Mumbai-based designers share essential home decor tips for the monsoon

Get your house monsoon-ready with these simple home decor tips by designers Jesal Lodha, Disha Bhavsar, and Shivani Ajmera

Monsoon is upon us and with it come the bountiful seasonal quirks we have grown to love and navigate, from gorging on perfectly roasted corn to dealing with frizzy hair. Among the myriad challenges of the rainy season, is making a few changes around the house to adapt to the damp weather. We spoke to top designers at two of Mumbai’s boutique interior design firms to help you get your house in shape for the monsoon season.

Principal Designers and Co-Founders of Quirk Studio, Disha Bhavsar and Shivani Ajmera stated, “There are many ways in which one can transform a residential space to encourage a fresh atmosphere that welcomes the monsoons.”  While Jesal Lodha, Principal Designer at The Little Details added, “It is important to upgrade your home and rainproof it so that you can enjoy this time to the fullest and not spend all your time cleaning the mess. Because it's all fun and games until your home decor gets affected by the dampness and perils of this season.”

Here are a few simple home decor tips to help you rainproof and spruce up your home:

Invite nature indoors

What can be a better decor item, than potted plants that infuse freshness in your homes during the rainy season? The verdant trinkets not only turn fragrant but also cleaner and greener in the rains, making them the perfect accessory to pepper your balconies and terraces with.

Go light on the drapes

Monsoon isn’t the best time to flaunt those double layered curtains and thick upholstery. Let go of the dark shades and heavy fabrics and opt for drapes with lighter fabrics. This will not only make your home breathable but it will also keep moisture away.

Use moisture absorbers

Monsoon maintenance becomes a tough job if you are living in a location that has a humid climate. Purchase some moisture-absorbing bags and place them in a few corners of the home to get rid of the excess moisture inside the home.

Rainproof your furniture

Are you tired of squeaky noises and the smell of moist wood around the house? Applying a coat of wax or wood polish over wooden furniture, doors, and hinges is a much recommended practice to save it from rust, enlargement, and creaking.

Neutral colour scheme

Colours and textures impart character and style to a home and most importantly, help to create a mood. One can use a neutral colour scheme and add accent colours at strategic places to pique interest. Touches of neutrality can be provided through dramatic lighting.

Spread some fragrance

This is where fragrant candles and incense sticks come to good use. Light up an organic incense stick or opt for aroma candles to keep the occasional foul smell and dampness away. Try out some dhoop sticks or you can also choose to burn an oil lamp with some disinfecting oil such as neem. This will serve the dual purpose of giving an earthy fragrance in the room while keeping mosquitoes away.

Shuffle furniture layout

Another sure-shot way to spruce up your interiors in the changing seasons is to re-analyse your furniture layout intrinsically. Move loose pieces of furniture around to create a viable layout to optimise the floor plan. This instantly instils within the space, a sense of renewed functionality and makes it feel completely brand new.

Statement furniture and bold accessories

Using statement furniture pieces in bold colours adds vibrancy and liveliness within the home in contrast to the gloomy outdoors. Accessories and soft furnishings play a vital role in creating an ambience that exudes positivity and bliss. Decorative pendant lights, a rug, or strategically placed artwork or photographs combined with a palette of fresh colours are ideal to make the home stand out.

Time to pack up outdoor furniture

We recommend that you temporarily remove or shift indoors any furniture lying around on your terrace or garden unless you want to spend half your day wiping it off.  If you also happen to have a green turf in any place that is exposed to the monsoon, make sure to remove it and keep it safe from moisture and insects. The emptier the floor, the easier it will be to clean and the faster it will dry.

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