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SMARTLY FRUGAL

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smartlyWhile Diwali, the festival of lights, may have transcended Indian Stores and become and unapologetic celebration of brightness across this world, certain aspects remain unchanged – including decorating your own home and hearth – with all forms of illumination in the age- old belief that light pervades the surrounding darkness. And there are ways to do it cheap yet smart

Among other things, Diwali celebrations also include doing up the house—from paint jobs to buying glittering (and often, showy) add-ons for the various rooms of the house. And if you do have to play host to your family and friends on the day of Diwali, apart from Ganesha and Lakshmi, of course, there are ways and means to act smart. On a minimal budget, you can carve out a renewal plan for your interiors that will make your dwellings shine through. Realty & More offers you some quick, do-it-yourself tricks to add to the celebrations:

Floral Glory

We often underestimate the ability of a simple string of marigold, a flower associated with love and healing powers, to spruce up a boring corner of the house. Take the beautiful orange of these delicate flowers and use them in ingenious ways. For those who’ll be parking themselves inside your house on the festival day, give them a throne to sit on. Take the conventional dining table chair and just hang a garlanded string of marigolds on its back to pack a punch.

“Apart from the festive spirit, flowers always bring in this dimension of nature, which in turn makes any space look that much calmer, organic and of course, fragrant. So, flowers always make for great decorative companions,” said Abhishek Bhatia, a Gurgaon-based architect.

Also, rather than buying low-quality wall hangings and use-and-throw door decorations just for Diwali, use these flowers to decorate little corners of your living room. If you separate these orange bundles of joy into petals, the fragrant remnants can be mixed with craft glitter to create a flower paste that you can use to further decorate baked diyas and even the pooja thaalis.

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Rangoli Revamp

Don’t invest in chemical-infused colours that will leave both your fingers and your floor unhappy. Rangolis are pretty manifestations of the colours that are symbolic of our celebrations, so make your celebratory art ecologically and economically friendly

Many believe in procuring colours naturally by treating flowers and vegetables, but, we tell you how to make things quick.

Use rangoli decals, which are primarily stick-on rangolis which turn out to be cheaper than the colours bought individually. “There are a lot of options available in the market now. We usually put our rangoli outside the entrance of the house and it’s always of the sticker variety. After my children spend hours making it, someone or the other would always step on it! So, these decals are the best because they are absolutely footstep-proof!” says Sudha Sinha, an artist and a mother of three.

You can even customise the size and designs if buying from a dedicated decor store or an online portal. To make it more interesting, go for a new-age fabric version. How? Use your skills to cut out an old carpet in a perfect round and recycle it as a rangoli. All it’ll need is a good wash, some fabric paint, glitter and you’ll be good to go.

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Soft and Stylish Intelligent soft furnishing is the best way to give an instant makeover to any room. For your living room, concentrate on the cushions and throw-pillows. Rather than buying a series of covers in different colours, use your craftsmanship to jazz up your plain pillow covers. Do some rough appliqué work by sewing-in additional fabric, add some lace trims at home and use old buttons to create fun designs on the covers with smart needlework. The flowers can again be of great help here to add life to the festivities. To make your cushion covers all jazzy for Diwali, use the garlands as covers themselves. Just wrap the flowers around like gorgeous vines to make the cushions fit in perfectly with the tone of the day.

• We often underestimate the ability of a simple string of marigold, a flower associated with love and healing powers, to spruce up a boring corner of the house
• If you separate these orange bundles of joy into petals, the fragrant remnants can be mixed with craft glitter to create a flower paste that you can use to further decorate baked diyas and even the pooja thaalis
•Use rangoli decals, which are primarily stick-on rangolis which turn out to be cheaper than the colours bought individually
•Use your skills to cut out an old carpet in a perfect round and recycle it as a rangoli. All it’ll need is a good wash, some fabric paint, glitter and you’ll be good to go
• To push the brightness up a notch, bring tiny fairylights into the interiors of your homes rather than letting them hang purposelessly from your balcony
• A few days before Diwali, scour your mails and the internet, of course, for deals, discount coupons and festive vouchers that you can redeem and use to make festive shopping much easier
• To make your cushion covers all jazzy for Diwali, use the garlands as covers themselves. Just wrap the flowers around like gorgeous vines to make the cushions fit in perfectly with the tone of the day

Light Story

Lights are of course, an innate part of the festival of Diwali. To push the brightness up a notch, bring tiny fairylights into the interiors of your homes rather than letting them hang purposelessly from your balcony. To create a pretty spectacle with lights, take an empty fishbowl or an old glass bottle and put the fairylights inside. Now, all you need to do is plug-in and switch on. The cascading strings of light act as an economical option because they are the perfect investment — all you have to do is take them out once in a year, and remember to be responsible and turn them off when not in use. “We have a lot of imported varieties now — from tubular LED lights to those that look like a bunch of electric flowers. These are really popular and more and more youngsters are asking if they’ll look good indoors. That very wedding-like tradition of hanging them outside is now passe,” says Sukhwant Singh, a shopkeeper in Lajpat Nagar.

E-Diwali

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Move over local markets, internet is the new shopping sphere. From idols of gods, fresh kitchenware, LED lights to even Diwali decorations — discounts and offers up the ante for those selling from out of a shop. So, if you are waiting for Diwali day to do all your buying, speed up your processes because a little impatience will save you money and time too. A few days before Diwali, scour your mails and the internet of course, for deals, discount coupons and festive vouchers that you can redeem and use to make festive shopping much easier

We often underestimate the ability of a simple string of marigold, a flower associated with love and healing powers, to spruce up a boring corner of the house.

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