on how I could incorporate these anklets into my decor at home.  Do please write in your thoughts and ideas! It will be great to hear from you. 

For those of you interested in jewelry and history, you should visit Puja Bhargava's "Indian Jewellery Project". This venture aims to source the visual history of Indian jewelry through the personal archives of families. A fascinating initiative in my opinion. To know more, you can join them on Facebook!



Image: My Dream Canvas

15 comments:

A Treat for the Senses said...

They are beautiful, and definitely deserve pride of place in your home. I cherish such heirlooms myself, and can totally relate to your sentiment here :-) Why don't you place it on a table, with a small tea light holder in the centre of the anklet ? Will look beautiful !

puja said...

Thanks a ton, Anu, for lending your support to IJP, yet again! super appreciate it! :)
Love your sentiments about antique & heirloom stuff being woven into our lives again.....couldn't agree with you more!

WeekendTweaks said...

Anu, The anklets does look heavy. But its beautiful. You can pin them inside a shadow box.

Designwali said...

I'm sentimal too. I do photobooks all the time for my kids - hoping one day they will cherish them too! THose anklets are gorgeous. You can frame them in a indigo blue velvet backdrop and white/white gallery frame. It would look amazing.

My Dream Canvas said...

Karishma, what a lovely idea. Thanks for writing in.

My Dream Canvas said...

Puja, love IJP and your vision for it. Thank you for stopping by.

My Dream Canvas said...

What a lovely idea. I like the thought of these anklets in a blue velvet box, very regal!!

Shalini Pereira said...

Anu what an incredible post... you seem to have written down exactly how I feel when it comes to decorating my home. I am also very sentimental about family, memories and holding on to our roots... I hope you go ahead with the coffee table book... I'm sure your children will treasure it... ps the payals are stunning... they don't make payals like this anymore... now days they are so flimsy and modern :(

Ruma said...

Anu, these anklets are gorgeous and what a lovely way of preserving and creating memories. I would put them in a shadow box and either hang it or preserve them in a shadow box tray. That tray can be a beautiful accessory on your dresser or even your coffee table. I have framed a chunky beautiful necklace in a shadow box and put it on my dresser.

Unknown said...

Anu, they look lovely and do pass on some ideas to me too. I have similar silver anklets 'jahaanjhars' as we call it. They belonged to my mom in law's mom and it was given to me on my wedding. I wore it at the reception and they totally scraped my ankles what with the weight and all. So I too have it locked in my closet and it's a pity to do so. Displaying it would be a lovely idea :)

Anonymous said...

wow they are beautiful, if you have any antique Lota, you could use this to decorate the neck maybe on 2 different sizes of Lota and use it as a display piece :)

Unknown said...

beautiful piece...must be treasured and loved. how about a silver antiquated frame, get a silk cloth to be streched inside the frame...and drape the anklets on silk. you can stich it...sending you a pic of something similar....

Shanthi said...

Such a treasure Anu! Will look forward to seeing it in your lovely home.

My Dream Canvas said...

Thank you ladies for all your wonderful suggestions! I really appreciate it.

A Sunny Yellow Window said...

Thats a beautiful piece, and loved reading this post. Just read another one on the same lines in A treat for the Senses, and totally agree about emotions holding a special place in decorating.

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