Real Living Space

Yup, it’s that time of the year again! If you have your copy of the March ish, then you may have come across our big announcement. Folks, get your pens/computers/sob stories/cries of desperation ready (I kid) and join Real Living’s ULTIMATE MAKEOVER 2010!

And peeps in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Bulacan–y’all are in luck! We’re opening the contest to these nearby provinces this year! So read the instructions carefully and send in your entry! You’ve got til May 31, 2010 to do so! Go on, give it a shot–you might just be this year’s oh-so-lucky winner!

We’ve heard so many sad, sad stories about the devastation of Ondoy from both friends and strangers. We couldn’t just sit here, so now we’ll help—so we’re awarding a A REAL MAKEOVER TO ONE ONDOY TYPHOON VICTIM.

Yup, we’ll help you out. Anyone whose house has been damaged by the floods (within Metro Manila, Cainta, Marikina areas) can join. Unfortunately, we can only choose one. If you were one of the lucky ones whose house was spared, and if you have a friend or relative who is a victim, please tell them so they can join. If they don’t have access to a camera/computer/whatnot, then help them out.

Please read our announcement ad below for details on how to join. Promo deadline is on October 31, 2009.

In the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise, Professor Horace Slughorn awarded Harry a vial of liquid luck for perfectly brewing a ‘living dead’ potion.

As we’ve seen in the film, such liquid luck can come in handy. For us mere muggles, err, mortals, such luck potions are hard to come by (if ever possible!) So we try to carry on as far and as long as we can, and hope for the best. Some of us though, practice the Chinese art of Feng Shui for some added luck.

So you’ll be happy to know that the World of Feng Shui at Serendra is having a renovation sale. There’s a 70% discount on most of the items. It ends today though, july 20, so better hurry!

The Contest: Real Living’s Best Home Contest

The prizes: The Grand Prize winner’s home gets a cover feature on Real Living’s October issue and brings home over P160,000 worth of products, furniture, and gift certificates! Two Runners-up each walk away with over P40,000 worth of products, furniture, and gift certificates!

How to join: 5 simple steps

1. Send in photos of these three major rooms in your home: living, dining, and bedroom. If you’ve redesigned your kitchen and bathroom as well, you may send in photos of those too! Include your name, age, home address, contact details, and occupation with your photos.
2. Send your entries via any of the following ways:
a. EMAIL: promos@realliving.com.ph with the subject heading: Best Home Contest (Make sure those photos are 500KB or higher!)
b. MAIL or HAND CARRY: Real Living’s “Best Home Contest”, Marketing 2, Summit Media, 7th Floor Cybergate Center Tower 3, Robinsons Pioneer Complex, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City
Incomplete entries will be disqualified.
3. The promo will run from June 1 to July 31, 2008. Deadline for submission of entries is on July 31, 2008.
4. Real Living, together with an Interior Designer, will choose the winners based on the following criteria: creativity, aesthetics, efficiency of space, and cost-effectivity.
5. Real Living will choose one winner and two runners-up based on the set criteria by mid-August 2008. Selection of the winner and runners-up remains the exclusive decision of Real Living.
 

Real Living’s “Best Home Contest” is open to all non-professionally designed homes located in the GMA and CALABARZON areas. Professionally designed homes are not eligible to join.

Employees of Summit Media, including relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, are not qualified to join the promo.

Featured as one of the “Most Beautiful Stores”, A11 is one of those shops you would want to live in. The furniture pieces are exquisite and the accessories are one of a kind. If you are looking for the finer things in life, then this is your shop. Tags are a bit pricey though… then again, here is your chance to get that wonderful accent chair at a reduced price.  

Trust me, shopping here is an experience.  It is located at:

Every month, we go through piles (and files) of makeover entries to pick that one lucky winner. Contrary to popular belief…

1. We don’t just pick people we know. A few makeover winners have actually remarked, “Akala ko pinipili niyo lang mga kaibigan niyo, kunwari lang na may nananalo.” Nope, the people we’ve picked so far were all complete strangers.
2. We don’t have a tambiolo system. This is not about luck–we don’t just pick a random letter out of a dropbox. We really do go through each entry, read the letters, look at the pictures, and deliberate.

Given fact number two, there are certain things a makeover hopeful could do to up his/her chances of being picked. Before you decide to take a few, unfocused pictures of your room and type out a two-page letter, please take note:

1. When we say “50 words or less,” we mean 50 words or less. Please don’t send us a lengthy letter–we’ve got other stuff to do to get your favorite home magazine on the shelves on time each month. The makeover, while one of the best parts of my job, is not the be-all and end-all of it, so we have to spend time on other tasks. If every letter were two pages (or even just one page) long, we might as well be reading a novel. (I’m not exaggerating here.) I’m sure your room has an interesting story behind it–the key is to be concise.
2. Don’t send us a picture of an empty room. We used to get letters pretty much asking us to furnish an entire room. We file these under “blank space.” There is a difference between a makeover and a kabuhayan showcase. As much as possible, we look at a room’s potential–if there’s a workable piece or two in the room, then better.
3. Don’t mess up your room for our sake. This is bound to backfire. Some makeover hopefuls seem to think that the messier their room, the better. They are so misguided. Sometimes we take a long, hard look at a photo and think, “They just need to clean up, and the room will look loads better.” If, after cleaning up, you believe your room is still in need of help, then you can take a picture and send it in. When we see a messy room, we tend to think the person himself/herself is messy–and that he or she will simply allow a made-over room to turn into another war zone eventually.
4. Take clear pictures from different angles. We’d like to see what your entire room looks like, as much as possible.
5. Include a back-up contact number. A couple of times, we were set on awarding a makeover winner–only to find that we have no way of reaching the winner! Please keep in mind that it may take many, many months before we contact you, so the numbers you send us should still be accessible within a year. If you’ve got a text-stalker and are thinking of changing numbers, include your sister’s/husband’s/mother’s number so that we’d still have a way of reaching you. If not, you may just miss out on the room of your dreams.

Good luck!:)

I’m proud to say that my first ever writing job was for Good Housekeeping Philippines way back in 1998 (about homes, of course—thank you, Apol Lejano!). I was working full-time as a designer then, and I snuck in the house shoots during my days off. I continued doing it until I found myself enjoying the shoots more than I did sitting in my salt mine of a design office.

Now Good Housekeeping Philippines is celebrating its 10th anniversary. How time flies! And they’re giving away one million bucks. Here’s how to join:

We’re launching our annual Ultimate Makeover Contest this month, and all the details are in the March issue. Be sure to grab a copy to find out how you can win a room makeover worth at least P100,000!

 Here are some pictures of last year’s Ultimate Makeover winner (As featured in the Real Living September 2007 issue):

2007 Ultimate Makeover Credits

Interiors: Gwyn Guanzon; Construction: R.M. Engineering; Photographer: Miguel Nacianceno; Production: Issa Villar; Sponsors: Robinsons Handyman, Robinsons Department Store, Crossings, Homestore

Our Real Makeover features have always been one of our readers’ most favorite sections.  In spite of all the hard work it requires from The Real Living team, we take joy in creating beautiful rooms and homes for those who deserve it.  I know it sounds showbiz but it is true! It’s great collaborating with lovely homeowners, and creating ideal spaces that they can enjoy and maintain for many years to come. =)

We’re opening an opportunity to create more beautiful spaces through Real Living Space. Check out our new Promos page for a regular update on contests, including our Monthly Real Living Real Makeovers. Now, you can also have a chance to win a FREE room revamp! Click here to find out how.