Real Living Space

My friend Pierra has been renovating recently, and I absolutely love her choice of wallpaper. I’ve been noticing a renaissance in using wallpaper, even in this humid country of ours. Some of the patterns out there are outstanding. I don’t think Graham & Browne is available here, but I’m just showing this for inspiration. This is from the Marcel Wanders collection:

And check out this one by Barbara Hulanicki:

I love Barbara Hulanicki. I think she’s one of the best living design/fashion icons out there.

Way before Topshop and all the other trendy British High Street brands, there was Biba, created by fashion illustrator Hulanicki in the 1960s when she started getting dismayed by the mumsy, badly-done street clothes British women were wearing back then. The look and feel of Biba’s clothes were affordable, colorful, chic, gypsy-ish and playful, with touches of psychedelia and Art Nouveau (hence, the Nouveau-esque patterns of her wallpaper) thrown in. The original Biba closed in the 1970s, but the trend of ordinary students and A-list actresses shopping side-by-side for dresses still remains (think Topshop and H & M).

And now, where to get her wallpaper. I shall research first and get back to you on that.

If you want to go out of town this weekend (in this case, South), Real Living will be doing a sampling at Ayala Westgrove this Sunday. Check out this lovely new suburban development by Ayala Premier and click here for the venue or email monicalouisenavarro@hotmail.com for details.

I was going through my weekend ritual of perusing the shelves of the nearby Booksale branch when I came across this:

written by Rita Konig, an editor at the now defunct but much-loved Domino Magazine, ‘Culinary Trickery: how to get dinner at the table even if you can’t cook’ is a pretty manual for the new ‘nester’ in your life - a daughter, sister, or niece, who are now just trying out on her own.

Rita says this much in her introduction,

Culinary Trickery is about entertaining as a whole. It takes a look at the bigger picture: who you have to dinner, how you create an easy and relaxed environment for them to be in, and how you get something good to eat on the table. Obviously you will want to offer your guests some delicious food, but you don’t have to be a ‘great cook’ in order for people to have a good time in your house. Thre’s always room for some culinary trickery, whether it is laying a beautiful tray at teatime or getting breakfast ready.

In this book, Rita lets us in on how to be the perfect guest, shares a never-fail chili recipe, and teaches the gracious way of serving ice cream - to name a few.

If you’re a seasoned hostess, this book is obviously not for you. But for that novice that you do know, give this to her and hand her a lifeline.

*If you can’t find a copy of this book at Booksale, it is also available online at amazon.com

 …to make ordinary household items absolutely hip and exciting. We had the pleasure of having lunch with designer Frederic Perigot last week, who was here to promote his brand, Perigot–that famous purveyor of stylish, whimsical household and lifestyle products.

Frederic, a charming, funny guy, says he makes sure all his goods are the perfect mix of simple, functional form and witty design. He doesn’t want people to be bored with ordinary products, and wants everyone to enjoy shopping for useful things. Take for instance, their eye masks imprinted with very strict instructions!

Or what about those ubiquitous feather dusters. I’ve been spotting their ostriche feather dusters in Dimensione the past few months, and picking some of the pieces up would give you a good excuse to keep house–they look so pretty assembled in a big vase like one of those enormous hotel floral arrangements. But the naughty subtext is there as well. Frederic mentioned that the presidential palace in France ordered several of those dusters. Images of Madame Carla Bruni-Sarkozy prancing around in a French maid’s outfit came to my mind. I think Frederic noticed the expression on my face and immediately corrected me by saying that the palace maintenance uses it for dusting the ceilings.

In the end, the Gardenbarn people (local distributors of Perigot) gave me this super-cute bear bag–an actual teddy bear that opens up to become a shopping bag! C’est adorable! Now my supermarket runs will be more fun. (Perigot products are available at Dimensione Bonifacio High Street. Images courtesy of Perigot) Read more about Perigot in the next issue of Real Living magazine.

My friend just lent me a copy of Control, a biopic about Ian Curtis, the tragic lead singer of my fave post-punk band Joy Division, and I loved it. After watching it, I wanted to brood, wear thick black eyeliner, swear, and drink large amounts of dark ale.

I totally enjoyed Anton Corbijn’s moody black-and-white film based on his own photos of the real Joy Division back then. I also took notice the smoky, dusty interiors of the working-class houses in 1970s Manchester, complete with faded wallpaper and floral carpets. Dingy and dumpy they’re not, as this sort of cool-mumsy style is having a bit of a renaissance. Check out the recent Missoni ads:

And Bisazza has gone cool-mumsy as well. Their 2009 collection has this strange mix of glam and conservative-Brit; check out the muted sage and mauve palette:

Needless to say, the real Curtis was utterly joyless. But without being totally depressing, Control just shows how a place and time that is so mundane and ordinary can be hiding something incredibly brilliant.

Remember our Win Everything on the Cover issue last December 08? Well, here are the winners—Analyn and Jacob Gonzales of Quezon City, picked out via electronic raffle (with DTI representative in attendance) last January! And they get to take home all of this—almost P100,000 worth of furniture from Crossings Department Store:

The couple mentioned that this windfall came at just the right time, since they’re moving to their new house middle of this year. Here they are with Kaye Etoista of In-mag, and me. Thank you, Crossings, and congratulations Analyn and Jacob! (Photos by Ocs Alvarez)

So okay. The first prize wouldn’t exactly secure your retirement but it would surely will help.

When I did check the details, it wasn’t specified that the contest is open only to Singaporean Residents. (But I am afraid, you have to be at least in Singapore to qualify.) Here’s how to join:

1. Drop by the National Museum of Singapore and check out the exhibition, “Come-in: Interior Design as a Contemporary Art Medium in Germany.” .

2. Select one exhibit from the exhibition and sketch your own Singapore-style version of one of the artworks presented.

3. Explain in not more than 100 words why the sketched artwork is typically Singaporean.
For more information and to download the registration form, log on to www.nationalmuseum.sg and then click on events/ others.

*All registration forms and sketches must be handed in by Sunday, 29 March 2009, 12noon. All entries received after the deadline will not be accepted.

For all the curious readers out there, here’s a sneak peek at how we do our cover shoots. So art director Carlo Vergara, style editor Gwyn Guanzon, assistant stylist Coni Tejada decided the perfect place for our cover shot would be designer Eric Paras’s store, a11, which also figured in our March 2009 story about artwork.

Gwyn (out of the frame here) then set up a little tableau using Vienna and Triboa Bay furniture in front of Eric’s accent wall filled with beautiful botanical prints. Here’s photog Miguel Nacianceno lighting the setup.

And then a surprise! