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When I was invited by Isprava to view their lovely villas in Goa

Sorry for being AWOL for the last few weeks. I have a very good reason for it though. There are some good folks working behind the scenes to get a fabulous new website ready for An Indian Summer. I have been neck deep in layouts and mock-ups and have been advised not to put any new content on this site till the time the new one is ready to roll. We are aiming for mid next month and till that time, I will continue to share fresh inspiration and all that I love, on Instagram and Facebook. The images in this post are from my Instagram account, so if you like them, please do follow @AnIndianSummer there! And that's not all. Beginning tomorrow, in a run up for Diwali, Facebook is where the action will be when it comes to inspiration for the festival of lights. You don't want to miss that, my lovelies!

My work corner in my Goa studio, featured in Elle Decor

From my luxury wildlife project. I shared images from the completed project on Instagram the entire last week. Go look and tell me how you like it!

Exploring heritage homes in Goa

Meeting old friends in a gorgeous B&B in Goa

The quaint parlour at my hotel in Stockholm. A bunch of other pretteh pictures from the trip on Instagram.

When I was invited to experience the beauty & the hospitality of Kayal Island Retreat

In the hills, at the home of my friend, who is a brilliant painter and interior stylist


See you back here, in a shiny sparkling new avtar, in a few weeks!

Make sure to catch daily inspiration from me on:
Instagram
Facebook


[All Images: An Indian Summer on Instagram. All images clicked by me]

Habaraduwa House

Ah, the villas and B&B's of Srilanka! I can spend an entire day couch surfing through them. One such couch surfing trip threw up Habaraduwa House and I fell in love with it's pristine interiors and colonial vibe. The simple yet eye catching furnishing, distressed white washed wooden ceilings, cozy couches and an open 'breathing' space is what makes it stand out for me. Here are some of my favorite images from Habaraduwa ~

[All Images: Ampersand Travel]

When Ikea Calls

You pack your bags

And say

Hold the plane,

I am coming.

An Indian Summer has been invited by Ikea to attend the two day fun and collaborative event - Democratic Design Days, in Almhult, Sweden next week. Ikea has been an intrinsic part of my early design appreciation and education and I am chuffed to be a part of the first ever select group of media editors from India to be invited for the event. The interactive event will give us a ringside view of Ikea's new product range, collaborations and an insight into the design and product development process at Ikea. I am also looking forward to talk to Ikea insiders and get the scoop on Ikea's grand launch in India next year! And if you are at #IkeaDDD too - do come and say hello!

I will be sharing all (mostly live) on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Make sure you follow @AnIndianSummer to tune in! 

~ An Indian Summer Travels ~ 

Once I am done with the event, for the rest of the month, I will be solo-tripping through some of my yet-unexplored cities in Europe. Readers in and from Sweden {Stockholm}, Denmark {Copenhagen} and Czech Republic {Prague} - holler and let me know if you are there and what would you recommend I do, I see, folks to meet, what are the must buys, the little known secrets of these cities, the experiences that I must not miss (oh, and also what I should definitely avoid), the day trips around - tell me all! I would love to hear from YOU!  

And needless to say, my wanderings and finds shall be duly captured and shared on Instagram. Do travel with me there!

Before I fly out, I will pop in here again on Monday, with the latest from one of my favorite brands and set of people. 

And then I will see you from the other side!

[Image Credits: Ikea Today and Ikea Ideas. Travel: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Prague] 

Usha's Home In The Hills

 The steep path up to the cottage, lined with fruit blossoms

Thanks to Thanksgiving, this month has that air of counting your blessings and sending a quick mental thank you note to the stars above for all that is good in your life. For the things that seem destined and for those events that are serendipitous. For chance meetings and instant soul connections. For the dreams, wishes & hopes that finally got actualized. For having the courage to let go of things, people & places not meant for you. And for me, more than any year, I also feel a deep sense of gratitude for the work that I have chosen to do and for this now-not-so-little blog of mine. Apart from the happiness & the amazing creative opportunities it has given me, it has also made it possible for me to know and meet some incredible people over the years. Complete strangers, many of whom are now an integral part of my life. Usha, is one such special person. I had blogged about her lovely studio & apartment a few years ago, and since then we have been in touch. From appreciating each others work and aesthetics, to finding common ground in our love for animals, we also bonded instantly over our passion for the mountains.

