Real Living Space

I’ve been in a tizzy these past two weeks, hence no entries, my bad. But I’ve been inundated with a lot of work-related things, so (to quote my friend Jeff Isidro), “I’m going to cut myself some slacks.” Hehe. But I’ve been seeing lotsa interesting stuff recently, so here’s a sampler:

Philippine hardwoods by way of Scandinavia courtesy of Gastrochef. Our own hardwoods get a stylish boost via clean, functional Scand design. Check out the grooved cutting board and spice trays:

Laminated capiz accessories from sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso of Indigoy. I like the fact that instead of doing the usual square capiz chips, he’d crush it and laminate it into amorphic, organic forms. Best of all, Indigoy develops these pieces with the people in Samal, Bataan.

I was amazed by the new Samsung LED Full HD TVs. The TV itself is only about an inch thick! Aside from its high def features, it has a Medi@2.0 Content Library where you can load cooking demos, games, exercise videos, even a “virtual art gallery”of paintings that will flash on screen, almost like a real painting.

And finally, my fave, the Sun Jar lamp at new store Heima. This mason-shaped jar is actually an LED light. You set it out in the sun to charge it, and light it up at night. It’s a cool, eco-friendly thing to have.

Gastrochef is available at Dimensione, Bonifacio High Street. Contact Indigoy at (047)451-2541, email jinggoy_cfa@yahoo.com. Check out Samsung at www.samsung.com.ph. Heima is located at Cubao X, Marikina Shoe Expo, Cubao.

Found myself buying a chair today.

Here it is:

Image from www.casamania.it

Its called the sue chair, designed by Cantarutti and Petricich for Casamania by Frezza. It is an indoor or outdoor chair made from opaque polypropylene or transparent ABS. Originally priced at P4, 700, it’s now going for P2,000. But since I wasn’t really looking for a chair, I asked Gwyn, our style editor, if I should purchase this seemingly GREAT BUY. I shouldn’t have been surprised to hear him incredulously crying out from the ear piece of my mobile,”Mag-iisip ka pa?!” So right then and there, I plunked down my debit card and made the purchase.

As I am now writing this, my transparent sue chair is sitting right beside me. Though it costs almost as much my Air Asia roundtrip ticket from Bangkok to Hanoi, I can’t help but feel good. It is a good buy. (And I chuckle at the image of it sitting right across my Norman Cherner side chair. They’re like polar opposites!) And what the heck, the deed is done. I just hope I wouldn’t regret it.

P S. Sue chairs in yellow, blue, green, and white are still available at Dexterton Greenbelt 5.

Don’t you just love makeovers? I’m especially liking what designer Kristine Neri did for our May makeover winners, the Magcaleng sisters. Look at the “before” images, and the amazing “after” (you can see the rest of the makeover in the May issue of Real Living):

Kristine nixed the bunk beds and opted for trundle beds instead, to accommodate all three sisters in one bedroom. Watch this makeover (and many of our other makeovers as well) on QTV’s House Life, Mondays at 7:25 pm, on Channel 11.

Meanwhile, anyone else can join our makeover promo, which is still ongoing. Grab a copy of our April and May issues to find out how.

My friend thefashpack mentioned that when she visited the now-defunct home mag Domino’s website (try clicking on www.dominomag.com) for some wistful Domino-browsing, she was re-directed to this, complete with an awkward goodbye letter:

I have mixed feelings about this. I have to admit that I too, am an Architectural Digest reader (I’ve been reading it since I was 9 years old), but all those upscale, immaculate McMansions and sprawling resthouses in The Hamptons seem a bit unattainable in our current economical climate. Domino was one of the few shelter magazines that had that a “can-do/make-do-without” attitude about decorating (along with Martha Stewart Bluprint, which is also DEAD), and sadly, the economy killed it.

I’d like to ask all of you, how do you feel now about Domino’s demise?

Went to the second day of Manila FAME 2009 yesterday in the blistering heat, and this is what I saw:

Interior and furniture designer Eric Paras did the Special Settings and is the designer for the Merchandise Design Consultancy Program (this means he designs or does design collaborations with different furniture and accessory makers based on a theme or feel). I love Eric’s pieces and even though he has his own lines (Vienna Furniture at a11, among many others) I like how the other manufacturers interpreted his design aesthetic (check out the lamps from Robles Heritage and the organic pieces from Passad).

