The Sky is in your Bedroom!

Want to enjoy a good night's sleep right under the starlit sky? Skip the terrace, just give a buzz to Saqvath, of Galaxy Roofs and see your bedroom's ceiling transformed instantly into a sea - or a sky of galaxies.

Imaginative glow-in- the dark ceiling is an affordable home art installation that brings the mystery, majesty and magic of cosmos into your home and life. It is perfect for bedrooms of children or those young at heart. During daytime it is invisible and at nights it is sheer magical.

You can have a dekko at the Northern sky or the Milky Way on your ceiling to take you through a journey across the Universe. The nightglow lasts for six to eight hours, provided there had been sufficient light prior to dusk.

"It is a simple art." Says Saqvath. Stone powder imported from Australia and Canada is mixed with PVC medium oil and then stencil-painted on the ceiling. A 10 sq ft room will take about two hours, but the effect remains for almost 20 years, he guarantees. The ceilings are authentic and have a realistic 3-D effect, with no interference to the existing décor. The stone powder comes in six colours - blue, sky-blue, green, violet, red and yellow. The art could be used on walls too and they are washable.

The cost of installation ranges from Rs 23 per sq ft to Rs 200 depending upon the signs. The most widely used is the starlit sky with a crescent.

How it all began: It was a visit to the Nehru Planetarium that got Saqvath mesmerized by the magic of the starlit ceilings. Dazzled by the star-spangled spectacle, he went on a hunt to find out how the ceiling in his house could be lit up like the night sky. That took him to Hyderabad where he met a person who imported stone powder. Overnight, he became a night sky illustrator. There are only a few such artists in the city and one of them is Venkatesh who has lit up the house of Dr Rajkumar.

According to Saqvath, the starlit ceilings also have a positive impact on the child's psyche. For children they are a magical wonderland and ideal for sleepover parties, or just simply to put some fun into "lights out." "It makes a great gift idea," he says. "Give a night sky ceiling to your child and show that your love stretches to infinity and beyond."

(Galaxy Roofs is situated at # 83/35, Mahalingeshwara Colony, Adugodi, Bangalore-30. Ph: 64504472, 30222666, Email: galaxyroofs@gmail.com, Website: galaxyroofs.com)