A beautiful home is everyone’s dream. Don’t you think living in India is amazing because you get to play with old Indian aesthetics and bring more life to them with a modern touch?

City-based Interior Designer and Consultant Geetanjali Kasliwal lets you do the exact magic. Her brand AnanTaya Décor is one of the favorite spots to pick contemporarily crafted home items.

“I believe beauty keeps one sane. Beauty is to soul what food is to body,” says Geetanjali who is (visibly) surrounded by exquisite décor pieces we were soon going to inspect.

JWB – Today you will be guiding us on how one can make home a sane place. We are all ears to listen about experimental furniture and designer kitchenware.

Geetanjali – If to take inspirations from our Indian culture, I have few things to show. Of course, for interiors you can choose items that showcase historic India like this one:But amazingly, nowadays you can even make kitchen items add to your interior beauty like this salt & pepper spray that are in the shape of a mace (गदा)!…this represents the great Indian Salt Movement urging British to free our country. For me, this otherwise ordinary salt spray represents power. This is totally contemporary.

JWB – Taking our kitchen-talk further, how else can women empower and beautify their kitchen?

Geetanjali – Kitchen is no more a low-key affair. I will show you few things to justify my words.This ‘Chand-thaali’ or Crescent Thaali gets its inspiration from the famous ‘Chand-bali’, one jewelry that women love. You can see the full moon nesting on the crescent moon.In earlier times, the South-Indian community of Chettiars used to trade such pressure cookers. Bring them home and taste the old Indian traditions lost in the new generation.And this set of Pepper & Spice Grinders with interesting names – Lutyens Parliament Pepper Mill, Lutyens Connaught Pepper Mill, Lutyens Victoria Pepper Mill and the Lutyens Rai Sana Pepper Mill. It gives a tribute to Edwin Lutyens, the great British Architect who designed many buildings in New Delhi. Fill these with salt, pepper, spices, herbs and other blends!

JWB – Getting back to interiors, suggest some crazy experiments to us!

Geetanjali – Let me show you few examples. I call this the ‘Mars Table’. It looks like a UFO and its shape justifies its extraterrestrial appearance! You can even use it as a tray by detaching the legs.Check out the ‘Orbit Chair’, again a pattern that explains the celestial movement.

With this chair, one can now give a makeover to the old famous Indian ‘Mooda’.

This center table gives a new definition to ‘Pattern Formation’. You can see a new avatar of optical motifs in this one.It’s time you ditch the old rectangular wall mirrors. This mirror is all about geometry.

Also this ‘Lotus Clock’ that blooms happy times for you!

Talking about the chairs, this one allows you to sit in the ‘Aasana’ position? We call it the ‘Aasan Chair’, of course.

‘Aasana’ Chair

JWB – Can we do similar wonders for our garden?

Geetanjali – Why not? The oval shaped hanging pots are an example. Play with shapes, I said. Everywhere.And of course, lamps add that extra zing to green space. This is our Wire Lamp range inspired by bird cages.JWB – Wonderful! BTW, which colors represent this season’s mood?

Geetanjali – More of white mingled with indigo and green. These interior combinations are eye-soothing and soul-refreshing.

JWB – But what if one is tempted to use more colors?

Geetanjali – In that case, don’t keep the items boring. Bring home a red table, an orange cupboard, uniquely shaped cushions.

Kite cushions

JWB – At last, suggest us some smart gifts apart from the boring candles and photo frames.

Geetanjali – Talking about candles, I would like to show you a candle instead! This is an aromatic candle and once it’s used, you can use the holder as a tea set! You can never call this a boring gift! Will you?JWB – Thank you, Geetanjali! Our women readers are going to love these ideas.

Geetanjali – All I want to tell them is not to buy interiors to impress others. You have to live in that space, so decorate it according to your personal style and preference.