Real Living Space

I don’t want to blog about furniture and accessories for the moment. Basta. I’ll blog about that next week. Pahinga muna si Rach!

I played couch potato over the weekend trying to clear my mind of work, but unfortunately I was inundated with a plethora of makeover shows on ETC, which again reminded me of work. All I can say is, I wish our mag had the budget of Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Funny though, my all-time favorite makeover is not from TV—it’s from Wong Kar Wai’s old movie when he wasn’t too depressing yet, Chungking Express. In it, a reticent Faye Wong breaks into chain-smoking, coffee-addict cop Tony Leung’s apartment and cleans it of his junk and his ex-girlfriend’s stewardess uniform, changes the sheets, pillows, floor mats, wash rags, and pet goldfishes, and then drops two sleeping pills into his drinking water.

But when Tony wakes up from his blissful slumber, he’s so clueless and dense he doesn’t even notice that his apartment’s different.

Anyway, knock yourself out over the weekend and rent the movie.

You might be wondering how does a product reach our Get Inspired page. Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Get Inspired is basically the “first page” of the magazine and for three years, I would pretend to be this unobtrusive customer in stores (except for the small ones which became friends of RL) trying to get the SKU (hell, I still don’t know what that stands for) for each product so we can forward the request (to the stores) to borrow such items for a photo shoot somewhere in the metro (or in the Philippines, depending on the theme). Choosing the products is one tricky game. Admittedly, I haven’t mastered it myself– It starts with with a given theme, then the prevalent trend, then the practicability of the products (both to you– readers and us, Coni, especially as she’s the one hauling these pieces to the shoot) and hopefully, present something that is new and fresh. With some exceptions on the side (which I am not willing to divulge at all!), we stand by these rules. Then again, these rules are bent in every issue, eleven months in a year. Even I can’t really tell which ones are ‘inspiring’ until we get to that very issue we are working on. Needless to say, I have to be a mall rat every time I have the chance. Just to be aware what’s out there and eventually put it in print. Of course, hoping that one day, these stores would actually inform us (periodically) if they have something new coming out. :)And a lot of times, I would just wonder if the salespeople in Rustan’s, for example, do actually know what’s this tall lanky guy doing copying the price tags of their products. Yes, I have been asked several times too, often I would answer, “I’m just completing a list for a client.”It is tough choosing something if your rules are based on aesthetics. I guess, if one product catches my attention the first time I make my rounds and can still stand fresh by the time I make my fifth, most probably, it will be included in the shortlist. One thing certain though, I will not feature a thing on those pages if I myself will not buy it given three or more reasons.

The RL staff isn’t just made up of designers, stylists, writers, and artists…we’ve also got thespians, dancers, and closet Concert Queens, as evidenced by the last RL gimmick.

To celebrate Carlo’s birthday (Happy birthday, Carlo!), we went out on a night of videoke-ing. (A few people couldn’t make it though.) Our genres/artists/songs of choice:

Carlo - ballads

Issa - Wilson Philips

Tisha (that’s me!) - still looking for my signature song, but I generally go for contemporary pop (e.g., Britney’s “Sometimes”) and stuff you can dance to (”Don’t Cha”)

Chinggay (our contrib) - Air Supply

Miguel (our photog, who dropped by before I got there) - 80s hits (Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time”)

Coni - Mandy Moore’s “Cry”…and everything else on the song list (the girl can belt it out with the best of them)

Perhaps in the future, we’ll treat our Ultimate Makeover winner to a variety show as well.

I’m kidding. Sort of.

I’ve been disappointed with some local fabric stores lately; without naming names, they’ve been selling the same old sh*t in matrona colors for years. Thankfully, a new fabric store has opened in the metro—the romantically named Weaves of Asia.

The high-ceilinged, dramatically lit Makati showroom carries contemporary interior textiles by Aussie company Warwick and European company Artende. Check out Warwick’s beautiful hangers of upholstery and drapery fabric; I especially like Zafina (see below), which, in real life looks like tiny mosaic—great when used on an accent panel. Warwick has more sophisticated designs in discreet urban colors, while Artende has beautiful patterns in very vivid, very Euro colors; both are available on indent (2 to 4 weeks delivery). Weaves of Asia also carries their own local line of fabrics, in spicy Asian and neutral colorways.

