Smart home decors for your house

Here are some ideas...

PAINT SOLID COLOURS
Use solid colours for your drawing room. Monochromatic colours like orange, red and pink can do wonders. Keep a bright coloured sofa or bean bag and paint one of the walls of your house grey.

KEEP BRASS ARTIFACTS
Brass gives a classy touch to your living room. A brass idol or candle stand placed at a strategic location in the living room helps create a serene atmosphere in the house.

LIGHT UP
Use candles and lampshades around your house. Instead of regular candles, use cupcake moulds to make candles for your house. Make lamp shades with earthen pots for that ethnic touch to your house.

USE FURNITURE WITH CLEAN LINES
To make your house look clutter free, opt for no-fuss furniture. It is easy to maintain and doesn't require much dusting. Keep some bright coloured cushions on the floor and on the sofas to add dash of colour to your room.

HAVE STYLISH SEPARATIONS
Partition is a great way to separate the living room and the dinning room. Make the partition such that it can be used a bookshelf. Keep it less bulky, otherwise it might occupy a lot of space in the room.

SHOE IT OFF
Dirty shoes lying in the house can be a big turn-off. Keep a sitting place along with it so that people can change their shoes comfortably. Keep the shoe rack in the corner of the drawing room so that dirty footwear does not spoil the carpets and rugs of your room.

MAKE AN ART WALL
Art walls can change the entire look of your house, provided they are arranged properly. Mix and match art walls with masks, paintings and photographs to add grace and brightness to your house.

BE A BOOKWORM
Books can be used to add an element of sophistication to your house. Place them on the centre table or on the book rack. But don't forget to dust them properly. You can use interesting bookends available at home decor stores.

KEEP IT GREEN
A green plant kept at the entrance of the house will add liveliness to your house. Keep a bonsai plant in a corner of the room or play around with the placement with different indoor plants. All they require is a little bit of care.

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'50 Shades' actress debuts bob hairdo

Actress Dakota Johnson appeared with a new look in her new tousled bob-length locks.

The actress, best known as Anastasia Steele in "Fifty Shades of Grey", was spotted hanging out here wearing her newly lobbed hair on Wednesday. Teaming her new hairdo with skinny jeans, grey coat, boots and round glasses, the 25-year-old actress looked more fresh, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The bob cut suits her so much as it frames her face nicely.

Johnson appeared in "Fifty Shades of Grey" with her long brunette hair. In the movie, she used to style her hair into a braid which definitely matched the character's innocent disposition.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" was based on erotic romance novel written by E. L. James under the same title. Directed by Sam Taylor-Jonson with a screenplay by Kelly Marcet, the movie also starred Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Eloise Mumford as Katherine Kavanagh.

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Kitchen remedies for tanned and sunburnt skin

While we all start preparing ourselves to beat the heat even before we step into summers, skin darkening, tanning and sunburns cannot be avoided whatsoever.

These simple beauty tricks that emerge from your kitchen will help you get rid of the annoying sun tans or sunburnt skin, that most us face, in spite of using the best suncreen or anti-tan lotions.

Aloe vera gel A perfect cooling remedy for sun-burnt skin, is the gel from a freshly plucked aloe vera leaf. Apply it over the sun-burnt area and rinse it off after it dries. Repeat the procedure for a few days.

Gram flour face pack Gram flour i.e. besan will help you get rid of an unwanted tan. You just need to mix some besan, a few drops of lemon juice and curd. Apply it to your face and other tanned parts of your body, rinse off with cold water after it gets dried. A 10-day regimen will help you get your tan off.

Honey and lime Mix honey with a teaspoon of lemon juice and apply it to your face after coming in from the hot sun. It will considerably reduce redness and darkening of skin.

Cooler cubes It's not just drinks that ice cubes are known to cool; they are a very useful beauty remedy as well. Freeze one part of milk mixed with three parts of water; cover these ice cubes with a cloth and rub it over your face; it will help cure sunburnt skin.

