Real Living Space

Hi all! I’m happy to announce that the fifth book in our Real Home Ideas series is out! Do grab a copy of Real Home Ideas 5: Small Space Solutions:

Now I know must of us live in small spaces—condos, studio units, shoebox-sized apartments—so you’ll definitely appreciate the tips here! You’ll get 101 ideas from our small-but-beautiful homes…

…storage solutions for wardrobe, kitchen , and bath (plus must-have catchalls from SM Homeworld!)…

…and best of all, a DIY floor plan kit so you can pre-arrange your furniture layout before even lifting a finger!

So check it out now! Real Home Ideas 5 is available at newsstands and bookstores for only P195, such an affordable price for a lot of ideas!!! Cover image photo by Miguel Nacianceno, styling by Gwyn Guanzon. That lovely house on the cover is the home of Frances and Vince Sales; it’s one of my fave homes! =)

It seems that with the internet/virtual age, there is this hankering for all things old school, namely paper—who uses paper nowadays, aside from using it to print documents on?

Well I stumbled upon a friend’s new website, Peek-a-Boo Paper, a Multiply site where you can buy all sorts of specialty paper sheets which she sourced from her travels around the world. You can use them for wrapping if you wish, but how can you tear up something so pretty? So you have the option of buying them as a framed wall accent! Check these out:

Or you can buy them in loose sheets—lovely as wall accents, or you can decoupage them on an old wooden furniture piece or screen…

I esp love the heart, cherry and geometric designs! Log on to http://peekaboopaper.multiply.com.

I love watching Thom Filicia’s Dress My Nest–if only I could find out when it’s on! I always catch it by accident since I don’t watch a lot of TV.

The premise of the show is that the way you dress could clue you in on how to decorate your place. I realized today that this is highly effective, but for me it was the reverse! I was wearing something like this…

…except that my top had long sleeves and my shorts were shorter. (My legs, you see, aren’t nearly as long as Looklet’s model.)

And when I got compliments on the whole look, it dawned on me that it was a lot like my house–romantic (ruffles), modern (shorts), casual but sophisticated (platform shoes), classic (black and white). The elements of my work-in-progress living room:

See below for resources

Eclectic for sure. And yes, there are some beach-y touches thrown in, of course. (If you’ve been a loyal reader of RL, you’d know that I’m the one who loves the beach! So I’ve got roll-up bamboo shades and stuff.) I’m not one to stick with one specific look. But it’s cool that now that I know exactly what my preference is, I can pare down my wardrobe to the pieces that truly reflect my style. On a side note, that’s one cool thing about getting older–you get to know yourself more and more!

The next time you’re stumped when it comes to decorating your home, look through your closet. Or think of your favorite outfit. It’ll reveal loads about your personal style.

Modern romantic board resources: mirror here (mine is vintage–got it from our old house), sofa here (mine customized by Mandaue Foam), chairs here (I got the exact same chairs from Dimensione!), rug here, banig pillows here (my round ones from Market! Market!)

The prediction for next year: 2010 will be blue, blue, blue! But not sad-blue, tho—I mean the color of 2010 will be turquoise blue, or specifically, Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise, as seen below:

I have to admit that for me, this was totally unexpected. Since Pantone’s 2009 color of the year was Mimosa, a very bright and appropriate-for-the-times Cory-yellow, I was expecting the 2010 color to be also on the warm scale, or veering toward sophisticated, autumnal darks. Pantone’s 2010 15-5519 Turquoise isn’t pure turquoise, but rather, the semi-precious-stone turquoise veering on the aqua side, very much like the jewel-like, bluish-green water of a tropical sea, somewhere near the shore, preferably with exotic fish swimming around and swishing palms on the beach, like this:

Pantone’s press release says that this color choice stems from the belief that turquoise is “…a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing…Turquoise represents an escape to many—taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

How very apt—and very telling. I’m thinking that this color was chosen as a soothing balm to all the troubles we encountered this past year. But whether we escape to our “tropical fantasy” or make that pleasant dream real, I sure hope that 2010 will be much, much better. Happy New Year, guys!

