One of India’s most loved deities, Lord Krishna, celebrates his birthday tomorrow on Krishna Janmashtami. In a way, this also heralds the start of the festive season and is a great time to give your home a festive makeover. If you are wondering how to go about it, read on.
The market today has a plethora of decor launches that you can effectively incorporate in your home for a festive appeal. Use home decor elements which are India inspired and colourful.
“Drapes and furnishings are the easiest ways to create a new look for your home during festivals. Take a look at what needs to be changed or refreshed — curtains, bed and sofa covers, table covers and the like. Keep the look truly Indian. Incorporate all your decor elements beautifully to leave your family and guests truly spellbound this Janmashtami,” suggests Sonam Gupta, design head, Tangerine.
The ‘desi’ lookDelicate carvings, bright-coloured furnishings, flowers, bells and toranas can be easily incorporated into the existing decor to give your home a festive look. This apart, you can add elements of wall decor that reflect the festival. Use wall hangings that have an ethnic touch, especially ones that are embellished with stones, mirrors, and patchwork. Embroidered cloth panels are sure to add to your celebrations. You can use decorative rangolis on your centre table and add a dash of bling at home.
“The idea is to decorate your home with new furniture, mattress and other
artefacts. A festive makeover is given to the whole house, including the puja room, bedroom, kitchen, drawing room and other rooms of the house. The space is brightly decorated to welcome Lord Krishna and fill the house with his blessings,” says Ravi Sahgal, executive vice president, Kurlon Enterprise Limited.
Bhakti Hegde-Shetty, director, Chartered Housing, interiors, adds, “Many homes also adorn the motif of the footprints of the lord as a baby. These can be done more creatively and as a fun group activity by the members of the family. Motifs of cows, flutes, peacock feathers, butter urns and churns are evergreen favourites and any Janmashtami celebration will be incomplete without these. As the festival commemorates the birth of Krishna, you must not forget the cradle, which can be a beautiful decorative piece for the occasion. The symbol of Om is considered very sacred in every Hindu ritual. A lot of matching religious ornaments and decorations can be easily paired to the theme with this particular motif on them.”
Dash of personal styleJanmashtami is also a great occasion to get your creativity to the forefront. You can decorate small terracotta pots using glitter glue, paints, stick-on gems or bindis and paint them. You can also set up a special corner for a small swing or jhoola with an idol of baby Krishna. Decorate with peacock feathers and fresh flowers. Adding a string of sparkling tiny lights and some potted plants will lend an eye-catching appeal to the space. In fact, you can set up the arrangement on a colourful tablecloth or bedsheet and even use a small cradle to house the idol.
The idea is to give your home a cheerful facelift with the best props and antiques. So, go for Krishna-themed wall decals, cushion covers or funky wall clocks. In fact, wall decals are great because they can be easily peeled off post the festival. “A major attraction and feature of this festival is how people depict the story of the lord’s life with dolls. Themed dolls that depict Krishna’s life and teachings are displayed, just like Jesus in the manger during Christmas. Such ideas let your creativity show through and are also a collector’s passion, especially when one uses rare or uncommon artefacts,” avers Bhakti.
Brighten up
Rajat Singhi, founder and creative director, Address Home, believes lighting can make or break the look. “Light up the room as it holds the key to beauty and serenity. Keep your puja room properly lit and ventilated to allow the flow of positive energy.
Include a chandelier in the centre to make it prettier. You can also add colourful LED lights in the mandap or around the shelf to decorate them,” he says. LED lights that mimic the flames of a candle can uplift the appeal. Moreover, these lights are also safer around children and pets and there are diverse options to choose from.
Colour talk
The colours of Janmashtami – white and yellow – are good for decor. The light should not be very bright, and the jhoola with the Radha Krishna idol should be a bit muted. “As Krishna is also called Pitambar, one can use myriad shades of lemon and yellow in the upholstery, play with the curtains in bright yellow or shades of yellow with a subtle look to the furniture. Lot of ethnic and rural stuff can be used to decorate the home. One can choose and play around any one theme based on Krishna’s life. I personally love to decorate my house with peacock colours as my home and workplace is full of various Krishna idols and paintings. It lends a look of Braj to my home and studio,” opines fashion designer Rohit Verma.
According to Deepak Whorra, director and creative head, Episode, “Statues of Radha Krishna and Krishna alone as a child, or an adult in his various avatars beautifully decorated, with songs of Bal Krishna or narration of the wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita are elements that can be considered for giving the home a makeover on Janmashtami. Turquoise and peacock blue colours should be the highlights. Rangoli in these colours will create the right Janmashtami ambience.”
Decorate your home with marigold flowers for a fresh and festive look. “The entrance of your main door can be enhanced by making tiny footprints of Lord Krishna and floral rangolis. Throw in a lot of sequenced peacock cushions and Radha Krishna-painted cushions on your sofas and chaise lounges to give the festive look. Modern paintings on the theme of Krishna can be hung above a console at any corner that one may wish to highlight. Porcelain decorative plates depicting the image of Lord Krishna and Radha can be decorated in living room,” says Neetu Arora, owner and designer at Ivy Concept.
With so many fabulous ideas to choose from, it’s time to get going and give your home a fabulous makeover this Krishna Janmashtami.