Turmeric mask A mask prepared by mixing fresh turmeric powder and milk can help you get rid of a stubborn tan.

Published on 16/4/2015

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Books from 15th century worth $6 million donated!

A collection of rare books dating back to the 15th century was donated to the State Library of Victoria, Australia. The books were donated to the library by the family of Melbourne barrister John Emmerson.

Valued at about 8 million Australian dollars (about $6 million), the collection also contains early editions of noted British writers, including Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift.

The collection also includes books owned by King Charles I of England, a Nuremberg bible dating back to 1485, and pamphlets that had daily news about the impeding execution of Charles I.

Emmerson began collecting books in the 1960s when he was studying nuclear physics at Oxford University. He continued buying books even after he returned home to Melbourne in the 1970s.

He passed away in August last year.

The library's head of rare books Des Cowley said the collection's centrepiece was the huge array of extremely rare tracts and pamphlets printed during the English Civil War in the mid-17th century.

"This would be the single greatest bequest of rare books in the State Library of Victoria's 160-year history," Cowley said.

"We are quite stunned and we are only just starting to really get a sense of the richness and depth of this collection," he added.

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'50 Shades' actress debuts bob hairdo

Actress Dakota Johnson appeared with a new look in her new tousled bob-length locks.

The actress, best known as Anastasia Steele in "Fifty Shades of Grey", was spotted hanging out here wearing her newly lobbed hair on Wednesday. Teaming her new hairdo with skinny jeans, grey coat, boots and round glasses, the 25-year-old actress looked more fresh, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The bob cut suits her so much as it frames her face nicely.

Johnson appeared in "Fifty Shades of Grey" with her long brunette hair. In the movie, she used to style her hair into a braid which definitely matched the character's innocent disposition.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" was based on erotic romance novel written by E. L. James under the same title. Directed by Sam Taylor-Jonson with a screenplay by Kelly Marcet, the movie also starred Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Eloise Mumford as Katherine Kavanagh.

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Books from 15th century worth $6 million donated!

A collection of rare books dating back to the 15th century was donated to the State Library of Victoria, Australia. The books were donated to the library by the family of Melbourne barrister John Emmerson.

Valued at about 8 million Australian dollars (about $6 million), the collection also contains early editions of noted British writers, including Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift.

The collection also includes books owned by King Charles I of England, a Nuremberg bible dating back to 1485, and pamphlets that had daily news about the impeding execution of Charles I.

Emmerson began collecting books in the 1960s when he was studying nuclear physics at Oxford University. He continued buying books even after he returned home to Melbourne in the 1970s.

He passed away in August last year.

The library's head of rare books Des Cowley said the collection's centrepiece was the huge array of extremely rare tracts and pamphlets printed during the English Civil War in the mid-17th century.

"This would be the single greatest bequest of rare books in the State Library of Victoria's 160-year history," Cowley said.

"We are quite stunned and we are only just starting to really get a sense of the richness and depth of this collection," he added.

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Keep your leather products forever new

RELATED KEYWORDS: Vinegar|stains|Products|olive-oil|Leather|cleansers

The author has posted comments on this articleIANS | Apr 14, 2015, 12.00AM IST

Keep your leather products forever new (Getty Images)

Page 1 of 4

Leather accessories add an 'oomph' factor to one's wardrobe, but keeping them looking new can be tricky. Avoid using harsh cleansers and remember to use vinegar or olive oil to clean them, says an expert.

Here are some tips from Utsav Malhotra, general manager (sales and sourcing), FashionAndYou, a flash website in the fashion and lifestyle space, which will help you to keep your leather looking as lovely as always:

Cleaning stains: Generally, a paste of one part tartar and one part lemon juice works well to wipe dark stains off your prized leather possessions. Rub the paste on the problem area and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it with a damp cloth dipped in soapy water. After the removal, dry the leather with a towel. To remove stains instantly, use chalk powder to absorb the moisture and clean the stain.