Still cramming your Christmas shopping, I see. Don’t you worry, I’ve got just the thing:

Aren’t they dreamy? I got these pillowcases as a wedding gift from interior designer and University of the Philippines teacher Hannah Acab-Faustino. They’re by T Designs, a company started by one of Hannah’s students. These particular pillows feature iconic chairs by Le Corbusier, Jacobsen, Aarnio, and Eames.

I also got a pair with T Designs’ candelabra print:

They’ve got a few other available designs–the ones featuring a pair of boxers and panties would make an especially cute bridal shower or wedding gift. (December is Wedding Month in the Philippines, after all!)

All 20″ x 30″ pillowcases are made of 100% US cotton, are stencil printed, and include care instructions. They’re the only products on offer at T Designs now, but I’m quite excited to see what this company will come up with next!

For more info, visit their website, tdesigns.net, or contact head designer Thesang Sevilla (the “T” in T Designs) at mobile 0922-238-9500 or email info@tdesigns.net.

I lurved Gwyn’s two-dimensional tree in our December ish (go grab a copy, y’all!) and fully intended to replicate it in our home. But, as luck would have it, I was able to get a free tree! (Long story, but I’ve got designer Hannah Acab-Faustino to thank for that!)

I’m a BIG fan of Christmas. A lot of grownups are all bah-humbug-y, but it is my absolute favorite holiday, so having a Christmas tree is a December must for me! Our free tree stood bare for a couple of weeks, until I finally shopped for decorations at Unique Novelties & Toys Corp. Our tree now looks like this:

It doesn’t have lights or a tree-topper yet (my husband prefers a star, but I couldn’t find any nice ones at Unique), but I am quite smitten with it. It’s got baby blue poinsettias and silver ribbons which I tied into bows and whose ends cascade down the length of the tree. Was thinking of adding glass baubles but the man of the house comes from the School of Less Is More.

I got the idea of the ribbons from Unique, this wholesale store in Quezon City. My objective, really, was to check out the store and write about it, but I got to shop while I was at it! (You gotta love this job.) I’m not quite sure how the prices compare with department store prices, but since I was there anyway (and had no desire to join the sea of people in every mall on a December weekend), I grabbed some tree decorations.

I did a mockup of our home tree in one of the rooms at Unique. It was a warehouse-like room with all these fake pine trees in different sizes–kind of surreal, like being halfway between the wardrobe and Narnia! I hauled my basket of décor options, placed them on a bare tree, and decided which ornaments I liked best. I was choosing among three blue poinsettias, and went for the baby blue ones. Since I was getting them at wholesale (meaning at least six pieces), I got them cheaper, at forty bucks apiece.

Enough about our tree and more on my little field trip. I heard about Unique from Hannah, who raved about how stuff was so cheap at this wholesale place. “What do they have?” I asked. “Everything!” she replied. I had to see it for myself. She did warn me that there was a P1,000 minimum purchase. (Just my luck, my tree decorations totaled P1,000—flowers and ribbons and all. Sorry, that’s the last you’ll hear about our tree. Our pretty, pretty tree.)

It kind of felt like I was about to meet some mob boss in one of the back streets of QC. The place doesn’t have a sign, just a high gate and a security guard. “Unique?” I tentatively asked, giving what felt like a secret password. He nodded before letting me in.

In I went and up a flight of stairs, before a saleslady informed me that I had to deposit my bag in one of their lockers. After doing as I was told, I then went from room to room, surveying aisle upon aisle of…everything. Frames, clocks, leftover Halloween masks, colorful wigs, toys, snowglobes, Christmas décor. A lot of the stuff seemed a little kitschy and dusty, but there were some cute finds at reasonable prices.

Paying for my picks was a bit of a hassle though. A saleslady lugged my basket to the first floor, while I patiently waited for them to process everything and call out my name. There was only one cashier and a dot-matrix printer (you’ll hear the screech) so you could imagine how long it took. There were only three other people before me but it took ages, it seemed, so heaven only knows how long one would have to wait on a busy afternoon!

Still, it was a pretty interesting visit. If your godkids aren’t too particular about brand-spankin’ new packaging, this might be a good place to shop for toys in bulk. Just make sure you’ve got at least a grand in your pocket.