Thank God for new fabric stores. Visit Weaves of Asia at 32 Jupiter Street, Makati City (coming from EDSA, on your right side, before you hit Nicanor Reyes Street).

I’ve gotten a number of emails and text messages lately about where to get Vince Uy’s hot pink buddha that’s on the cover of Real Living’s Jan/Feb 2008 issue. My friend Marco said he was able to snap one up last week at SM Homeworld in Megamall for around P500++. It also comes in lime green and bright orange, and while you’re at it, get a few Waving Cats as well.

I got quite a bit of mail regarding my “Sticky Situations” post (January 8), and it seems a lot of Pinoys really want to do the sticker-mural thing—it’s cooler and easier to do than painting an actual design on the wall. Only problem is, no one seems to be selling it locally, save for the Rouge de Garances sticker murals, which are sold online.

Our reader Yvonne Alonzo sent this link to Ferm Living stickers. Now, they’re not available locally, but apparently you can order from them online (click here). What I like about these European-made stickers is that the designs are not too floral/girly-girly—patterns run from blown-up kimono prints to owls and even afro’d women—they’re delicate, but still edgy. Yvonne loves the bird stickers (sadly, it’s out of stock) but I looove the lightbulbs that you can install around the ceiling area. Thank you, Yvonne!
(Images from Ferm Living website)

T3 editor Ed Geronia sent me this CNN article about Comedy Central comedian Mark Malkoff moving into a New Jersey Ikea store when he had to vacate his apartment (To read more about it, click here). This also looks like a publicity stunt since Malkoff is also a filmmaker and he brought a camera in to document his entire stay since he moved into one of the bedroom showcases in the store.

Now judging from the mail I get I know some of the readers out there would actually love to live in an Ikea store, but it ain’t a picnic—the store displays’ bathrooms, kitchen sinks, and TVs don’t work, and Malkoff has to cook his own meals in the Ikea cafeteria. It reminds me of the time I attended a model unit launch party and a few members of the chichi crowd went into one of the bathrooms to take a leak, only to discover that there was no plumbing and the toilet bowls were merely perched on the tiles—clear proof that sometimes these model units hardly appropriate reality.

Ever wanted a funky wall mural but didn’t have either the resources to hire someone nor the patience to do a DIY masterpiece? There’s a more down-to-earth solution to this now—the same sticker concept once used on more masa surfaces such as the passenger jeepney has been turned into a trendy, insta-mural weekend project.

Deco Murale, made by French paper and scrapbooking company Rouge de Garances, came up with sophisticated sticker art in the form of whimsical, mostly nature-inspired patterns you can rub onto your wall. Style editor Gwyn Guanzon tried it out with friend and former Real Living editor-in-chief Apol Lejano in France, no less, and related that it wasn’t so easy. Oh well, at least you won’t be spilling paint and slaving over your obra maestra wall for months.

To order locally, log on to www.visualcreationsonline.net

I first heard about famous Filipino landscape architect Dolly Perez from my dad about 15 years ago. My reaction then: “May natitira pang landscape architect sa Pilipinas?”

My dad went on to explain that in the 1960s, during his days at Angel Nakpil’s architectural office along Taft, everyone got excited because of Perez’s plans to transform The Luneta into a real park with a Central Park-like lushness. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to us, Perez’s plans were nixed and Rizal Park was soon peppered with large, blisteringly hot unshaded avenues and bizarre cement follies (A huge globe! A misshapen map of the Philippines! Dinosaurs!) that all soon fell into disrepair.

Perez immediately put The Luneta debacle behind her, worked on other high-profile projects, and published a book, “Home Haven Heaven,” late last year. Now this book is noteworthy not only because Filipino books about architecture and design hardly get published, but also because Perez delved on home design and not landscape architecture, as most people in the industry expected. This book is not only a compilation of Perez’s favorite residential projects—these range from tropical Asian to modern-minimalist—but is a guide of sorts on creating a comfortable and efficient home based on your style, furniture pieces, family’s needs, and even mood at the moment.

It’s quite affordable for a home book as it retails for less than 1K (currently available at major bookstores), but let’s see a landscape architecture book as well! Next time?

Check out our brand new issue!