8 ways to affordably style your rental space

 Today, most people live on rent. It is an easy way to live before being able to afford a house. Usually, you will find the young college crowd, fresh working graduates or young families living on rent. Far away from home and living in a borrowed space is one of the most exhilarating experiences to have in the initial phase. However, it is not all sunshine and daisies. At some point of time, the loneliness of being away creeps in and you become homesick again.

When you are away from home, you want to come back to a place that speaks to you, that reflects you, a place that feels like home. Of course, it is hard to find that rental space with that sort of feeling. The next best step is to style it in your way. There are many ways in which you can style your rentalapartment with a minimum budget and also not lose the deposit on your rental space.

1.       Renter- Friendly Wallpaper

Contact Mr. Sanjay Sharma for great affordable options +919820213098

The one thing that can make you really homesick is coming back to see the plain white walls. For some, it can be unbearable and for others, it is just boring. A simple and affordable way to style your house is by simply hiding the walls under temporary wallpaper. There are many designs to choose from and can be really affordable and will not risk your security deposit.

2.       Décor Disguise

One of the problems of living in a rental space is oddly placed lighting. Now, you can’t change the electrical; simply hide the sockets with posters or frames. It can be a good way to style the apartment and affordable too.

3.       Glam it Up

Washi Tape is great but is not the only one out there. There are many different kind of tapes you can use like shiny or one with patterns and simply use them to decorate a plain white fridge or a shelve or cupboard or even a wall. Affordable and you can simply remove them when you move out.

4.       Stainless Steel Contact Paper

Living in a rental space means adjusting to anything that comes with the space. This mostly means compromising by living with outdated appliances. They can make your home look dull and outdated even if they work just fine. An ideal solution for that is to cover them with stainless steel contact paper. It will make them and your home look more stylish and your landlord just might ask you to leave it up.

5.       Living Décor

This is the easiest. If you want to give you rental space a homier feel, simply add few plants around. They can add a little life and texture to your rented home. And, if you are the kind of person who cannot take care of a plant, alternatively use the fake ones.

6.       Stylish rental furniture

One good thing of businesses going online, is that you can literally get anything at the tip of your fingers and that too after making the right choice. Now you can rent stylish furniture at a click and that too at a fraction of the cost price. If your stay in the new home is not too long and you do not want to waste unnecessary time and effort into buying and then disposing off furniture, renting it is a great time, effort and money-saver. Furlenco is one such company that will affordably style your space. It makes more financial sense when an unfurnished apartment costs less than a furnished one. You can then style it up the way you want it.

7.       DIY wall decals

This one is a fun activity too! Get together with your roommates, choose some amazing DIY wall decals that come with the stencils and have a go at it! Style up an empty boring wall of if you somehow manage it, then a boring white ceiling, maybe that drab fan needs a makeover? It is tried and tested. It won’t disappoint you.

8.       Stylish lighting

Go get some tiny fairy lights and fix them up around the house or some stars and moon lights to add that subtle glow to your room. Kitchen too functional? Liven it up with some playful lights or maybe the toilet where you need some peace and me time? Strategic lighting is cheap and  changes the ambiance. 

Just because you doesn’t own a place doesn’t mean you can’t make it your own. Use these tips to stylishly upgrade your standard rented space. You are living away from home, the least you can do is give your place a homier feel.

So, stop wondering and start decorating!

5 hilarious situations for migrants in Mumbai

5 hilarious situations that migrants coming to Bombay face while interacting with the locals:

So you are not a Bombayite huh? Worse, you are a Delhite! God be with you. Migrants coming into this city of dreams called Bombay come with stars in their eyes and grit in their determination to survive this mad lovable city.

1.     “Kidhar se aya?”

The question that scares you! As if that if you are not from Maharashtra then you are an alien. If your mannerisms and your accent is even the slightest bit out of sync with the locals, you become vulnerable to getting singled out. Start taking Bambaiya lessons from your local ‘taporis’.

2.      “Tu akela hai?”

The rental accommodation market is probably the only place where a handsome eligible bachelor is most unwanted. Girls are fortunately spared that situation. A single male spells trouble for the neighbourhood chhokris!

3.      “Chalta hai kya chikane?”

