Both my ancestral houses in Goa, one on my mother's side and one on my father's, are more than 150 years old. Both have windows made of mother of pearl shells and I grew up around them.
The hall I remember best sits at the very entrance of the house, attached to the guest living room. All our guests sat there. A long row of tall sliding windows ran down one side, each one filled with mother of pearl shells. The floor was laid with mud tiles. When the sun came through the windows the light did not fall in hard patches. It came in diffused and soft and spread slowly across those tiles. I was a small child then and I have never forgotten it. The windows are still there today.
At Goa Decor we already have Goan windows in many patterns and sizes. One of these patterns has a shape I find very pretty and I felt it would suit a mirror. So I kept the outline of the window as it is, removed the shutters and set a mirror in their place.
This is what we call Fusion Decor. We take an architectural element or a Goan element or a Goan material and turn it into a modern piece that you can use every day. The idea of turning a Goan window shape into a mirror came to me immediately.
The top of the mirror is where the shell pieces go. They are set in from behind the frame in the form of a flower or a half circle with spokes. We work from a very old collection and from salvage pieces that keep coming our way. And that is what goes into each mirror. Below it sits a full mirror that works every day.
Each mirror is made to order and delivered within 25 to 30 days. It measures about 60 cm wide and 110 cm tall and the size can be changed on request. Select pieces can be seen at our gallery. All the finishes and details are here: Goan Window Mirror with Shell Inlay
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