Unique Novelties & Toys Corp. is located at 15 Zorra St., Bgy. Paltok, San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City. For more information, directions, product offerings, videos of their TV features, etc., visit their website.

I’m baaack!

I was gone for a month because I was busy doing this…

That’s me with my groom–and a gorgeous, gorgeous bouquet by Real Living’s very own style editor, ze fabulous Gwyn Guanzon. In keeping with my green, black, and white theme, the bouquet had green blooms, peacock feathers, ostrich feathers, and green and black crystals to complement my white dress!

While I was stressing over table assignments and DIY touches (can’t be helped), I missed an entire issue which, I’m told, was a bit difficult to produce. Well today, I was able to go through a printout of RL’s November ish, and I must say, it is bee-yoo-ti-ful! It was wonderful reading it with fresh eyes–I must admit, it kind of loses its novelty when you have to read an article at least three times (from draft to proof) on a regular month. I told the staff that today, I felt like a reader who excitedly got the latest issue of RL. It was nice just perusing–instead of dissecting!–the finished product, and being reminded of what it’s like to be surprised and inspired by the mag! A big, hearty pat on the back for each member of the RL staff! I’m slightly envious that I had no part in producing this ish. Sigh.

I’m not quite sure whether the mag has this effect on readers every month (does it, readers?), or if this is a particularly exceptional issue. This plug is two months early, but do grab a copy of this fantastic ish when it comes out! I’m that excited by it!

P.S. Since I had nothing to contrib for a whole month, I’ll just leave y’all with a couple of decor ideas and some pics of the RL family at My Big Day!

Our awesome caterer, Kaye Cunanan, was nice enough to give me the personal touches I wanted. She had plastic doilies spraypainted black just for our centerpiece! (Photo by The Mango Farm’s manager)

A lot of people thought the black “piping” around the cake was icing–it was actually black eyelet-like ribbon that I got from lace shop Carolina’s. I just ordered a plain white cake (which came with the venue–I wasn’t about to spend a bundle on some designer cake!) and, upon the suggestion of Kaye and Martha Stewart Weddings ed in chief Tata, got stuff to embellish it to make it go with our theme. 

With (clockwise from left, seated) art director Arlene Sy, editor in chief Rach Medina, style ed Gwyn Guanzon, photog Ocs Alvarez (whom I fondly call Tito) and his wife Bel, and Martha Stewart Weddings ed in chief Tata Mapa.

(Clockwise from left) Contrib Chinggay Labrador, former associate stylist Issa Villar, photog Miguel Nacianceno, the Alvarezes, ed assistants Katherine Lopez and Kath Valle, and assistant stylist Coni Tejada.

My work friends partying with my high school friends!

From apartment therapy:

I think this is the perfect marriage of Asian accessories with Geek accents. (If there is such a thing.) I love the vintage Trekkie poster and I absolutely love the chalk-drawing “spaceship” door. Reminds me of the Magbanua couple’s door we shot way back (RL June 2008 ish):

A dear friend was asking me about the secret IKEA store again this morning, then I stumbled upon this cool quiz on how to find your IKEA style (click here to check it out). I took it and turns out my style is “Modern Fancy”:

I chose fuchsia-black-gray as a palette, a red Lykta lamp, Etsy-esque textures and various bold Scandinavian patterns, and the site declared me as 60% modern, 20% Scandinavian, and 20% country (I beg to differ!). They also recommended that I “make business personal again.” Hmmm, food for thought.

Even though it’s only IKEA-furnishings-based, it’s a good tool if you’re decorating your house and you don’t know what specific style you’re leaning to. So try it out and tell me what’s your IKEA style.

By now, we hope you’ve been able to set your space right or at least have tucked away all the clutter behind your bodega doors.

Now, time for step number two.

2. Get your props ready.

By now, you should know what your M.O. is going to be. What did you have in mind?

Movie night?

(image by clix)

Karaoke?

(image by booleanuni)

Sexy cooking for two?

(image by rrss)

Whatever the case maybe, make a list of everything you need. It would really suck if you’ll go through all the trouble then forget one tiny detail.