Tamil Nadu

Dressing up homes in times of distress

Photo: K. Ananthan

Can wait: Middle class families concentrate less on furnishing with products coming at premium prices. –

The mushrooming of many showrooms in the city selling home décor items to dress up the living rooms, bedrooms and dining rooms of many a house or apartment may seem to give the impression that buying such items has become a way of life.

But, in truth it is not so. There are those for whom dressing up a home still remains way out of reach.

“When even dressing up the individuals in the family has become a difficult proposition in the face of inflation, how can we middle class people think of dressing up our home, that too a rented one at that,” opines Sri Kumar, who resides in a two-bedroom apartment in Town Hall.

For the middle and lower-middle class, furniture like 5-seater upholstered sofas, dining table, bedsteads and furnishings like curtains, artistic pelmets, lamp shades, carpets, etc., are a luxury.

With or without inflation, the price of such items does not attract them towards this section of people.

It remains a mainstay of high-end users.

In Sri Kumar’s residence one can find furniture; but, they are of utility value. His wooden-seater sofa comes with detachable cushions.

His dining table and teapoy is of moulded plastic and his cots are made of steel.

Since the windows have frosted glass, the trouble of making curtains is not there.

Having said this, the home décor items do find a place in the homes of the upper middle class, rich and nouveau rich. There are many who really like to dress up their homes, some based on utility and others based on taste.

P. Senthilnayakam, proprietor of Home Decors, a shop that sells furnishing fabrics, says: “It is true that furnishing material come at high prices. Curtain material costs anywhere between Rs. 100 and 350 a metre. For a standard two-bedroom apartment at least 40 metres of material is required. That combined with stitching charges will work up to a total cost of Rs. 7,500. It is quite difficult for the middle class.”

Anita Raj, wife of a Government employee, who has two sets of curtains, has this to say: “It has nothing to do with whether you are rich or not. Basic home décor adds value to your home and also gives a good ambience to the living space. I made my polyester curtains nine years back and they are still going strong. I bought them at Rs. 40 a metre then and gave it to a professional curtain maker.”

There are others home makers from the middle income group who say that dressing up a home needs an artistic bent. Subita Ramesh, wife of a Central Government employee who is on a transferable job, says: “I pick up things from wherever I go. I do not discriminate agaisnt shops. I buy cushion and pillow covers and bed spreads even from payments. Size of shops is immaterial; quality of the cloth is what matters. I dress up my divan and wooden sofa with cotton cushions. They are cheaper and better than upholstered sofa and also give an ethnic look.”

People are increasingly going the cotton and polyester way for furnishing. Such cost-effective measures are expected to make homes presentable without ostentation.

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