Usha's painting in progress, in her sunlit studio 

This corner of the living room, overlooking the valley and distant snow clad ranges, is my favorite corner!

As Usha started building her beautiful cottage in the Himalayas, I followed her daily joys and trials that come with following your heart and building a dream home ground up. She had invited/cajoled/scolded me many a times to make a plan to visit her, and finally, during my visit back to Gurgaon this Diwali, I spent an absolutely brilliant weekend with her. The exhilaration of driving on my own, for the first time, on those curves and bends and the highs and lows of hill roads, is an experience to remember! Crossing tiny villages, asking for directions every few kilometers and keeping fingers crossed that I don't take a wrong road, for if there came a moment where I would need to reverse on those narrow uphill roads, I basically would have no option but to abandon my truck of a car and walk the rest of the way. Yes, I had that scenario all planned out in my head. Thankfully, apart from a few minor hiccups [like ignoring the cut off from the highway and merrily singing & continuing for some 80 odd kms into the heart of Punjab before the realization hit and the u-turn was taken], the drive was a breeze. 

 

Wild flowers on the table on the porch and late afternoon sunlight in the living room

Usha's bedroom with handmade quilt and her art 

The striking Shiva painting has also been done by Usha 

Every little thing has been carefully selected and restored by Usha. Gorgeous chair in the bathroom
 

 The welcome hug from Usha and the welcome leap-lick-drool-cuddle from her gentle giant of a dog, Henry, was the warmest possible. As we walked up the steep path to her home, the stunning cottage revealed itself! Usha's home, all of stone, brick and old wood, sits snugly between pine trees, tall wild grass, and the most fabulous view of the valley. Designed by her daughter Vibha, the home feels personal and unique in every sense. Usha's excellent design aesthetic makes its presence felt as you enter the home - every little corner, each piece of furniture, lamp, furnishing, even the bunch of dry weeds in a vintage jar - are put together so beautifully that my aesthete's soul seemed to have found it's heaven. A home filled with sunshine, books, art overflowing in each room from the artist-in-residence, self-designed handmade heirloom quilts, warm rugs, fireplaces, vintage deco knick-knacks, french cottage chic furniture, wild flowers in unexpected vases, hot food and good wine, and a personal extra large body warmer of a dog - what more could you ask for when in the mountains! I could go on about how beautiful and seemingly effortlessly chic Usha's home is, or I could do better and share these images with you. I couldn't stop taking pictures, even as Usha said, oh but the house is yet to be finished. It's a home I would move into, without changing a thing! 

Antique four poster bed in the studio for siesta 

Artist's tools and her work space 

The sheer beauty of a simple rustic window corner in the kitchen

 

Central island in the cozy warm kitchen. Favorite place to hang out during the day

 

The delightful guest bedroom had a deck that looked out to the lights in the valley at night 

A chinoiserie art work at the entry foyer to the bedroom

 

Usha's love for gargoyles is evident with this little one in her studio and a massive one right at the entry of the cottage, sculpted by her niece Deveshi Sehgal.  

Oh, I loved the play of light through the day through the beautiful rooms..

Usha has the knack of picking up the most beautiful distinct objects and making them look good together! 

