Photo-Mural from my Mauritian break

Kite surfers abound, and a beach picnic

The romance of waiting for nothing

{Morne Public Beach}

Hotel Riu Creole : Stunning Orchid prints and cushions to match, merging outside with inside

The gorgeous coral rock formation; a snorkler's paradise

Welcome lobby auguring much stillness, the Buddha way

IKEA is here in India. An aankhon dekhi from Almhult Sweden, IKEA's birthplace.

Hej dear Peeps,

If you've followed me on Instagram and Facebook you'd know I was in Almhult, Sweden last week, the place where the iconic company IKEA was born; now the Product Development and Design hub for this much loved Swedish household brand.

Invited to the IKEA DEMOCRATIC  DESIGN DAY 2017 - a big, global, vibrant showcase of design, products, future collections, product developers and designers, collaborators and the happy vivacious IKEA people. All in a setting brought together with people, music, freshly baked and delicious food and yes, drinks! Such a happy place to be :).

I'm back totally energised seeing so much up close, with some fabulous sneak peeks at the upcoming collections, having seen the future idea for our homes that IKEA is envisioning & collaborating on and coming back with the imminence of buying IKEA products in India (and in Mumbai). Seriously excited!

"There's an air of Celebration about opening in India," chirped Mia Lundstrom, Creative Director Life@Home IKEA - the impressive lady in Indian Ikat and silver; chairing and championing the research and insights that provide the bedrock for IKEA's India entry.

As for me, having lived away from India and having had easy access to IKEA products, IKEA has been a vital and substantial part of my life (setting up and settling down) after marriage and has been a big part of my child's toddlerhood up-untill the 9 years of his happy life. In fact, a significant part of our everyday kitchenware, tableware, kitchen equipment, storage boxes, much of my bed linen, table linen continue to be from IKEA, despite having been back in India for close to two years.  

So, when I sat down to blog today I asked myself 'What am I feeling so excited about?' It cannot just be the imminent easy access to IKEA binge buying. It's a much bigger and bolder pattern that has become obvious to me after this IKEA immersion. It's the synchrony, the synergy of mindset between us as Indians and the values behind the Democratic Design Framework that IKEA is holding so close to its future vision and products. A global brand with a fundamental promise to deliver on Form, Functionality, Affordability, Quality and Sustainability—more categorically now than it has ever done before.

"We want to shake the world up, make it a better place. And we thought we'd start by making everyday life better": so begins The IKEA Democratic Design Manifesto.

The Manifesto goes on to say "...Our mission is bigger than just design, bigger than just low prices. Our mission is the almost impossible idea to combine beautiful form with good function, long-lasting quality, produced in a sustainable value chain with low price.:" and when I read this I see the India- relevance ticked in all the boxes.

√ Beautiful form

√ Good functionality

√ Long Lasting  and √Low Price is already an Indian obsession  

√and socially relevant Indian entrepreneurs can locally deliver as Sustainability partners at various levels in the IKEA value chain {Some are already front-running IKEA partners - watch out for my post on this big IKEA opportunity}

So when I met up with Maria O'Brian, Creative Leader for IKEA on the sidelines (whose role it is to predict, forecast and thus influence trends and styles for future IKEA collections) she seemed wide-eyed and excited about this market, as though India is being looked at through a whole new "wow, this phenomena is happening here also" kind of viewpoint and for me, that's what globalisation is about! The realisation that we are interested in many of the same things and the view that we have lot of similarities from a humanistic standpoint - Its time has come!

On my prompt to forecast a trend for India, Maria pointed me to the big over-arching opportunity in the surge towards urbanisation and sustainability as well as the growing consciousness around 'How Do I express Who I am' amongst the India consumer. I was told that the IKEA insights show a growing affinity towards a more pronounced Individualism here and IKEA sees this already manifested in the home furnishing segment and in the way the Indian consumer is beginning to demand modification and personalisation of home products.  This trend, when I check, is certainly true for me and my extended circle!

To me, combining this trend with the Indian ethos of recycling, repurposing, quality and 'How can IKEA be more Indian?' is where it's all hinged at. 

Overall, as an IKEA India customer-in-waiting to be able to drive down to an IKEA store over a weekend, spend hours swooning over home-decor displays, buying some of the best designed home furniture, furnishing and essentials without bursting our wallets and making a meal of some of the best Scandinavian delights and gorgeous coffee on the way out; our Time Has (almost) Come.

My Pick, if you may, from the new collection :

√The immensely versatile Flottebo Sofa-bed-everything (Just what every living area always needed, a dream for the space parched Mumbai apartments)

At the IKEA Democratic Design Day : Design collaboration with the much celebrated Tom Dixon; with Marcus Engman, Head of Design IKEA

Although, the Flottebo a little too big to carry home in the new Yellow IKEA bag! Nonetheless...

