Real Living Space

Finally guys, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for—the Ultimate Makeover issue! I know everyone has been dying to know (or to be chosen!) who the Ultimate Makeover winner is (this winner got an almost P300,000 renovation!). Well, our lucky and kindhearted family are the Baldevaronas of Lagro, Quezon City, whose daughter Abby’s heartfelt wish was to bring back their home to its former glory. “It is sad that the home you loved and gave roof to others turned [out] to be so neglected, ugly, and barely standing still,” she wrote to us. Well, she got her wish, as her completely renovated, brand-new home by designers Jean Paul dela Rosa and Kristine Neri is now on the cover above!

But I won’t spoil the show and post the rest of the pictures—check it out yourself! And we have several makeovers in the mag. Instead, I’ll post all the “before” photos in this issue, starting with Miguel Nacianceno’s home…

…Marie Calica’s apartment…

and of course the Baldevarona’s. See all the amazing “after” photos in the September issue.

But aside from Makeovers, our September ish is chockfull of other interesting features as well, such as our lovely Breakfast Buffet party (styling by Cleone Baradas)…

…DIY decor extravaganza—these are all easy projects you can do on a weekend!

And I just looove the feature on Shopping at The Collective—look at all of these lovely alterna-stores like Sundae…

…and eco-boutique Ritual.

You can get the amazing, features-packed Real Living September 2010 issue for only P140 at newsstands and bookstores nationwide. (Photos by Vincent Coscolluela, At Maculangan, and Miguel Nacianceno)

The Buddha-inspired artworks by siblings Dorothy and Elmer Alforque definitely made the long ride to Alabang worth it. Dorothy and Elmer are Bohemian Nation‘s in-house artists who handpainted the different faces of Buddha on canvasses, tables, headboards and other furniture, which were launched to the press and friends last August 18.

Brother-and-sister tandem Elmer and Dorothy sign their works Erimon and Dorosera, as a symbol of brotherhood; these were the names the African kids in Rwanda called them way back 2005. Dorothy, in behalf of her brother Elmer who couldn’t make it to the event, briefed the press about their artworks.

I have never seen so many artworks inspired by Gautama under one roof! One can hear oohs and aahs as the visitors checked out the charming and blissful coffee tables. Out of all the coffee table designs, I certainly fell in love with this one:

The headboards were also one-of-a-kind; something you’d want hanging on your wall to assure you of a good night’s sleep. I, together with Ms. Betty Romero of Bohemian Nation and Lei who works for another glossy, had our photo taken with the Awakened one headboard.

The Buddha Bliss Series will be featured August 18 onwards at Bohemian Nation, The Serenity Place. (Photos by Raf Jamolangue)

(The Serenity Place is located in Westgate Center, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City)

Yummy editor Becky invited me to Pinterest recently. At first it got buried underneath my pile of emails, but when I finally signed up, I was definitely hooked! So what’s Pinterest all about? In a nutshell, I’d like to call it a design networking site, sorta like Twitter and Tumblr, but with more stylish images, hardly any text, and no TMI factor. This is how it works:

1. You get invited by a friendly Pinterest “pinner.” 2. You catalogue your “boards” into categories you like. There are suggested categories, but you can create whatever category you want. Regular “pinners” usually veer into home and decor, industrial and product design, signage and fonts, and occasionally fashion. 3. Once you’ve created your boards, you start “pinning” from various design websites.

It sorta becomes like an online moodboard—you know how you get an idea from an online site, ingrain it into your short-term memory, and forget where you saw it the day after? Well, Pinterest can help even non-design people (art directors and designers are the frequent users, with a lot of design enthusiasts as well) especially homeowners, in getting their own pegs, “storing” them, and then going back to this site when you want to start your actual home renovation. This is how mine looks like (I tried to cover everything from home to parties to a bit of makeup packaging):

Hot on the heels of their “warehouse sale” last Summer, SM Homeworld is holding another sale, from now until August 31.

Up for grabs: Family Home bed linen (above) with discounts up to 30%, as well as reduced prices on selected Sunnex kitchenware, Hanabishi appliances (oh how very early 90s!), Biencarlo decor and more. Visit the Homeworld section of an SM Department store near you. (Photos by Jun Pinzon, pictorial direction by Coni Tejada)

Dapitan is a budget shopping area Real Living has revisited every year or so. Tucked in a quiet area within Quezon City (and near Manila), this covered palengke/tiangge of home finds always has new surprises whenever we come back. And people always flock to the place to score uber-cheap ceramic ware and plates. Like these found in the first stall up front—I was able to get the robins-egg-blue saucers here for about P20 apiece.

Amongst the stalls that sell faux leather storage bins (a must-have at only P500 a pop, compared to the usual P1,000 plus in the malls), there was this stall that sold raffia food covers for P120 apiece. They also carried these lovely bunches of faux roses (though you can get the real deal for much cheaper at Dangwa a few streets down).

And this Dapitan is the secret place to buy caterer’s gold Tiffany chairs! Though this classic stool would make a lovely seat for a girl’s boudoir.

And some of the best finds ever—these cool Fornasetti-style cups!

Find out where these stalls are located and learn more about Dapitan in the Shopping section of the August issue of Real Living, out now. (Photos by Jun Pinzon, pictorial direction by Coni Tejada)