The most horrible "pick-up" line used by trans-genders to rake out some moolah from young ‘nice’ men who look like they have come from out of the city.. Have you experienced it yet! J

4.      “Bhaiya mat bolo!”

Girls beware of the word Bhaiya! It manages to raise the hackles of all the bhaisahabs. Any localite worth his salt will give it back to you, gently or harshly, if you call him bhaiya. So alternatively try dada, mama, kaka and what works best is Sir! Try it.

5.      “Shahrukh khan ka bangla dekha?”

Shahrukh Khan’s bungalow is a local picnic spot and people throng to click pics with the nameplate of his heavenly abode Mannat. And if you haven’t seen his bungalow within 6 months of your arriving here then it is sacrilegious! Try to make a conversation in the train and show that you are a Bollywood fan, this is what you’ll get asked for sure. 

Have you experienced this yet? What has been your funny experience. Readers please take it in the same vein as intended.. i.e. lightly. Post your comments and experiences below. 

Have you tried the morning ferry to Alibag?

A bunch of us colleagues decided to take a ferry to Alibaug one Friday morning to spend the day frolicking on the beach of Varsoli. One friend suggested we take the early morning 6.15 ferry and everyone shut her up. Finally it was decided to meet up at 6.30 to take the 7.00 am ferry to Mandwa Port. 

We met up and bought our tickets. Since there was still time to depart, we engaged in nation's best time-pass - clicking selfies and groupies. 

 

The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel is at its magnificent best at sunrise! It is worth the effort just to go there in the morning and pose in front of the majestic monument. The golden hue cast upon its creamy exterior is like honey poured over butterscotch. There was a couple out there getting the pre-wedding shoot done and they made a pretty picture dressed in their finery.

It was finally 7 and time to leave. We mounted the ferry anticipating a pleasant ride and we were right! There is a certain charm in taking the ferry than going in a speed boat that takes only 15 minutes to get to the other side. The ferry usually takes between 45 minutes to an hour. 

As soon as the ferry took off a bunch of wily sea gulls started following us hoping to get food. Their silent demands were met. The gush of water that the ferry leaves behind is mesmerising and the view that we leave behind is an optic of Bombay that we rarely see. Far off, if you are alert enough, you see the tiny humps of dolphin jumps. You may think it is a mirage but not always! On the way, you'll see a set of ducks 'floating' around making you wonder what they must be doing so far out in the sea.

At the end of an hour, we reached Mandwa Port. It is a well-maintained port from where a 'coach' takes us to the mainland. The coach ride is included in the ferry tickets. The tariff ranges from Rs. 105 to Rs. 165. I recommend the upper deck that gives you a taste of the sun, wind, sky, water, birds and breathtaking view around you. It is an absolute delight for amateur and professional photographers as well.

One sad thing is the bad hygiene practices of the riders as well as the ferry operators. They sell stuff to eat but do not have visible bins to throw the garbage and more often than not it ends up n the waters.Do think of carrying a portable garbage bag with you to leave the least carbon footprint behind.

Varsoli beach

The Times Bandra Festival 2016 - Do not miss it!

 

Bandra Festival Event Schedule 

 

Bandra, rightly known as the queen of suburbs, lives up to its reputaion of being fun, picturesque, culturally rich and a melting pot of cultures.

The Times Bandra Festival is an initiative of the "Celebrate Bandra Trust" that aims to celebrate Bandra's variety and history. The festival started way back in 2003 to provide not only a stage for Bandra talent but also clean, wholesome entertainment. Today it has achieved gigantic proportion.

The Festival is being held from 12th to 20th November. If you haven't been to it already, you can still catch up on some of the amazing line-up of programmes and events that are completely free. A welcome change from being holed up in the apartment or some restaurant, mall or worse behind some kind of screen!

Launch of Flatsandmates.com

So it has finally launched! 

www.flatsandmates.com

Launching a venture is even more gruelling than having a baby! Believe me I have had the pleasure of experiencing both. There are too many external factors that we have to depend on to translate your vision into reality. But the fruit of waiting is always sweet though you may have some bitter moments in the interim. 

