The best home decor idea!

We were at a board game place we love, playing a game that involved identifying colours based on a single-word description given by another player.

"Home," I said. The others (my family/cousins) stared at me. I thought the clue was pretty obvious. It was one of the prominent colours painted in our house, where we had all been barely an hour back. 

"This is officially the stupidest clue that has been given today," my husband remarked. Just a while back my sister had held that position with the clue "day" and people had chosen hues ranging from blue to yellow.

The bickering began as they all discussed which shade painted in my house it could be, or whether I was referring to my house at all. 

My sister chose yellow. Her explanation? 

"Yellow- like the warm feeling of home"

***

It is close to a year since my tiny family moved to a space of our own. 

Before we started, we had a shared vision, honed by years of working in construction and painting. The great thing about setting up a house 6 years into marriage is that you are very clear about non-negotiables and you have no problems in expressing them.

We were practical and economical. We did not buy any intricate decor items because neither of us would dedicate a weekend to cleaning them. We rejected the cute pouffes because who is paying that kind of money on something that would hurt my back. We also made a weekend trip to IKEA in Bangalore and tried our best to bring back the entire store. (Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but I swear, for me, IKEA is a close second)

The one thing we spent good money on was our couch. Neither Kartik nor I believe in love at first sight, but this piece of furniture changed our minds.

The sofa search had been a huge and pretty fruitless one. My kids had developed a deep loathing for furniture stores, and somehow, we still weren't decided. That is until we saw this beauty in Home Centre. There wasn't even a price tag on it, because you can't put a price on perfection. 

(Actually, because it was new stock and they still hadn't gotten around to it!!)

Cut to a couple of months later, we had our house all set up and were excited to bring people over. Every new guest was subjected to the tour, courtesy of Kartik. They would appreciate the gallery wall, marvel at the lighting (we have yellow and white light. It just makes more sense!), and squeal over my full-length mirror.

Then they would sit on the couch. 

Their shoulders would relax, they would lean back, eyes glazing over ever so slightly, and finally, truly fall in love with my home. 

The day we moved in, I was exhausted and took a quick nap on that sofa, and since then, I have claimed it for the lazy afternoons. The kids, on the other hand, enjoyed the bouncy cushions which they use as a ladder, a trampoline, a step stool, and a diving board. My basic instinct is to stop them, to yell -- like Suhas (from 3 idiots)-- the cost we paid for it. But I don’t. Years later, as they look at old photos, they will have better memories!

Folks who visited often knew to quickly claim their place on the couch. When we gathered to play board games, a friend’s daughter decided she wanted to be on the team that sat on the sofa! 

If the couch could talk, it would tell you that in the short time it has been with us, it has seen friends argue over cricket matches, sisters deep in conversation at 4 am, cuddly, cozy Disney movie nights, countless game nights, a couple of parties and mounds of food that was generously shared with it.

Does the couch maketh the house? I don’t think so. But I will admit that when a visitor relaxes enough to put their legs up and sit, or sinks comfortably into the soft cushions, I feel a sense of achievement. It is a matter of pride that my slice of heaven is also a place of happiness for those around me. 

We love our space. We love our quiet nights and alone time, but it wouldn’t be so if it wasn’t counterbalanced by loud, cheerful, chaotic moments.

After all, beyond the Pinterest boards and the Excel sheets, what makes a home is the people.

***

That evening, after unanimously agreeing that mine was the worst clue ever, we all came back home, back to the same couch. As we lounged in our night clothes, half-hearted watching TV and pausing a zillion times to just talk, I had to agree that ‘home’ was indeed a warm yellow.

P.S.

- The board game place is Untangled. It is awesome!

- The game we played is Hues and Cues. As you can see, it is great to be played with a big group!

- I am actually quite good at board games and my clue was a good one. If only the others had thought just a little bit!!!!

- Why are naps on couches/sofas/ way more satisfying than ones in an actual bed?

An original by Messed-up Medusa