I’m really liking this cabinet from Industria (above) with steel accordion doors that are reminiscent of the ones in his own house (below, featured in RL November 2008):

I do hope the buyers will pick up; it’s been a lean season everywhere (and in almost every fair) these past few months,  but let’s keep things optimistic. Manila FAME is open to the public tomorrow, and is at SMX Convention Center, near Mall of Asia in Pasay City. And don’t forget to check out the Avellana Art Gallery exhibit space in the main lobby. (Eric Paras home photo by Philip Escudero)

I finally managed to swing by the new Pablo at the Fort this week. Though it might have branched out in an entirely different zip code, Pablo is still making space for the same vibrant, edgy pieces its been known for.

So here’s the latest news from PABLO at the Fort:

Maria Cruz‘s show, “Your Daydreams Reveal Something about Your Ethnic Background”, opens today Friday, 17 April 2009, at 7pm.

*PABLO is located at UNIT C-11 South of Market Condominium
Fort Bonifacio, Global City Taguig
telephone: +632 9863887
www.pablogalleries.com <mailto:fort@pablogalleries.com>

I feel bad about all the unrest happening in Thailand right now. Tourism is their main industry, and if the mess continues, it won’t be good for them at all. Fortunately, my friend Terrie was able to visit just before the chaos started, and she was raving about the Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC), an exhibit area/library/center for all things Thai design-related (read Terrie’s blog about the TCDC here). I love their room partition made out of paper plates (a cool, albeit temporary recycling idea):

And of course, I’d love to browse through their cool, designer-goody-laden souvenir shop!

Their exhibit ideas are so interesting—green packaging, Thai street food stalls, Japanese design—each exhibit shows a slice of Asian culture. I’m definitely checking out the TCDC the next time I visit Thailand (when all the social unrest is over). I also love their online exhibits, such as their online retrospective on Modern Thai Architecture.

I wish someone over here would follow suit with the online exhibit idea (paging Dean Dan Silvestre! This would be great with archival photos on Philippine architecture)—this would reach a bigger audience, especially with those who are not to keen on going to museums.

It’s that time of the year again…watch out for 2009′s Manila FAME, happening this week, April 15 to 18 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City (next to Mall of Asia).

I saw the trucks unloading their exhibits at the SMX docking bay this morning, and I’m curious as to what they have in store this year. This will be their first show after the recession announcement, and I wonder how the financial climate will be affecting furnishings and decor buyers at this time. I’m hoping for the best. Will tell you all after I visit this week.

For more information, log on to www.manilafame.com (images courtesy of CITEM).

The exporter and decor shop Peninsulare et al is having a closing/moving out sale—sad, because I really love their cool/offbeat pieces; which are very Catholic mother-meets-the-Royal-Tennenbaums in feel. Check out Peninsulare’s antler chandelier in Gwyn’s apartment (featured in November 2008) below.

On the other hand, I visited their factory/showroom and look at the loot I got (all discounted). Here’s their antler hook, which I used in a still life arrangement at home; it’s made out of resin, but it looks very realistic:

And their decoupaged box, very John Derian…the size is perfect for bracelets:

And my fave find, their sunburst mirror—love the detail, with silverleaf, felt touches and all!

Peninsulare is located at no. 4 Sobrepena St., New Manila, Quezon City, tel. (02) 722-9790. It’s in a warehouse-type structure in a residential area, so you might miss it. They sell ribbons, fabric, and other materials from their production up front, so ask to see the decor which is stored in the backroom.Warehouse is open from 10am to 5pm, (closed this Holy Week, will reopen Monday), sale will run until end of April.

My BFF directed me to this site, featuring such photos as this:

If you don’t think it’s anything special, wait ’til you read this: The site features photos of miniatures crafted in 1:12 scale (1 inch = 1 foot), and each one is painstakingly made by hand! It’s by a San Francisco-based lady named Vanessa Tiegs, and she stages and photographs everything herself.

There’s something just a little freaky about miniatures, and I probably only say this because I’ve seen too many Miniature Killer episodes of CSI. But I totally appreciate the hard work, patience, and precision that goes into crafting these things! Visit the site to see more of Vanessa’s work.