RAISE THE CEILING

One of the sights that has always managed to take my breath away on tours of grand old buildings on holidays is the detailed workmanship on the ceilings - be it painted, guilded, trompe l'oeiled, stuccoed, Venetian plastered, wood carved or plain old rustic beamed. Craning my neck up to look at the amazing, beautiful ceilings is like looking at the stars on a cloudless night, each gaze falls on something new, something I haven't noticed before - and I have always felt that it is such a shame we have moved away from that in design. Ceiling is never the emphasis now, decorating our homes we hardly give a passing thought to ceilings expect to check the height if hanging a chandelier. But there is so much more to ceilings, our elders knew better, and nature knows better too- it's  canvass has ever changing ceiling with clouds flitting across, the sun shining through, bathing the clouds in all hues and shades of amber, the stars twinkling at night and the moon, changing from a low hanging mysterious fiery orange ball to slithering light up high in the sky. In fact, nature's ever changing ceiling is what keeps our surroundings fresh and new.

Most homemaker's budget does not extend to ceilings apart from a coat of paint, but making a note-worthy ceiling needn't  break the bank. Painting them other than white is the easiest and cheapest way. Another is adding mouldings so they look like roof panels. My sister has amazing beams in her lounge, which in reality are low-cost steel bars salvaged from a factory throwaway and treated with paint and plaster to look like rustic old beams. Stencilling a ceiling rose around a grand chandelier is another pick-me-up tip that adds drama and glamour to an otherwise boring ceiling. All it takes is a bit of ingenuity, a bit of time, loving labour and there -  you have a ceiling that becomes a talking point and  another source of pure joy (second to your children, of course!). Here are a few home-makers who know the value of interesting ceilings. Be inspired and raise the ceiling on your next décor makeover.

ON BEING RESPONSIBLE

Working in a secondary school, I can't help but come across a lot of young people who most days lack the will to do anything - more so in particular if it has anything to do with learning - and just to be clear I work in a school that has been inspected and judged to be "above average" in all aspects of teaching and learning - which often gets me pondering if this is how young people are in a very good school, where teachers go all out to present information in an interesting and meaningful context, what about all those who attend the not so good schools, where learning opportunities are not so varied?

The problem I find with younger generation is not that they are lacking any brain cells, oh no, in many ways, like use of technology, the younger generation is much more smarter (or coming up with new and ingenious excuses of not doing their work and missing deadlines!) - the problem lies in younger generation having no sense of personal responsibility. They are self-appeasing. They only want to do things they like to do, and if learning Maths or researching History is not one of them, then good luck to the teacher who tries to burden them with any stuff related to that. They will do the bare minimum they can to scrape through and sometimes not even that.

Don't get me wrong, as a teacher and educator, I do believe you do well in things you enjoy and you should definitely do more of what you like - after all wasn't that Albert Einstein's advice to his own son, but sometimes, in fact, many times in adult life you have to do things that you don't particularly enjoy but that form part of the job you do enjoy. Speaking of myself, I love the teaching aspect of my job, put the paperwork and reports are not something I look forward to, but do I have to do them, yes, and I feel a responsibility to do those just as well as any other aspect of my job. Young people just don't get that. I often have these discussions with my students who say being responsible is shackling,  it takes away your freedom and the will and time to do other things you want to do - and I always say to them - on the contrary,  being responsible is actually having more freedom- because when you feel responsible, you are taking matters in your own hands, you become the master of your time, learning and you carve your own paths, just as you like them  - it gives you more autonomy than you can imagine. It is such a beautiful, powerful feeling, and you have to practice being responsible to know it.  I have yet to find a student who has taken up on my offer!

And talking of being responsible in interior design, I have always liked the idea of  using materials  in design that are environmentally friendly, but have also always secretly thought eco friendly designs lacked ---- well, a whole lot. They are mostly poorly designed, look uncomfortable, bare and raw - poor cousins of  their better designed and more upmarket furniture. But recently, I have seen environmentally friendly designs, that have forced me to change my views - some of these are at par if not better than other furniture.  Here are some of the "responsible furniture" that would look amazing in any home.