Into the Blue

If you go to Rohima Sequeira’s for lunch, you may get served food on a tile. Pretty and polished sure, but you’ll still be taking your tempura off a tile.  In between courses and chatter, you’ll notice other similar elements of surprise around her home. Finally you’ll ask and Rohima will tell you that she’s a “compulsive DIY-er”, which led her to launch this budget revamp service with a ton of do-it-yourself ideas.

A marketing professional at a leading home decor magazine, Rohima turned her compulsive need to pretty up things into a business, after the insane number of ‘likes’ one of her refurbished cabinets garnered on Facebook. You can call Rohima if: you have a boring piece of furniture that needs new life; you need a cool buy on a budget; you need to brighten up a space at home or at the office.

No matter what option you pick, Rohima will be there with an arsenal of paintbrushes, primer, thrift store finds and power tools. And as she approaches, legs will run for cover, legs that belong to boring stools, computer chairs and wooden desks that you've grown disenchanted with. While some of the projects she’s worked on sound disappointingly familiar - wall murals and such - inquire instead about the couch covered in doilies, chrysanthemums blooming out of tea kettles and an old cabinet wrapped in pretty fabric and studded with a crystal knob (see image above). Open for business!

Make Your Own Cabinet in a Blanket

Source two metres of fabric with interesting prints.

Cut the fabric so that the four sides (excluding the door) are covered with the same print and the door with a different one for a fun touch.

Tautly mount the fabric over the cabinet making sure that you staple gun only at the bottom, inside the cabinet and behind. This allows for a clean finish.

Fit with crystal knob sourced from Turquoise (Reclamation, Bandra).

Who's crafty now?

Getting there: Call Rohima Sequeira on 9820613844 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , start at Rs 3,000 to re-furbish a desk.