Thanks for the picture. My friend from Palakkad emailed to confirm that a charupadi is "the sitting area in the entrance (Poomukham) of the house that looks like a bench". The teak is fabulous. My friend also writes that "new buildings are trying to copy the architecture of the heritage buildings in concrete. It is not the same feel". I love teak....in older hotels in Burma the floors were teak and I used to walk in my bare feet...wonderful!!!!

Hi, good morning from here. I mean the fabric I posted above to be an example of the kind of colour you could use for your bedcovers; they could be plain provided the fabric is a bit interesting, with a bit of texture. Alternatively, an unobtrusive pattern. The thing is to find something that will blend with both your wood and your walls. That with cream sheets and pillows, and a throw cushion that brings in the coral (or whatever colour you use) -- that's where the cream and coral should be -- and you're all set, I think. No reason not to use the coral on your dressing table seat, I just wouldn't put it on a big area, like curtains or bed. With either of the other two colours I posted you could do things in exactly the same way, because they are both quite bright. For a suggested rug colour, see my collage above. Hover your cursor on it and check the bottom left -- a simple rug that's almost exactly the colour of your walls. I think that would be good. I hope this makes sense. I've just woken up (late) and am going back to bed because I had a rotten night. :(

Personally, I would also steer clear of pink. The latest Disney Princesses have been all about the blue, green etc etc. (and I rather like the yellow!) One of the most cost effective solutions is to make a virtue of the existing colour scheme by getting some woodland decals and a couple of small fairies (think: Sleeping Beauty in the woods) for the walls and wardrobe - easy to place and reposition, and easy to remove if you want to change the theme at a later date. See if you can find a big decal that looks like a picture frame, too, and put that on the mirror in the wash area (think: magic mirror!) Some sort of drapery, above the bed is always good. If you're concerned about installing a full corona on the ceiling, you can mount a curtain rail above the bed (don't forget to buy one with crystal sparkly finials!) and hang a set of long voile curtains for a similar effect! I would then advocate sparkly crystal curtain tie backs - they're cheap, cheerful and can be swapped out when the colour begins to bore. Finally, swap out all the drawer pulls and knobs with something glam and crystal-ly in style. Assuming your daughter is quite young, I would say err on the side of shiny bling, and she'll love them! All of these options are pretty simple to do, not too expensive and easy to reverse or change as she grows up!

Congratulations to all of you. Its a wonderful platform to be on and you all are doing a great Job. My favourite Design Style is 'Minimal'. I just have this strong connection with simple, subtle and elegant things. Cheers:)