It’s that time of the year again when every Indian house looks like a glamorous bride ! I love Diwali…it’s a beautiful festival minus the awful amount of sweets I consume and the noisy fire crackers !
It’s a time when my house gets spruced up, silverware gets polished and all the glittery décor items normally hidden away in storage comes out to shine in all its glory. (I have one such carton for Diwali and one for Christmas ! )
The thing I like best about Diwali is the way my house and every home in India gets a sudden facelift. Some paint their homes…some buy new furniture or new curtains but for me lighting is the best thing about Diwali. I like to light my house in every possible way…candles…diyas ….fairy lights …lanterns…It looks so beautiful and magical, you wish it could be like that all year round. Well…except it takes too much effort and your house is a potential fire hazard. But for this one week I really don’t care and light everything in sight!
Normally I run through a theme with a certain candle or diya in mind with maybe a few additional lighting nooks or a centerpiece for the dining table and at the hall entryway.
Here are some easy home décor options to diyas which look wonderful and are really easy to do as well. I stopped putting diyas after I realized it was nearly impossible to remove oil stains from the marble flooring !!
A few years back I put brown paper bags…filled with sand and a candle in my yard and running along my house outside. Worked wonderfully as the candles stayed for longer than traditional diya’s and it looked stunning as well. These work especially well in larger outdoor areas …gardens, terraces , pathways etc the more bags the better it looks !
For all you enthusiastic people …you can even punch holes or prick an easy shape with a safety pin …the design will show up once you light it. I just stuck to plain brown paper bags and it worked just as well. (Didn’t have the time or energy to punch holes in the 100 odd bags I had!)
Another idea that really works is using empty mason jars…all those jam and pickle bottles you hand over to the raddiwalla for recycling . You can fill it with oil…and simply prick a hole for the wick. Will last for hours….and cheaper and prettier than so many lanterns. The only thing is you may need to start collecting those jars a few months before or like me make a deal with your neighbourhood raddiwalla .
Again depending on your time and enthusiasm you can decorate the jars as you wish…with fabric…with bits of twine…or just paint them. The ones with the lace look really pretty …don’t they !
Another great idea for little nooks or table centerpieces is using wine glasses or any glasses with interesting shapes .You can put the tea lights directly into the glasses or turn the glasses over and place the lights on the base of the glass. For further reflections and shimmer effect place the glasses on a mirror or a silver/metallic tray.
Recycling bottles is another super way to light up large areas of your house. However do note if you want to cut the bottle without hurting yourself you will need a professional glass cutting kit (the better varieties are available online on amazon if not at a big hardware store …and yes you will break a couple before you get it right …But once you get the hang of it…its quite easy ! )
For those who don’t want to go through the hassle of cutting bottles …spray paint the bottles…or just leave them the way they are and use them as candle stands.
The trick here is that a whole bunch of them look way better than one or two. Or else it will look like a stop gap candle stand during a sudden power failure in your house . For further inspiration look at the old Police video for “ Wrapped around your finger “ and the million candles…simply stunning !
For all those balconies and windows…old bottles with LED lights …again whether you paint them or not is completely your choice.
What a wonderful idea to use ladles …works especially well if you have grills on your balcony, windows or gate.
How cool is this to hang across a terrace or balcony…and yes…you will never run out of an egg whisk ever in your life !
Don’t just light the exterior …every house will have nooks and corners for additional fairy lights…mirrors…twigs …doorways…inside lanterns and glass jars …you can keep it as twinkly as you like !
My preference if using lights is to use yellow lights …but you can use any colour of your choice but preferably stick to just one colour to keep the look more elegant and less garish !
Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and a Happy New Year from all of us at Mirador. Eat all those sweets without worrying too much about the calories ..….Play safe and be extra careful while lighting all those diyas !