The three days were spent in long walks & treks, chatting with the villagers, polishing off finger licking good local delicacy at the local ayurved's home, picking up kitchen tricks from Usha [now that I cook for myself in Goa, in my lovely kitchenette, I am discovering a love for cooking], sitting around the central island in the warm & lovely kitchen and cooking, eating, drinking, listening to music, sharing stories and chatting. Oh, how much we talked! I spoke about serendipitous soul connections and right there, in the hills, I found one in Usha :)   

We exchanged notes on the weather as she sat drying chillies and corn kernels

Going searching for the cat with a recent litter of 4 kittens!  With Usha, village kids and the local ayurved, who also doubles up as the night watchman. I requested him to pluck these flowers which were high up on a tree, and later, they found their way to the kitchen, dressing up the table for dinner.

 

Good ol' wine from the local fruit orchards warmed us up in the night as cold winds roared outside

I can not end this post without talking about Usha's work. Usha Hooda is an artist, aesthete, interior designer par excellence. She has been working for years with áari' karigars (embroidery craftsmen) to design and produce one-of-a-kind textile masterpieces. Some of Usha's art and interior design work can be found on her page on facebook. She has recently been featured in Architectural Digest, among many other publications in the past. She can be reached via facebook or via her email.

Tree Of Life designed by Usha and executed by Aari karigars

An absolutely wonderful trip ended on a high note with me reccying a pretty little cottage for myself further up the hill. I can not wait for the day when I am able to move bag baggage and cat to my mountain abode, after I have spent a while and some in my sea side abode. There are many stories and gorgeous pictures from my jaunts within Goa that I have in my bag to share with you - watch this space!

This view. Sigh.

[All Images & Story: Bhavna Bhatnagar - An Indian Summer. Featured Usha Hooda's Home]

There She Goes

There She Goes Again!

It is happening. Finally. Infact, it is happening tomorrow. Tomorrow evening to be precise. I am moving. Moving cities. Leaving on a jet plane. Yes, songs about leaving and moving are at the tip of my tongue. For all our momentous and non-momentous moments in life have an associated playlist. Let there be music, they said, especially when you are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime!

If my consistent rambling over the past few months about Goa wasn't a clear enough indicator, these pics will leave no doubt as to where I am heading. A desire to stay closer to nature, out of the big city, a place that will inspire me, and be a wanderer for a few years led to this brilliant flash of inspiration last October, when I told my furball, Let's move to Goa! That was then, and after months of patient searching and planning, here we are! The bags are packed. The first C of the three C's, ie Cartons of books, are already on their way. The other two C's - the Car and the Cat will follow in a month's time. Speaking of the Cat, it's this madcap bundle of fur, claws and whiskers that is totally ruling my heart and mind right now. Here I thought I would be all joyous and merry and spring-in-step-y on the eve of departure to Goa, but it's breaking my heart to leave my boy behind. As I cry I-love-yous and I-will-miss-yous in the furry ears, he swishes his tail in impatience and waits for me to get it together and get moving, for the love of wet food! [cat & dog minions will get that analogy]. And of course, I have enough fur in my luggage and clothes to knit myself a brand new kitten once I am in Goa. Where thou luggage lies, thou cat shall lie there too - that, is the 614th commandment.

So, I will be in Goa, my kittens, Goa! I have found myself a little studio overlooking the sea [the pic above is the view, ahem]. There are thousand and one things that I am excited about, things that I am planning to do when in Goa - in work, leisure, travel, and I can't wait to share the adventure with you! Goa is the beginning, and I dream, hope and plan to wander through many cities and countries in the coming years, before settling in to warm my feet in front of a crackling fire in a cottage high up in the Himalayas. Wish me luck and love, my munchkins, and do join me!

As always, catch the action as it happens, on instagram

I will see you next week, once I am settled in. Already have a line-up of beautiful posts for you - a lovely home tour and a brilliant home photo-shoot by one of my favorite photographers. Plus plus, Goa and the immense creativity and loveliness of Goa is going to be a frequent visitor on An Indian Summer now. Keep reading!


[All images: An Indian Summer. Last Image: Scribbled on illustration by Lov_e]