My Dream Home!

Home is where the heart is. It is rightly said. We have not bought a house for ourselves but I know that when a family builds a house every brick is dipped in love and dedication. Every stroke of that paint brush is filled with hopes and aspirations. Home holds many memories. Memories of our childhood, of our victories, defeats, friendships, parties , weddings and many more. Where ever you roam in the world you simply have to come back to your home to be at peace! Whenever I think of home I think of my mom. The way she puts all her effort and pushes her limits to make it the best place to live is commendable. Specially with her age and everyday joint pains it gets tough for her but as she is passionate about beautifying the home she forgets everything. I keep dreaming of becoming like her and on one fine day I believe that I will simulate her as much as possible :)

When Asian Paints Home Solutions  announced the contest along with Ripple links, all I could think is of the new flat my mom and dad bought in Hyderabad. It is a happening community bustling with life always. It has amenities like gym, swimming pool, beauty parlor, Super market, basket ball court , childrens playing area, park to relax and many more. At the first glance I loved it. Since the first brick of this home was laid I was observing it and this house instantly gave me an idea of my dream house. I loved how mom was involved in every single detail of the house starting from the paints , cement , bricks, size , shape , colors and so on so forth. The recent biggest event at this new home is my brother's wedding and I pray and hope that this house witnesses many more such beautiful events where all of us take part !! 

Let me first share the pic of the balcony of our home which is the most beautiful area and my most favorite part. The below pic is on my brother's D-Day when we decorated it with a string of lights. The flat is in seventh floor and it overlooks the event area of the apartment which is like icing on the cake. We can watch the movies on the projector in the event area sitting in the balcony! It is easy for us to know whether the event is starting as per the schedule or not! Another plus point of this flat is, every room has it's own balcony with wide area to dry the clothes and the balconies have in-built cloth dryers!

Welcome to our home!

The event area from our balcony

My mom dad and brother took their own sweet time to make this place a perfect home. Gardening is the best part of any home. My mom loves gardening and needless to say the efforts to make this a clean and green space are always on. Our balcony is a vibrant area with all kinds of pots and plants and it  will be a peaceful abode for readers and writers :) Right now I am sitting there and typing all this!

Balcony Sitting area. Morning tea will be extra delicious with chirping birds and rising sun next to you!

The beautiful balcony - My mom's effort

Vibrant colors to lift your mood

As and when you enter our home you will face the sitting area for guests. It still has to be designed. The flower pots and plants which suit the hall are yet to be placed there. The kitchen / dining area and the TV room have a partition separating them from the sitting area which is again my favorite part due to the cylindrical lights which brighten the barrier!It is always better to have the TV room separately so that your TV watch won't get disrupted even if some visitor is sitting in the hall!

Hall/ Sitting area

The partition with Cylindrical lights

The TV area is huge. You can decorate it with paintings and other decors and also place books in the stands as it is very spacious. Photoframes help us revive memories and they are a must in a home. Nothing can beat the mere memory of a good event and nothing can beautify a home more than hand made paintings and art works!

The spacious TV area. Mom's paintings on either side of it

The Corner stand in the TV room with a family photo. The pot again is made by mom.

 One more fact I love about this house is the POP/ false ceiling. These are of different shapes and have many antique lights to accompany them which give a dazzling effect to the room.

POP ceilings in the hall and TV area

Trendy design in my brother's room for cup boards

The POP ceiling in bedroom

Stars in the POP Ceiling in my room.

 The favorite area which is unanimous to all in any home is Kitchen / dining area. At our place it is not just mom's tempting food which attracts me to the dining area. I love lazing out there sitting under the antique light's brightness and awing at my mom's cuisines! All the beautiful antique lights add the zing to the bed rooms ! We also have Venetian blinds in bedrooms which are stylish and save us from the scorching heat during summer!

Dining area. My favorite yellow lamp adorns the ceiling

These traditional lamps give a royal aura to all the rooms. They always remind me the saying from Harry potter "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of the times if one only remembers to turn on the light!"

Many houses in Hyderabad do not have the almyrah / cupboard provision which is painful. Having beautiful closets is a must. You can't put things in open racks at-least when you are a family of two plus. The below snap shot is of the guest bed room aka my room as of now ;) This is my peaceful abode where I read, write and spend lazy relaxing evenings. Just outside my room is my treasure trove- The beautiful white book rack which hosts all my favorite books and has many of my brother's books too.

The book rack

My room

Books- The real wealth

There is lot more to be done to this house. Mom is planning on purchasing wall decals, flower vases , plants and photo-frames to design it the way she wants to. Work is still in progress at our home and it may take another year's effort to make it look the way we want it to. Still my mom dad are excited as their dream came true and I am happy for them. I hope I too own such house in future :)

I am not an expert but I want to list down few do's and don'ts for people who are planning to purchase a house or are getting their house built!

1.) Get involved in every single detail. Take leave from your job if needed and be a part of it. No one takes your decisions seriously unless until you directly dictate them.

2.) Choose the paints , cement , flooring , tiles and everything carefully. For instance Asian paints personnel give you excellent inputs and ideas.You can take expert advice, plan your budget and easily track every thing. You can do trial checks with paints and finalize which suits your home best. You can decide wall themes, wall decals and wall fashions with the help of Asian paints. To know more go to Asian Paints Home Solutions.

3.) Invest your money intelligently. When you are investing a lot see that you are given what you asked for. It is quite possible to come across many cheaters in the real-estate business.

4.) Be patient. Patience is the virtue of success. If you are impatient with your own home's progress the others who actually build it will become disinterested!

5.) Go that extra mile to make it happen. If you are searching for a particular lamp or a particular shade of paint keep hunting till you find the same. The fruits of your efforts will definitely be the sweetest.

Lastly I want to wish good luck to all who already got their own home and who are in the process of getting one! May you all be blessed with good health , prosperity and great memories

This post is for the Beautiful Home Blogger Contest in association with Asian Paints and Ripple Links 

When you paint your home you don't just paint your walls; you paint your dreams with Rainbow colors!
Click on the pic for better resolution :)