DIY: Balcony Ideas - Wall Murals

Want to test the creativity side of the brain? then balcony ideas are the best food for thoughts. If we sit back and think then we will get an enormous list of ideas that we can try there. There wouldn't be a single person who hasn't experienced sipping a tea or coffee in Balcony. Even though the balcony is the smallest square area on any apartment building, we all love to spend quality time with our loved ones by sitting, talking, playing etc.

Balcony or sit out is a special space in every home where we would try our hobbies like potting the plants, using upcycled old furniture, novel lighting systems, painting the walls etc., to name few.  When it comes to the balcony, we will be more courageous in attempting new thoughts as it is a small square area and is mostly private to our family members, so even our idea didn't turn up well, we take it easy.

Before the Murals

One such idea we got is wall murals. Instead of a single lite tone color all over the balcony, we wanted to give some life to it by adding more active colors. Wall mural are what we finally decided on rather than just active colors. We were not professional painters, not even a painters; Oh God, the last painting I did was for my high school drawing class!! Based on our proficiency level, we chose to draw a tree with simple branches. No doubt, Google is always the third eye, from so many tree models we searched, we shortlisted to three and started our rough sketch on the wall.

Materials that are required

1. Mural model
2. Chalk pieces
3. Different varieties/widths of paint brushes
4. Paint
5. Sandpaper
6. Hand gloves 
7. Waste clothes

Paints are required brushes

The paint we selected was Asian Royal paint, this is 100% odorless and is stain-free paint. Most of the paint shop has the base paint and instantly prepares the color we chose from the base paint. And the Asian Royal can be easily cleaned from our skin if paint spills on us.

Step 1 of the art

If the wall is dirty then having a coat with emulsion is good. Low-cost emulsions like Tractor can be applied 5 to 6 hours before starting the mural work.

Finished masterpiece

One more snap

Work like this will keep us engaged on the weekends and also cherish us every moment we see it. Also, ideas like this will convert the balcony into a livable area rather a dumping area.

Trip to God's Own Country : Kerala

KERALA, one of the wettest and greenest states in India. The monsoon in this state starts early and from late May or early June we can see showers to heavy rains. The state has lots of lakes, river, and backwaters with the year full of waters in it.

We started our journey from Bangalore to Cochin, which is the business capital of Kerala even though Trivandrum is the official capital. Cochin is famous for its harbor, naval base, ship building yards, and of course fishing. Actually, Cochin and Ernakulam are twin cities. Along the coastal area, it is Cochin and inside it is Ernakulam town. Cochin is also surrounded by many small islands including a manmade artificial island and each island has its own importance in history and its current functions.

Alleppey

The first spot/image that comes to our mind when we say Kerala is its unique houseboat experience. Alleppey town which is also synonymously called has 'Venice of East' has a large number of canals and the town is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on one side and Vembanad lake on the other side. The Vembanad lake is the largest lake in India and this lake is spread across multiple districts of Kerala. Alleppey town and Vembanad lake are also famous for it traditional rowing boat race.

1. Starting point of House Boats
2. Snap of another houseboat inside the lake
3. With the crew member

The houseboats are in operational for the past 25 years and in the recent past, it gained so much of attractions. As of today, there is nearly 1800 houseboat in total it seems. There are so many licensed houseboats vendors and we book one online or we can take one after going there. If it is a peak season like November or December then it is better to book in advance. The advantage of going there and booking is we can bargain and get a better deal than online booking. There are multiple variants of houseboat ranging from one room to maximum of 10 rooms house boat. Available in both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Almost all houseboat comes with a living room, dining hall, entertainment unit, and kitchen.

1. One of the rooms in houseboat
2. Living room
3. Corridor

A range of packages is available to choose from, like a day package, night package or day-night package. Two to three crew member will be accompanying us throughout the journey, they will help in preparing food, cleaning etc. The depth of the lake is huge, 12 feet to 40 feet in some places. The maximum speed of the houseboat is 20 kmph. We can see police personals patrolling on the speed boat for the safety of tourists and to avoid any incidents. On the way, if we need to buy any items, shops are there on the banks of the lake. On the journey, we can enjoy the scenic beauty where we are completely surrounded by water and small islands, we can also witness different species of birds and varieties of plants and trees.

In the evening after 5:30, they will dock the boat in a nearby village and we can go for a nature walk and sight seeing in that village. Apart from the houseboat, we can also see express boats which are like bus service to ferry people from one village to another.

Ernakulam

Ernakulam town is a diversified place with both modern and traditional values. It has Asia's largest mall 'Lulu mall' and there is another mall dedicated only for mobile phone and accessories. International brand shops across marine drive road. Chottanikkara is just a 1-hour drive from Ernakulam and it has the famous Bhagavathi temple. All temples in Kerala has its own unique architectural style, we feel blessed as we enter the sanctum.  

Fort Cochin is also near where we can see the famous Portugal's church, this is the church where Vasco da Gama was buried when he died here during his third visit to India. After few minutes drive from the church, we can reach the spot where fishermen installed Chinese fishing net for fishing, these Chinese fishing nets are shore operated lift nets.

1. Place where Vasco Da Gama was buried
2. Church built by Portugues 

Chinese fishing nets in Cochin

Vypin

Vypin is one the island around Cochin and it hosts lots and lots of resorts and homestays across the coast. To reach Vypin island, we need to cross two more islands Mulavukad and Vallarpadam. Mulavukad island houses Bolgatty Palace built by the Dutch which is now converted into a hotel. Vallarpadam island has the international container shipment terminal. Vypin island consists of many small villages and beaches. Cherai Beach is the famous beach of Vypin and is the nearest cleanest beach from Ernakulam. The other side of the beach is a lake. We stayed near Munambam beach and even here we can see a line of Chinese fishing nets in operation. 

In Munambam beach