On your paint problem I can't be much help. This usually happens because of damp -- please get a damp expert to make sure that there isn't any damp lurking in your walls. I had this once when I had pipes leaking inside the walls. I didn't know that. The other alternative is something like painting before the plaster is dry or some kind of chemical mismatch. I do know you will have to scrape all the mucky powdery stuff away and start again, at least on those areas. Don't try to seal and prime and repaint until you know exactly what the problem is and how to fix it.

What a beautiful house, Shahbaaz! I live in a similar house - a 150-year-old colonial bungalow in Kumaon. You have already received lots of excellent advice from better-qualified people, so all I would say is, keep its age and heritage character the central theme. The white tiles do clash, I am afraid ... flooring with terracotta tiles would echo the roof and look lovely. The columns and the arches over the doors and windows are amazing. But I'd say, leave it all chuna-painted - there's a beauty and softness to it. Don't let the painters add too much neel (indigo) in the limewash -- in the hills where I live, they put far too much if I don't watch out and the result is a harsh white. Natural lime has a softer, creamy look.

Yep, I agree it's nowhere near Scandinavian. Although I tried hard to emulate it with the resources I had and conflicts with other family members, but oh well. But I'm trying to emulate the Scandinavian theme at least in the paint job. Do you think if I somehow achieved it at least in paint job it won't look good? I really like the color scheme of Scandinavian design. Edit: I really like the minimalism and coziness scandinavian design provies. Although, I do have to mention that I didn't mean to say that the photos that I've posted are necessarily scandinavian. I was just talking about the colors especially the white color.

I've seen a lot of photos and I have come to realise that I really like the pastel/muted color pallete and have also come to know that they are good for small rooms. I really liked nickel grey and silver grey. Do both of these colors also belong to pastel color pallete? I am not able to find a separate section for pastel color pallete on asian paints' website. So it's difficult to find similar colors. Thanks for helping me.