Vermilion House

Tucked away in the leafy Cleveland Road in Frazer Town, Bangalore is Vermilion House.
Vermilion House has many beautiful facets to it. Vermilion House is an antique store started a couple of decades ago, where you will find antiques sourced by Uma Rao who has the eye of a connoisseur from various parts of India.Here you will find painstakingly restored antique furnitures, unique artifacts, Tanjore and Mysore school of paintings, lithographs, traditional lamps, paintings by contemporary artists and many more...Vermilion House also exhibits work by various NGOs. Here you see hand blockprinted wrapping papers and gift items made by one of the NGOs.
Vermilion House also has Edgeware- The Frame Shop by Bina Rao who will help you find the perfect frame for your treasured artworks and paintings. Edgeware has a range of frames in various finishes -Teakwood, Rosewood, Coloured, Antique, Ornate.

Bina Rao will help customise the frames with various mounts like silk, handmade paper etc to give your paintings/photographs that picture perfect look, that will enhance any interior.
They have a Book Reader's Club where serious book lovers join in once a month for book reading sessions and enjoy the coffee morning:-) They have a selection of books on interiors, art and also by Asian and Indian Authors.Purvi Patel of Vermilion House is a designer who revives old hand-embroidery techniques on blouses, kurtas etc
If you are passionate about antiques, paintings, artifacts, hand- embroidery, customised frames for your interiors, this is your one-stop shop.

You can get in touch with Uma or Bina or Purvi at
Vermilion House
3/12 Cleveland Road Cross
Frazer Town, Bangalore-5, Tel- 080-41225830

Hope you enjoyed this store tour, do write in and tell me:-)

Jew Town, Cochin.

Jew Town in Cochin has a lovely old world charm, brightly painted walls with interesting Hebrew inscriptions, narrow lanes leading to one of the oldest Synagogues and streets dotted with spice and antique shops.
It is one of the oldest Jewish settlements in the world dating back to 700 B.C. when Jewish traders came to the shores of Cochin seeking spices. Now only a handful Jews remain. You can read more about their history here.
Intricately carved spice boxes over-flowing with aromatic spices displayed on the streets.
The antique shops got us excited, but we were also a bit wary considering it is one of the prime tourist spots.
It was wonderful walking and exploring the lanes of Jew Town. An old shop selling hand embroidery and textiles.Some of the pieces we picked up from Jew Town, Wooden Padukas ( slippers)Seasoned wooden kitchen utensil.

Useful tip: Look around many shops and bargain hard;-)

Petersham Nurseries

When I saw this photograph in housemartin a couple of day back, apart from the beautiful nursery the thing that got my attention was the huge 'Urli' a traditional Indian vessel. This got me curious and I read a bit about it online, but then today I pick up one of the old issues of 'Design Today' magazine from my table, and what do I see 'Petersham Nurseries' again. So taking a cue, here I am posting about this breathtakingly beautiful nursery which is an antique store and also a cafe. Francesco and Gael Boglione the owners of Petersham Nurseries in West London have travelled extensively around the world and to India. Which can be seen in these beautiful antiques and memorabilia that they have hand-picked and displayed so well in the nursery.
Raja Ravi Varma prints & Tanjore Paintings are displayed against blinds made of natural fibres.
The cart that is used by Indian Street vendors has been used very charmingly to prop pots.
A traditional bell compliments an exotic orchid plant.

They have some Indian fabric quilts also for sale. Handcrafted stone Buddha.Carved Indian Doors.
Here is a famous brand of Indian cycle- Hero Cycles for cycling around the nursery?:-)

( images from Petersham Nurseries Site)

Passionate about Antiques.

I fell in love with this traditional Kerala mansion and all the amazing antique chests, lamps, pillars it housed.
This is Rafia Jacob in her lovely colonial mansion in Kottayam named Casa Kunnenkeril.

Rafia is passionate about antiques, she collects colonial furniture, unusual artefacts, accessories.. which is displayed casually in her home & garden.Rafia also restores old Kerala houses. Her craftsmen repair and restore these houses and bring them back to their original splendor. Great Job!Amazing wooden chests, pillars and traditional brass lamps.
Teak & Rose wood furniture
Antique brass beetle nut crackers and accessories.Lovely, Lovely furniture, desks, cupboards & chairs.
Copper Sulphate coloured chandelier in the living room.

Hope you enjoyed the antiques as much I enjoyed sharing them. I am so inspired, I am off to re-arrange the furniture in my home :-)

( images from Inside Outside Magazine, June 2005 issue)