Rushika & Dipkal’s Palo Alto apartment

Rushika has an affinity for antiques and has a huge collection of vintage/antique brass and bronze decor, candle stands and lanterns that she has collected over the years, and incorporated into her decor, in every room. Here are excerpts from our conversation interspersed with glimpses of the home she shares with her husband Dipkal.

Its a space that is very special to both of them as it’s the first home they have shared together.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - An antiques collection of brass and bronze decor, candle stands and lanterns

Location: Palo Alto, California
Home: 700 square foot, 50 year old apartment
Residents: Rushika and Dipkal

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - adding elements of color to living room in the form of fabric, art and general decor pieces

What is key for you in a home? What do you focus on when decorating and also when seeing to functionality?

The key for me in a home is light, color, warmth and books. I need a home to feel like its been lived in and has cosy reading nooks. Some ambience with the perfect mood lights, a good book and a minty, honey pine scent of eucalyptus is the perfect description of my constant decor mood.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - A home is light, color, warmth and has cosy reading nooks

I prefer neutral walls and backgrounds, adding elements of color to them in the form of fabric, art and general decor pieces. Most of our larger furniture pieces are from Ikea.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of brass bowl, antique clock, lantern, candle stands and green plant on the table

However, as we live in a 700 square foot apartment, storage has always been a challenge. I’ve used a lot of bins and baskets from Ikea to solve that problem. All the unsightly yet important items at home are neatly Marie Kondo’ed into beautiful boxes and that adds the functionality to my decor in my home.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the book shelf and vintage collection
Dikpal and I first connected on our mutual love for reading and travel! Our idea of an ideal staycation is coffee in bed, and reading side by side. The books we have at home are now an amalgamation of Dikpal’s and my collection.

What’s your home style?

I would say our home style is an evolving eclectic maximalist one, with a touch of Indian and a splash of green. I especially love dividing the rooms based on style. I love the combination of old porcelain, wood and metal in my kitchen and I love the combination of modern Bohemian and a colonial cottage style decor in my bedroom and living room. However, the common elements across all the rooms are the vintage/antique brass and bronze decor, candle stands and lanterns I’ve collected over the years.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the beautiful painting and the antiques collection of brass and bronze decor, candle stands and lanterns at the corner of the room

Where do you source your decor pieces from?

We live in a culturally diverse city, so we love exploring our local area and we have some strokes of luck like the vintage oil paintings. They were from a local estate sale. Sometimes there are interesting sales that we stumble upon in our neighbourhood using the Nextdoor app. We also love travelling and I love collecting. Needless to say, I always collect souvenirs from our travels and they always manage to fit in perfectly with the rest of the house.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the beautiful collection of brass decor, candle stands, lanterns and oil painting at the sitting room

Most of my antique and vintage decor are salvaged from old homes in and around Hyderabad. Hence, I source almost all my antique and vintage decor pieces from antique stores in Hyderabad. The rugs in my home are sourced from Wayfair. Some precious pieces of decor are vintage heirlooms.

Any special stories or reminiscences pertaining to your decor?

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the vintage oil paintings from a local estate sale

These vintage oil paintings from a local estate sale. They were lucky finds.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of brass bowl, brass diya, oil painting, candle stand, books and plant at the corner of the room

The brass pot is special and it was a part of my wedding. There are parts of the pot that detail the south Indian wedding ceremony.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of brass pot, buddha, oil painting, lamp, and plants at the corner of the living room

All the china are priceless wedding gifts from my family. Some new and some old. The top shelf has a vintage Royal Albert Rabbit TeaPot which I love! The bottom shelf has Vintage Noritake China. The middle shelf has the Royal Albert Christmas ornaments and my favorite Noritake mugs!

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - Vintage tea set from China
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - Vintage tea set from China
  • Cushion Covers in my living room> Most of them are designed by my mother and me. We love vivid hues and textiles. We started making these covers initially to prevent wastage from old cloth material or clothes that couldn’t be donated. We are always on the lookout for interesting textiles and design patterns. We enjoy the process of creating these statement accessories together and they are the first thing people notice at my home.
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the handmade cushion covers in the living room
  • The brass switchboards are some unique finds. Since our home is quite old, the interiors came with very old switch boards which I wanted to upgrade. I was exploring craigslist when I found these vintage switchboards at a throwaway price.
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the unique brass switchboards and brass key holder

I love the lushness of your balcony garden.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - Love the lushness and the beauty of balcony garden

I do love my balcony makeover. It’s a narrow small space open to the elements and it overlooks the parking lot. Some green moments later, its transformed and given us the perfect view from our lovely french windows in the living room.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - The chair, candle stand, and book helps to cozify the space, and the hanging planters add extra planting area

I come from generations of seasoned green thumbs who love to surround themselves with plants. So I love plants. The process of getting my hands dirty in the soil and caring for them is therapeutic for me. It calms me and makes me happy!

What tips do you have for my readers when it comes to decorating?

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the lovely corner of the room to relax
  • There is always a method to the madness. Measure, plan and decor always.
  • Be yourself. For me that means finding unique pieces that hold my attention and have a story.

What is your current design philosophy, where do you get your inspiration from?

I would say that my current design philosophy is a work in progress. There are so many things I want to explore and experiment with. The only constant is my love for color, books and anything antique/vintage. I get a lot of decor inspiration from Apartment Therapy, Jungalow, Kinfolk, Instagram.

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the hanging plant at the corner of the room

I also get a lot of my inspiration from my mother. From a very young age I’ve seen her collect and transform her space. So maybe my decor is a part of her style and that feels like home to me.

The Kitchen

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the utensils and tea sets at kitchen cabinet
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - Kitchen jar sets
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - tea leave powder
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's- tea sets at the kitchen cabinet
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - kitchen storage glass container
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the kitchen room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - stainless steel indian spices container
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - wall to wall style decoration
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the kitchen room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - hanging frame at the corner of the room

A beautiful collection of Antiques

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - A beautiful collection of antique clock and books
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - brass bowl with flower on it
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of brass lantern and books at the corner of the room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of brass lantern and books at the reading nook
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of bronze, books, candle stand and green plants at the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the beautiful collection of candles, frames, brass bowl, green plants, candle stands, and diya at the corner of the room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the indoor green plants on the table
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the brass bowl is filled with flower
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the antique clock at the corner of the room

Some shots of the Living Room

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the oil painting, indoor green plants, candle stand, book shelf and vintages at the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of succulent plants and buddha at the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the antique collection at the living room area
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the collection of green plant, lamp, bronze, brass bowl and diya at the corner of the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the brass buddha at the corner of the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the beautiful collection of brass, books, green plants, oil painting, and candle stands at the living room
Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - the brass collection, oil painting frame, green plants at the living room

Thank you Rushika and Dipkal. I immensely enjoyed looking around your home! I always end with my favourite image from a home tour, and these are the ones that I loved the best from this home! How about you?

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - front door into the living room area

And, if you wish to save these images to your warm Pinterest boards, head to our Pinterest page (we have already pinned these up there) and pin away!
You could also follow Rushika on Instagram, to get fresh pics of this home every week!

Affinity for antiques and collection of vintage | Home tour of Rushika & Dipkal's - Love the lushness and the beauty of balcony garden

Speaking of instagram, we have a whole lot of new products that we revealed this week on Instagram, including a new edition of our popular line of frames. Connect with me Sharon on Instagram to check these out, and DM me to get the deets

Dear readers, we hope to bring you more home tours in the coming weeks. Do you want your home or a friend’s home featured here? Please fill this form.

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