JOURNEY

 

Flatsandmates.com is a journey that began in 2012. A colleague was shifting to Delhi and she was worried about her accommodation. Well, there are many cliches that we Bombayites have heard about Delhi so it is natural to be concerned. So there she was trying to use the power of her offline network but it wasn't working. Then one fine day, as we were talking, she announced that she found the perfect flat with a nearly perfect flatmate and that too without brokerage! We were happy for her but I thought that here is one lucky girl who has some guardian angel in Delhi. Not everyone can get this lucky. But, in fact, she told me that it wasn't her offline network but rather social media network that helped her get this deal. 

Now I was really curious. Does this really work? Linking it to my situation, my family has some properties and when we want to rent them out, it is a big ordeal to find good tenants. Moreover, we have to pay hefty brokerage. Thus I decided to try this out and created the Flats and Flatmates (Mumbai) group. I added my family and friends and it started out as a small group of some 100 members. But within just a month the group went from 100 to 1000! That is when I was sure it works. Here was a novel concept of getting people together. It was based on trust, mutual interest of economising, genuine need and quick solution. 

After two and a half years, it was a natural progression to create my own website. The gestation period was far from enjoyable but to see my baby taking shape little by little was enough to keep me going. The building up process lasted more than a year but I am so happy to have finally delivered a healthy bouncing second baby! 

HOW IT WORKS

If you have a place to rent or if you are looking for a place on rent, just place a free advert on the website and easily share via Facebook or WhatsApp. You can get in direct touch with your respondents. The website has additional features like Move Out Sale, Buddy Chat, a personalised Dashboard where you can send and receive Enquiries. Unlike the Facebook community that is strictly for those looking for broker-free options, the website welcomes Real Estate Agents. Yes, all said and done, estate agents are useful during times of urgency. 

So keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best!

 

 

Do we really need all that furniture?

Clutter-free living

Life comes with excess baggage.. Literally! :). A few days ago my friend Zina was trying to clean out her house. Her parents were coming for a visit and she wanted to create some space to accommodate them comfortably.. She asked for help and I obliged.. (Yes, obliged is the word!.. well agreeing to help out in house-cleaning is a big act of selflessness! :)). In the beginning of the task we decided that whatever she feels she needs to chuck out would go in one corner and then at the end of the mega-cleaning and rearranging session she would take a final call. So we attacked the house with a vengeance.. and gradually the dedicated corner was bursting to the capacity full of knick-knacks gathered over a period of 5 years that she was staying in Mumbai. Quite happy to have finally made that pile, she looked around the house and was surprised to see that her place actually had a good amount of space! We both felt that the rooms got literally lighter, airier and well.. roomier :)..She was so delighted with the outcome of our task that she decided to treat me with a yummy cheesy pizza. As we were waiting for the order and chatting up, her eyes kept returning to the pile... Then in the middle of the conversation, she got up and picked out a rickety chair and exclaimed that she couldn't actually part with it as it was special to her - the first act of kindness that a neighbour had done by donating this chair to her at the beginning of her life in Mumbai! Behind the chair was a simple 4-legged multipurpose table which was immediately pulled out. She said she couldn't even think of parting with it as it was her grandmother's and she had especially got it delivered from her native town. Well it was put back in its rightful place... under a humungous pile of books that Zina had purchased, borrowed, received over time. Next came the little teapoy that she used to keep by her sofa covered in...dust! Gradually most of the things that she had earlier thought she can do without became absolute essentials for her afterwards. I got so mad at her for cheating me that I left without her freakin' pizza!

As I was driving back to my place consumed by murderous thoughts for Zina after all the hardwork we put in moving all that stuff and rearranging the furniture, it struck me..Isn't it exactly the same with emotional excess baggage too? We just can't let go... especially of stuff that has hurt us. We can recall every negative emotion that we have felt and refelt quite vividly. We clutter our mind and our hearts with the all-consuming "I should have done like this.. I should have done that.. I will now take my revenge like this..I will destroy him/ her like that.. Nobody loves me", etc...so much of negative thoughts, feelings and emotions! But we do not realise that all this wasted space can be used to make life easy, simple, hassle-free and above all HAPPY! I forgave my friend and went back to eat my pizza! See happy ending