Naturally colourful food from your kitchen shelves can spruce up your interior decor and bring in a hint of the unique. Here are some ideas ...
Naturally colourful food from your kitchen shelves can spruce up your interior decor and bring in a hint of the unique. Here are some ideas to add that element of intrigue to your living space. You could come up with some more once you begin.
Popcorn blossoms
Popcorn is often used by school children in their craftwork. So, if you have children, you could rope them in to help you with this craft. You could use popcorn to pep up some old twigs or branches innovatively. Pop some plain corn in your 'kadhai' or oven and leave to cool. Gather rather long twigs with several tiny sprouts on them. Paint them in silver or gold and stick them into the metal bristles of a long brush. You could also fill a tabletop ceramic plant-holder with sand and stick the twigs into it. Touch up the twigs with popcorn - you could either glue them on or poke the slender sprouts into them. Sprinkle some glitter over them for a surreal effect. Adorn your children's room with these popcorn blossoms and watch their faces light up with glee.
Spice garden
Cloves, mace, saffron, cashewnuts, raisins, and other spices add that zing to your culinary exploits. Now you can explore the possibilities they offer to spice up your decor too.
Get your carpenter to shape out tiny wooden trays with edges. You could have trays in square or rectangular shapes in different sizes too. Fill up these trays with each spice of your choice, for example, fill up one tray with only cashewnuts or only dried red chillies. Now, get these trays framed with glass. Once you get them all framed, hang them up on the walls of your dining room or kitchen, or any place you wish to adorn. If the trays are of different shapes and sizes, design a collage or cluster with them and mix and match the spice-trays according to their colours. Focus tiny overhead lights on them; you'll be amazed at the effect.
Vinegar vignettes
You must have often noticed large glass urns filled with colourful fruits and veggies adorning bars and restaurants, creating a distinct aura. This kind of embellishment can be created at home too. All you need is some large coloured or plain glass bottles that you always wanted to discard. Fill them up with clear vinegar and cover the top. Drop in some spring onions, gherkins, green chillies or any colourful vegetable that you would also want to add to your menu in future. Place these bottles on your dining table centre or kitchen. Place a candle or some kind of lighting behind the bottles to set both bottles and the food inside them glowing. The beauty of the whole concept is that since vinegar is a preservative, you could always use these soaked ingredients in your recipe or as tangy accompaniments.
Pulse beat
Colourful pulses, seeds, and cereals from your pantry can come across as wonderful decor objects. If you already have a glass-topped table with space between the glass sheet and the wooden table below, make use of it as a canvas for your artwork. Only, you will be working on grains instead of paint. Spread pulses like masoor dal or green gram dal under the glass top in various designs, like a rangoli. Change the designs and the pulses according to the decor you plan for the day. What's more, you can still use them in cooking. You could also, perhaps, ask your carpenter to fashion out a deep wooden tea table with edges and divisions in them to fill up with these food-grains. Top it up with a large glass sheet with fasteners to hold the top over the wooden base. So, while you dine, you can have an aerial view of the many hues of the grains through the glass top. Change the food-grains every once in a while to create an element of surprise for your family.
These are only some of the wonderful surprises found on your kitchen shelf. Rummage through your kitchen cabinet and you could come up with some more.
Popcorn blossoms
Popcorn is often used by school children in their craftwork. So, if you have children, you could rope them in to help you with this craft. You could use popcorn to pep up some old twigs or branches innovatively. Pop some plain corn in your 'kadhai' or oven and leave to cool. Gather rather long twigs with several tiny sprouts on them. Paint them in silver or gold and stick them into the metal bristles of a long brush. You could also fill a tabletop ceramic plant-holder with sand and stick the twigs into it. Touch up the twigs with popcorn - you could either glue them on or poke the slender sprouts into them. Sprinkle some glitter over them for a surreal effect. Adorn your children's room with these popcorn blossoms and watch their faces light up with glee.
Spice garden
Cloves, mace, saffron, cashewnuts, raisins, and other spices add that zing to your culinary exploits. Now you can explore the possibilities they offer to spice up your decor too.
Get your carpenter to shape out tiny wooden trays with edges. You could have trays in square or rectangular shapes in different sizes too. Fill up these trays with each spice of your choice, for example, fill up one tray with only cashewnuts or only dried red chillies. Now, get these trays framed with glass. Once you get them all framed, hang them up on the walls of your dining room or kitchen, or any place you wish to adorn. If the trays are of different shapes and sizes, design a collage or cluster with them and mix and match the spice-trays according to their colours. Focus tiny overhead lights on them; you'll be amazed at the effect.
Vinegar vignettes
You must have often noticed large glass urns filled with colourful fruits and veggies adorning bars and restaurants, creating a distinct aura. This kind of embellishment can be created at home too. All you need is some large coloured or plain glass bottles that you always wanted to discard. Fill them up with clear vinegar and cover the top. Drop in some spring onions, gherkins, green chillies or any colourful vegetable that you would also want to add to your menu in future. Place these bottles on your dining table centre or kitchen. Place a candle or some kind of lighting behind the bottles to set both bottles and the food inside them glowing. The beauty of the whole concept is that since vinegar is a preservative, you could always use these soaked ingredients in your recipe or as tangy accompaniments.
Pulse beat
Colourful pulses, seeds, and cereals from your pantry can come across as wonderful decor objects. If you already have a glass-topped table with space between the glass sheet and the wooden table below, make use of it as a canvas for your artwork. Only, you will be working on grains instead of paint. Spread pulses like masoor dal or green gram dal under the glass top in various designs, like a rangoli. Change the designs and the pulses according to the decor you plan for the day. What's more, you can still use them in cooking. You could also, perhaps, ask your carpenter to fashion out a deep wooden tea table with edges and divisions in them to fill up with these food-grains. Top it up with a large glass sheet with fasteners to hold the top over the wooden base. So, while you dine, you can have an aerial view of the many hues of the grains through the glass top. Change the food-grains every once in a while to create an element of surprise for your family.
These are only some of the wonderful surprises found on your kitchen shelf. Rummage through your kitchen cabinet and you could come up with some more.
