Properties, Homes & more

This is final part of the series of articles on how one can utilize the inexpensive Styrofoam Ceiling Tiles as an innovative home decor. In Part 1, I explained what Styrofoam tiles are, their properties, and what make them so eligible for creative home decor. In Part 2, I gave a brief step-by-step approach on installing Styrofoam tiles.

In this article, let’s see how one can transform a plain looking ceiling into a fantastically beautiful one with the user of Styrofoam tiles! Here are some of the examples:

Please click on respective images to view larger image.

If you would notice, with the help of Styrofoam Ceiling Tiles, you can transform the dull, plain, (mostly) white ceiling into something totally hep… something which completely reflects the personality of the owner… something which not only makes the dull ceiling beautiful but also make it look trendy and stylish… something which is truly yourself… something which will attract zillions of jealous looks towards your “inexpensive yet classy” home decor!

I am starting this series where I will list down all the latest trends, innovative approaches, creative ideas in the field of Home Decor. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them me. You are also most welcome to write your Guest Entry on this blog - please contact me for more details.

The WALLPAPERS have literally stormed the world of home decor in the last decade. There has been lot of research and development in the field of Wallpapers since then. Now we have wallpapers that are so creative and innovative that you simply can’t take your eyes off them. At the same time, these are quite expensive also.

Move on from Wallpapers to STYROFOAM CEILING TILES. Yes, the age-old tiles are back in all-new shape and form. If you are remodeling your home and need more insulation, you should opt for Styrofoam ceiling tile. If you have high power (i.e. electricity) bills and you believe that the cool or warm air is escaping from your home, you must use Styrofoam tiles. With their usage, you will be able to immediately spot a clear difference in the “retention capacity” of your home.

The Styrofoam ceiling tiles are very inexpensive. If you are on a tight budget, this may be the answer for you, if you are needing a lot of tiles for your ceiling. Not only that, these tiles now come in so many different shapes and forms, you will simply fall in love with them. You will get that great tiled look that you want, as well as a ceiling that is brand new and still have money in your pocket. Installing these tiles is not at all hard. Once the tile is installed, unless you already know that it is Styrofoam, no one else will be able to tell the difference! So you can easily pass it off as an expensive home decor!!

In my next article, I will discuss where one can buy Styrofoam ceiling tiles, how to install them (D-I-Y type instructions) and a few samples. Let your suggestions flow…

In a bonanza for residents of a Khar housing society in Mumbai, a builder has been buying off their mid-sized flats, paying each family between Rs 4 crore and Rs 5.5 crore.

Mumbai-based Parinee Developers claims to have shelled out between Rs 4 crore to Rs 4.5 crore for a one-BHK flat and Rs 5 crore to Rs 5.5 crore for a two-and-a-half-BHK in the three-decade-old Bharatiya Bhavan Cooperative Housing Society, which is located at the corner of 17th Road in Khar (west). Parinee plans to demolish the buildings and set up a high-end residential tower.

However, there is a word of caution from real estate experts. They warn these huge amounts may send wrong signals in the redevelopment market, unnecessarily create hype and raise expectations of other housing societies in the area. However, Parinee said it is paying this astronomical price only because the society has utilised barely 40% of its floor space index (FSI).

The developer has already bought out 20 of the 37 flats in the society and said it is negotiating with the remaining flat owners. “We are finalising the purchase of the remaining 17 flats. Our acquisition cost for all the flats is around Rs 200 crore,’’ said a spokesperson for the developer. The society comprising six buildings, each ground plus two floors, is spread over an area of 5,570 square yards (over an acre) with ample open spaces and car parking. The one-BHKs have a carpet area of between 580 to 625 sq ft while the two BHKs are between 800 to 900 sq ft in size. The society has been on the block for the past four years. In 2007, TOI was the first to report that the society had invited sealed bids from various developers and that a Navi Mumbai-based builder, APA, had offered Rs 180 crore to the society.

A real estate expert has a word of advice for housing society residents, “Dont get greedy. Stick to only prominent developers who have delivered in the past.’’ The expert further said some unknown builders in the past had offered astronomical prices to housing societies, even outbidding the big guns in the industry. These shady builders are just fronts for some politicians who want to roll their black money in real estate. Housing societies should stay miles away from such builders, he warned.

The National Textiles Corporation (NTC), which has reaped a windfall by selling off its properties in Mumbai since 2005, got another Rs 474 crore in its kitty in first week of August after Indiabulls Real Estate bagged the 2.3-acre Poddar mill at Worli Naka. The reserve price was fixed at Rs 250 crore.

For the first time ever, the NTC carried out an e-auction spread over three days. The property facing the Bandra-Worli Sea link was anyways expected to fetch a good price! The offer works out to more than Rs 200 crore per acre or more than Rs 25,000 per sq ft of saleable area. According to Knight Frank (India), the developer will probably set up a residential building and sell at the rate of between Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 a sq ft. Real estate continues to be crazy in Mumbai. With this kind of pricing, the flat will not be below Rs 5 crore for a two BHK and Rs 7-8 crore for a three BHK. Clearly, this is outside the affordability of someone who is making Rs one crore per year.

NTC also plans to sell another of its defunct mill, the eight-acre Bharat Textiles Mill, through the e-auction route which will end on August 6. A reserve price of Rs 750 crore has been fixed by the NTC. This mill is expected to fetch double the reserve price.

A small village located on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana (both Indian states) is proof of how important Bollywood is to India’s mindscape. Ever since teaser advertisements of actor-producer Aamir Khan’s latest offering, Peepli Live, started being beamed on TV, land prices in the picturesque stretch of farmland have started going up. The village’s only claim to borrowed fame is that it is also called Peepli.

The Bollywood angle to real estate fortunes is not a new one. Prices of flats and areas tend to shoot up when a Bollywood celebrity stops by. Wai in Maharashtra’s hinterland became fashionable after film-maker Prakash Jha shot one of his rural masterpieces (Mrityudand) there. Similarly, flat prices in La Mer building at upmarket Bandra soared after cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actor Aishwarya Rai bought flats there.

However, the latest episode of Bollywood magic can be seen in Peepli. In the last one month, inquiries for the purchase of farmlands have gone up. Ditto with marriage proposals for bachelors. The demand for land in Peepli is good, fetching higher prices than other neighbouring areas. There is a 33% jump, from Rs 20 lakh per acre to Rs 30 lakh.

Bhopal has also been affected by Bollywood, post-Raajneeti. In Mumbai, according to real estate agents, the buying rate of a “celebrity building” is often hiked even if it is artificially inflated in some cases. After Kangana Ranaut bought a penthouse in Bandra, the rate of the building shot up by 15%. Ad film-maker Prahlad Kakkar recalls how the rates of La Mer, where he stays, increased after Tendulkar and Rai moved in. He said, “Overnight, the rates shot up by 25%. I feel the reason was more to do with the free security that the building got. Sachin has a Z-security cover.”

But the Bollywood lift to the real estate market has its downside too. For instance, the death of a celebrity severely affects the rates of the house. After actor Priya Rajvansh died, it was difficult for her brother to sell the house; and the flat in which producer Neeraj Grover was murdered allegedly by navy man Emile Jerome and aspiring actor Maria Susairaj finally had a distress sale. It is also alleged that no one wanted to buy the flat in which Ramgopal Varma shot his horror film Bhoot. Most of these flats have to be sold at distress prices and often, they are only bought by those who are interested in them as an investment and don’t plan on staying there. Families will never buy such homes because they feel they are jinxed.