Installed In Nature

Monica Jain takes us through the journey of curating outdoor space in your homes

- Monica Jain

I must admit at the very outset that I’m a very visual person. Being predominantly right-brained, when I look at a space, I conjure up images of how to transform it. It happens automatically; I literally cannot help it. The image appears as a diaphanous screen before my eyes and from the virtual to the real, it is a pretty exciting journey.

Talking of gardens, look into any Dilliwale ka home, you will most definitely find a green patch - an outdoor space, which could be a beautiful terrace garden, or acres of greens in a typical Delhi farmhouse. Delhi isn’t just a city of public gardens, its a city where every resident creates his own private one. A natural consequence of a love for gardens is a beautification that goes beyond flowers and foliage. Art is the new way to create stunning outdoor spaces.

Layout

It depends on your philosophy, what you believe in and then finding a way to give it an expression. An outdoor space is as much a reflection of your personality; So, if you are secretive and like to reveal slowly, or are just who is looking for a quiet, then styling outdoors is a great way to achieve it.

The Grand Entrance

The key to making that first great impression is of course, une entrée grande. Duh. Let’s start with something more subtle and beautiful that is a harbinger of things to come. A pair of very elegant, white marble columns I sourced recently from a French villa down south. Stylistically, the capital atop the base and pillar is Corinthian. The way the bright, yellow sunlight dances upon them heightening their grace and beauty is sheer joy to behold!