#Designinspo: The Summer House Lets Us In On Their Studio Decor Secrets

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We love The Summer House label for its minimal, no-frills, anti-fit and structured outfits, but we love them even more for the way they’ve done up their studio space/work area — it’s really spacious and mostly white, lots of sunlight, large windows and aesthetically-appealing decor to top it all off. Business head Rekha Datla, who is based out of Bangalore {founder and creative director Shivangini Parihar is based out of Bombay} invited us to the studio for a tour and told us how to replicate some of the nifty decor ideas at The Summer House in the best possible manner — on budget, and with plenty of reuse and recycling involved.

Old Iron Trunks

Rekha has about four-five of these trunks in the store and they all came from her mother. And then they just painted it to make it look like this, and it’s also used as a coffee table. So refurbishing old furniture is always a great idea. You can get similar-looking trunks around town.

Where: Russell Market, MF Noronna Street, Shivajinagar

Price: INR 1,000 upwards

Old-School Stools

These stools were procured from the now-defunct New Government Electric Factory {NGEF}. And guess what, they’re still available there. Since the factory shut down, they’ve been selling their office inventory. So hurry before someone else gets these. Use them in your living room for that arty vibe.

Where: NGEF, M-103, 3rd Main, East of NGEF Layout, Kasturi Nagar

Price: INR 50 per kg {approx} depending on metal

Contact: 080 25422078

Alcohol Bottles As Planters

This shouldn’t be too hard to procure, even if you don’t drink alcohol. Friends, family — accost anyone for old empty bottles, wash them and use them as planters. Plus, so pretty.

Kitchen Rack As Mood Board

This was one of the coolest things we saw. If you have an old kitchen rack, don’t throw it just yet. Instead, add a slick of paint, put it up on your wall and hang your favourite things on it so it reflects your mood or the mood of your space.

Where: Pots and Pans, 10, Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road, Indiranagar 2nd Stage

Price: INR 150-250

Contact: 080 26630728

Timings: 10.30am-9pm

Budget Upholstery

Tired of your sofa looking like that? Getting it changed really isn’t that big a deal when you know of the right places. In prints all too pretty, quirky, fun and elegant, just do a quick makeover every time you’re bored.

Where: Various stores in Okalipuram

Price: INR 200 per metre {approx}

Old Ladder For Various Purposes

An old ladder can just randomly be placed as a pretty home decor item, can be used to hang your dirty linen {give that chair a break for a change} and can also be used as a magazine-holder. Rekha got this bamboo ladder from the shop down the road from The Summer House and painted it herself. We love the black, but you can paint it in your favourite colour.

Where: Road-side bamboo store on 6th Cross, 7th Block, Jayanagar West

Price: INR 600

Toolbox And Drawer As Storage Box

These really rustic compartmental toolboxes and drawers made of iron were again procured from NGEF. The Summer House ladies use it to store cords of thread, visiting cards and other things that might come handy. At home, you can use it to store your jewellery or anything else that could do with open storage.

Where: NGEF, M-103, 3rd Main, East of NGEF Layout, Kasturi Nagar

Price: INR 50 per kg {approx} depending on metal

Contact: 080 25422078

Old Brass Pipe As Holder

This old pipe is used in the store to hang planters. You can use it to hang posters, Polaroid images, and even fairy lights. Plus, really easy to procure.

Where: Any hardware store