You know the beautiful Asha Bhatnagar, right? We spoke about her few months back in our campaign ‘Aid to Maid’. After seeing her home that day, we decided to write a blog on her classic taste. She can bring together vibes of different cultures under one roof.

Her home is a mini Tribal India. Wife of a ‘fauji’, as she describes herself, says she collected most of the house-items during the innumerable transfers of her army husband. In this blog, Asha honestly tells how one can beautify a home in low expenses:

The Rooftop

You can see the how different each chair is from the other one. However, these tribal chairs are my favorite. They are very old but I have kept them. I love old things. I bought them from an art professor who teaches in Banasthali Vidhyapith, Newai. The cushions are later made according to their unique shapes.

The table at the center has mountain’s dry oaks inside.

This wall was made artistic using old tiles that were used under an old bathtub. Yes, I even saved the old tiles because I knew I could use them effectively somewhere. Some of the idols kept on them are from childhood or are gifts.

So that the broom and dusters stay at one place and don’t look clumsy, which they generally do, I asked a local iron dealer to cast this basket for me.

My Bedroom

The old tribal artworks I have collected over the years are hanged over my bed. They are quite old, the paint is shredding already but that only increases the beauty.

The daily wear clothes are just hanged outside the almirah. The room is small and exactly represents my space.

Space Outside Bedroom

Basically, every room has one or more souvenirs from various cities we had lived in. These are two (very) petite wooden dining tables from Sikkim. Who doesn’t love dragons?

Guest Room

Very casual set up. Just that, the Persian Rug that belonged to my late grandfather has now been framed which looks like a classic art.

Staircase

Very Italian feel, yea? Thanks to these locally available window glasses and the sunlight falling on them. The paintings hanging on the side walls are actually decades old from the City Palace archives.

Drawing Room

This space is under the staircase. The lamp here was earlier a jar. Once the top was broken, I filled it with unused buttons and put a lamp inside it.

This corner has all the family old photos. The tray under the flower pot is actually a school project my grandson did using pulses and rice grains. I got it framed and kept it as a memory.

That’s me and my mother in the drawing room enjoying the morning newspaper. 

Let me take you to each corner of this room.

The shelf here is made using the wood of an old trunk. The table-cover is actually a jute sack.

The big lamp over there has a cane basket put over it. The painting was gifted to me by a friend. She told me it’s me and my late husband who protects me.

These frames are again old archives from a calendar. Basically, I have never thrown away anything. (laughs)

This small table had a glass top that got broken. Later I bought Rajasthani tiles from the main market and fixed them over it. It looks designer. No kidding!

Dining Hall

This space is the other side of the drawing room. People say it looks royal…with a touch of Rajasthan. 

Why not, after all I have put together antique things bought from cornered shops of Ajmer, Jaipur, Pushkar, etc.

Oh, however these are from Africa.

That lampshade up there, can you see it? It is so delicate that I don’t touch it for even dusting. The horses are from my Mother-in-law. And the beautiful ‘Thaal’ was the jewelry-thaal at my daughter’s marriage.

The posters at the back are from Jaipur and Bikaner, I got them framed to preserve memories.

This horn is from Brazil. The locals use it to drink coffee.

Passage

This has a sewing machine that I turned into a table.

 Garden

One of my favorite places. Meet my dear Saroj, she is the house-help I got featured with in JWB. So the sofa she is sitting at is something I inherited from my Daughter-in-law. Yes, you read it right. When she was throwing them away, they caught my eyes.

The small red table in the center is again old and is from my maternal side.

The ceiling is done using brown roof-tiles. On the boundary wall, you can see all the junk being placed very decoratively. As I told you, I don’t throw away anything. Moreover, I don’t let the neighbors throw anything! This junk includes everything from old broken idols to clay work to old rusted coffee machine to a rotten sewing machine. All this makes my garden a retro spot to sip a cup of tea.

Photographer: Shashank K Tyagi