Therapeutic defiance

When i was expecting little N, people would come to our place and tell us how we will never be able to maintain the aesthetics of our house once we had a baby. But we had little N and yes it was challenging, we had to make adjustments and teach him how to adjust with our lifestyle. There were and are moments of frustrations. But all in all i think we have both made adjustments along with some sacrifices and i think it’s safe to say that we have reached a congenial understanding of each other. He knows and understands his limits and boundaries (at least we think he does) and we respect his space and let him grow.

This post however is not a confessional out pour of a design mom. It is however about a small challenge i put myself up to, who knows to even spite the above mentioned, self appointed advisory committee. I just recently sent some not so nice pictures of my space to one of my favorite websites, Apartment Therapy and much to my surprise got published. The exciting part was that we got featured but i have to say regretfully that I wish I had sent some more fun pictures and ones that were better photographed. It also felt good to be featured cause little N is an integral part of this house and it kind of felt like an achievement and a kick to all the negativity that people fill you with when you are expecting a baby.

So here we are in our home exactly at 1.5 of Nyleness and still living our lives the way we imagined it to be or even better than we expected. Since expectations were scarred, i took it up as a challenge to prove people wrong. Having a baby is not a life ending experience. It maybe a life altering experience but one that teaches you to grow and learn as you go. True, life is not as we knew it to be when it was just 2. But the number 3 seems to be working out just fine. And our home is organically growing with us, one layer after another. Hope you enjoy our nichelious abode.

object of my affection

In the Architects and designers section of Architectural Digest I came across this very inspiring piece discussing “what is one accessory, piece of furniture or design element in your home you cannot live without?”

It got me thinking of the object of my affection in my home, that one piece that is so very dear to me. The accessory that I cannot live without, the one design element that makes my home very close to home (my homeland). And it brought me to this group of sepia prints that hold sentimental value for me.





The three images, from left to right anti-clockwise are of three different cities of Pakistan, Peshawar (Qissa Kahani Bazaar, transl: story-telling bazaar), Karachi (Tollington Market) and Lahore (Badshahi Mosque) photographed towards the end of the nineteenth century. The fourth piece is a post card in the most beautiful Arabic calligraphy of the Ayat-ul-Kursi (verses from the Quran).

One would question why these particular pieces. Well for one, the three photographs were originally part of a calendar that someone had heartlessly thrown in the garbage at my architecture school back home. Now I’m no garbage digger, but as I saw the grandeur and serenity of the Badshahi Mosque magically captured by an unnamed photographer through his camera lens and stored forever in this image, I could not help myself. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. 7 years ago when I had pulled it out of the trash I had no idea what I would do with these images or how I would use them. But here they are 7 years later framed and cherished. The objects of my affection, a constant reminder of home, seamlessly bridging the gap of nostalgia, shedding light on childhood memories. My companions during the day and inspiration at night fall.

As for the postcard, it is part of my father’s wide range of postcard collection, that I unquestionably inherited (my siblings dare not put up a fight). Seeing these pieces everyday make me positively reminiscent and make my house a home.

I hope you enjoyed my object of affection. What is yours? Please do share