Avoid harsh cleansers: Your leathers are high-maintenance and just like everything else that falls into that category, they are also extremely delicate. So keep those alkalis and alcohol-based cleansers at bay. Bleach, ammonia-based cleaners and varnish are other items that you must never use unless you want to see serious damage or discoloration on your most beloved bags, jackets or boots.

Removing mould or mildew: First let the leather product dry out completely in a warm room. Get rid of the surface mould with a damp cloth. Then allow the leather to dry again. After this, use a mild cleaner like baby shampoo and see the mildew come off completely. To keep mould growth away, air your handbag once every two weeks.

Use vinegar: One of the most effective home remedies for leather is white vinegar. Mix this in equal proportions with water and dip a towel into the mixture. Wipe the towel gently over the affected surface till the stains/mould wipes out completely. Allow the leather accessory to dry out on its own. Using artificial heat is never a good idea with leather.

Olive oil: This wonder oil is good for your metabolism, skin, hair and even for your treasured leather jacket or bag. Dip a soft cleaning cloth in a bowl of olive oil and wipe away that unwanted grime dulling the beauty of your luscious leather!

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Gunter Wilhelm Grass' India connection

As an author, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist and sculptor, Nobel laureate Gunter Wilhelm Grass was a true giant with success in every artistic form he explored.

His association with India began in the 1980s when he joined the long list of activists linked to the country's peace movement and stayed predominantly in Calcutta (now Kolkata) with wife Ute from August 1986 to January 1987.

His extended sojourn in India resulted into the publishing of "Zunge Zeigen", an allusion to Kali's tongue, in 1988. It is a prose of approximately 90 pages, 80 drawings and a long epic poem of approximately 23 pages and is considered to to recognise Kolkata's role as a mirror of the global conflicts between the developing and the developed world.

"This is very sad. A true giant, inspiration, and friend. Drum for him, little Oskar," wrote India-born author Salman Rushdie on Grass' death.

The legend died in a hospital in Lubeck at the age of 87. Read more on him here!

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Books that beauty queens recommend!

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01

fbb Femina Miss India 2015 Aditi Arya is an avid reader. Her recommendation is Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. 

Books that beauty queens recommend!

/life-style/photo-stories/photo-stories-do-not-make-active/books-that-beauty-queens-recommend/eventshow/46932328.cms

02

Miss India World 2014 Koyal Rana suggests Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. She thinks that it is a beautiful story by a brilliant story writer. 

Books that beauty queens recommend!

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03

Miss India International 2014 Jhataleka Malhotra recommends Jean Sasson's Daughters of Arabia. 

Books that beauty queens recommend!

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04

Miss Supranational 2014 Asha Bhat completely falls back on Shiv Khera's You Can win. She recommends the bestseller to everyone. This book has kept the fire to win alive in her always. 

Books that beauty queens recommend!

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05

fbb Femina Miss India second runner-up Vartika Singh is able to be grounded because she relies completely on this book - Act Like Success Think Like Success! 

Books that beauty queens recommend!

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Young Adult Literary Convention returns

This year's Young Adult Literary Convention (YALC) is shaping up to be a very exciting books festival indeed.

In 2014, the event brought together over 50 leading YA authors for a programme of talks, workshops and signings, a bookshop provided by Waterstones and publisher stands promoting new and upcoming titles.

21 authors for this year's programme have already been announced, including US YA superstar Cassandra Clare; Youtuber Carrie Hope Fletcher; bestselling author of The Bone Season Samantha Shannon; Skulduggery Pleasant creator Derek Landy; reigning Queen of Teen James Dawson; and Malorie Blackman who is the founder of YALC.

Derek Landy and Carrie Hope Fletcher will be joining YALC founder Malorie Blackman at the convention, which will take place at in a dedicated Book Zone at the London Film and Comic Con from from 17-19 July 2015 at Olympia, London.

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