Eiffel tower in Kolkata Eco Park.

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New Road to cut Airport commute by 15 minutes by next year.

Cutesy: Times of India on 24th November, 2015

Do you know that you can claim Income Tax benefit from House property & home loan ?????

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You can claim deductions against both the interest component of your home loan and HRA, if you are staying in a rented house and buy your own home.

You can claim a deduction against the interest paid on a home loan taken for the purchase of a house. The principal amount in the repayment of a home loan can be added to the Section 80C limit of Rs 1.50 lakhs for tax saving. The interest component of a home loan is allowed as a deduction under Section 24 for up to Rs 2 lakhs in case of a self-occupied house. In case the house is in the names of your spouse and you (bought with a joint loan), each one can avail Rs 2 lakhs of the interest component as a deduction.

This limit is only for a self-occupied house. In case the property is rented out, you can deduct the entire interest paid on the home loan. The rent earned from the property is added to your income. If the rent received is lesser than the loan's interest, it will lower your overall tax liability.

In case a property has been acquired or constructed with borrowed capital, the interest payable on the amount borrowed for the period prior to the previous year in which the property has been acquired or constructed is also eligible for deduction. Such interest is deductible in five equal installments commencing from the previous year in which the house has been acquired or constructed. The first installment is deductible in the year in which the construction of the property is completed or the property acquired, and the balance four installments in the four subsequent years.

It is to be noted that the loan must have been taken to construct or ac quire a house. In addition, the construction or acquisition of the residential unit with the loan should have been completed within three years from the end of the financial year in which the capital was borrowed. In order to claim the deduction you should furnish a certificate from the bank to whom the interest is payable on the capital borrowed, specifying the amount of interest payable.

The interest is allowed as a deduction on accrual basis on due basis even if it has not actually been paid during the year. The essential condition is that you should have borrowed the money, and the interest should be payable on the borrowed capital. The funds can be borrowed for the construction, acquisition, repair or reconstruction of a property.

In case of a joint loan, it is important to show the loan repayment by both co-borrowers as they can avail Rs 2 lakhs each against the interest paid as a deduction. Further, you can avail both the benefits home loan repayment and house rent allowance (HRA) if you are paying rent for the house you are staying in and have also taken a home loan to buy your own home.

Ashish Gupta, Times Property, The Times of India, Hyderabad

Retro furniture will add a classy look in your house.

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Deliberately shabby-looking furniture is turning tables in restaurants and houses. Here's how you can replace the shiny ones and get the distressed look for your home

Where once being clean and shiny was the norm, slightly worn out and rough furniture is crowing restaurants catering to yuppies and hipsters to art galleries and upmarket homes. Distressed furniture is finding buyers who are either recycling their furniture to go eco-chic or simply want to make the most of what they already have. The trend is all about cabinets, tables, chairs and beds that look clean yet old and chippy with the paint falling off. "It gives a sense of nostalgia too," says an interior designer who is getting requests from clients to do up the furniture from their parents' generation. Furniture that looks like it's been around the block is for you if you find perfect to be boring.

For instant character

"Distressing adds depth and texture to a piece. Don't get the name wrong though, the furniture is waxed and buffed and may even have a sheen," says a furniture store owner. There's plenty to explore in this trend, since the furniture pieces aren't supposed to match and you can play around with different textures and patterns. Takers for distressed furniture say they prefer it to spending an arm and a leg for designer pieces at expensive furniture stores. "You can buy a piece and completely change the look of it for next to nothing," says homemaker Nikita Menon.

One of the hottest looks now is two-tone distressed. To get that look, apply one layer of paint, let it dry and then apply a layer of another colour of paint. Remove some of the top layer with sand paper so that two colours are visible.

Anyone can do

IT you don't need any special know-how to get started with distressing. All you need is a little creativity and some sense of balance and colour. Giving new life to old furniture is also therapeutic since it's a very physical task. Scour flea markets and street furniture shops lining Oshiwara, Chor Bazaar and Mahim for old pieces in good condition and follow our tips to get started.

Image credit: afghaninteriors.com

Day for distressed furniture

- Start with furniture that has clean lines, like a mirror or a picture frame. Upcycle a small coffee table before moving to a dining table.

- Prep up. Clean the wood and use a deglosser, apply primer and then choose the correct paint just as you would for any painted piece. Once properly painted, the personalising begins.

- Buy some sandpaper and lightly scrape areas that would normally be worn out -for instance, the legs of a table, the handle of a cabinet, and the sides of a drawer. Create general wear    patterns throughout the piece.

- To give the piece true character, take a rock or chain and bang it into the wood to add dents and scrapes.

- With a rag, apply a medium brown stain to the entire piece, paying special attention to panels, details, inlays and lines. The stain will stay on the corners and joints and anywhere you've  use sandpaper.

- Once the stain is dry, apply a clear coat of polyurethane. An oil-based polyurethane will yellow up and a water-based one will stay clear.

Kasmin Fernandes, Times Property, The Times of India, Kolkata

Why Interior designing is needed in our apartments ??????

Interior design is not just about the looks of the building’s interior. Well, it is but it also plays the key role in its functionality because even the largest house can lack space if having a poor interior design, while a tiny apartment can be transformed into a cosy residence with enough space for just about everything with the right design and the use of a contemporary staircase. 

Yes, interior design is much more important than it may seem at a first glance and can be easily compared with the importance of architecture, at least when it comes to interior.

Hiring an interior designer is therefore more than just a good idea if building a new house or remodeling/ renovating the existing one. 

If we start from decorating walls then it is no longer a challenge as now there are wall-coverings to enliven practically the entire indoor area. Commonly referred as “Wallpapers” these are both for home interiors as well as office interiors applications. If we start from decorating walls then it is no longer a challenge as now there are wall-coverings to enliven practically the entire indoor area. 

Commonly referred as “Wallpapers” these are both for home interiors as well as office interiors applications. You will get these wallpapers in any interior shop ranging from very economical to the premium ones. These wallpapers are imported from other countries e.g. Korea, UK, Italy, Spain, US and portray aesthetics for different indoor-walls as a separate concept altogether.

Image credited from www.interiorsdecor.in