Now to have our very own collection of these Yellow bags and say no to plastic bags:)

#IKEA. #IKEAddd, #IKEAToday

Thank You SriLanka

The desk that started it all

I’d first visited Srilanka /Jetwing Lighthouse at Galle exactly 10 years back, on a trip visiting friends in Colombo. We’d stepped in for tea on our way back from Galle on a day-trip from Colombo and the surreal closeness of the hotel to the sea and the near gothic impact of the, much known, staircase have been the visual imprints that I carried back home with me. I do remember saying (or at least telepathizing with N) – I want to visit again and stay in this hotel! Through years, ever so often, we’ve pondered and almost booked ourselves a SriLanka holiday. Almost!

What has to happen will happen when it will.  And finally this June of 2016, we found ourselves back in SriLanka. Nothing had changed much, in fact, the characteristic #timestoodstillness of the country, the gentleness of its folks, the gorgeous benevolence of landscape and the majestic presence of the Indian Ocean like the consistent beeping lifeline on the heart-monitor, all along the journey – everything about it was there! (not merely imagined in multiplied magnificence as memory makes it look). What was different for me was the sheer immersion that I was able to experience in all of SriLanka’s glory - Yala, Galle and finally, Colombo.

This post, however, is a rounding-off of that wish, an eulogy to Jetwing’s Lighthouse property in Galle—its  charming elegance and my expression of yayy at finally spending nights within its formidable walls.

Pic courtesy Jetwing

Perched on the Southwestern edge of SriLanka, in the former Dutch Colonial town of Galle, stands Jetwing Lighthouse, an immaculate testament to the iconic work of the revered Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa. The hotel, to me, is a beautiful contradiction - between its inherent tranquility and in the way it sits besieged on a rocky outcrop overlooking the rough Indian Ocean that noisily crashes at its edges. If I had the allowance of renaming the hotel I would name it “Sounds of the Sea”.

In 1640, the Dutch captured Sri Lanka's second city, Galle, from the hands of the Portuguese. It is said that some 2,500 men stormed the fort, which, today regains its beautiful Dutch architectural style, and is one of the islands most visited attractions.

At the Jetwing Lighthouse there's a reminder of this rocky history of Galle. Entering the hotel a stairway looms where a striking depiction of the Portuguese landing at Galle, led by Lourenço de Almeida, who conquered the city in 1505, is crafted in metal, winding its way up to the top floor. The hotel is majestic in its setting and the spiral staircase in the entrance hall is powerful and telling.

The Staircase Sculpture 

{As described by JetWing : Designed by Geoffrey Bawa and sculpted by Laki Senanayake, the staircase monument at the entrance has its origin in a drawing the artist had done in 1961 entitled “The Portuguese arriving in Ceylon under a cloud”.  The sculpture, which is made out of copper and brass beaten and welded, depicts the arrival of the Portuguese invaders being repulsed by the Sinhala King and his army. At the foot of the staircase, Lorenzo de Almeida, the Portuguese General is surveying the scene through his telescope, while his soldiers disembark from his galleon and proceed upwards with horses and cannon while battling with the native warriors armed with spears and bows. At the top of the staircase, the Sinhala King sits on his throne playing his flute.}

Water-pond Courtyard leading to the Cinnamon Room

I’ve come back enchanted with another part of the property best described as the Water-pond Courtyard (in front of the Cinnamon Room). Geoffrey Bawa is known for his classic traits of openness to nature and large spaces and the inclusiveness of the outdoor within indoors. One such beautifully designed inclusion is the water-pond courtyard, which remains open to the sun and natural light. An enclosure designed to induce peace and quiet and allows you to absorb the natural breeze blowing in from the open corridors. The courtyard looks surreal by dusk when all the hanging lamps are lit up, with myriad reflections in the water.  

The courtyard lit up in myriad reflections

Floor tiling around the pond

The Desk by the Sea

I have spoken above of the surreal proximity of the hotel to the sea. I’ve lived next to the sea, with the Arabian Sea barely 100 metres away from all the windows of my home; but this proximity­ is something else—perhaps because of the way the sea sounds lashing into the rocks right below the 1^st/ 2^nd floor height of the hotel. Geoff Bawa’s visual creativity works brilliantly in making the best of this vantage closeness and in the appointment of the solo writing desk in the room as close as possible to this magnificence. You’ll almost feel criminal for not putting the pen to your life’s memoir (or at least start working on it) sitting right there! (pic at the top)

For more on the various themes inside the suites:

http://www.jetwinghotels.com/jetwinglighthouse/galle-5-star-hotel-suite.html

All images (with exception to Jetwing images) copyrighted to www.limegreenwalls.blogspot.com