Designers Vinita Chaitanya, Nida Mahmood, Shantanu Garg and Amitha Madan tell us how to bring in the festivities. For those who haven’t had the time to spare a thought on how to give their home decor a facelift during this Diwali season – there’s no need to worry. We spoke to four leading interior designers of the country to give quick tips and ideas on how to convert the home into a festive sanctuary. Here’s what they had to say…

Vinita Chaitanya, Interior designer, Bengaluru

I love to work with flowers and lamps. For giving a festive makeover to homes, I choose flowers like marigold and jasmine and use them liberally in my decor. You can even consider filling up ethnic antique bowls with petals – not only do they add fragrance but colour too. And who can forget lamps and candles. I love the traditional diyas or thalis as centrepieces for the coffee tables. These can be made of old-style silver or brass. To amp up the mood, you can choose colours that are specific to our customs, such as the time-honoured sindoor red, gulab pink, haldi or kumkum or marigold yellow.

Shantanu Garg, Architect and interior designer, Jaipur

To bring in a festive look to your homes, start with the furnishings. Add a carpet or a rug in shades of yellow, mustard or tangerine. In terms of trimmings, consider hanging bright tassels to accentuate curtains. You could reupholster one classic chair in bright velvet. Bring home a new artwork – think of a Pichwai finished in vibrant colours. You could also choose to fill up a wall with miniature art that showcases scenes of Indian festivals. For colours, rose-quartz pink can act as a wall shade with accents of avocado green, turquoise and reds hung on it. Rose-quartz pink is neutral because it transits from pink towards beige and is very bright and fresh.

        Nida Mahmood, Fashion and Interior designer, New Delhi

It is not difficult to change the decor of your home in favour of festivities. One simple way is by introducing more lights. Use a combination of tea-light stands and candle stands of varying heights and dress up corners with them. Add crystal bowls on tables with floating flowers and candles. Another element that one can add are fairy lights – battery-driven ones can be placed inside bottles or vases; you could even string them across a statement wall. When it comes to colours, deep teal and dark plum are two very hot hues for home decor this festive season. Statement walls in either of these colours can make waves. The best part is that one can explore with so many different shades against the backdrop of these colours – dull greens with teals and greenish blues make a beautiful colour story. Likewise, shades of pinks, off-whites and a dash of light teal with a gold accent works really well with a deep-plum wall. Bronze is another great accent to work with this season. On the upholstery, go lighter and use connected contrasts. For example, for the teal story, one can work with light or dull shades of blues and greens with an accent of powder lemons and off-white or pearl.

       Amitha Madan, Architect and interior designer, Bengaluru

A few ways in which you could transform your home for the festive season is by adding some Indian motifs directly on to the walls and choosing brightly coloured cushions in your living room. Consider a traditionally designed floor lamp, bring in a new painting or reupholster an old piece of furniture with a graphic-print fabric. Drench your home with fuchsia pink or royal blue.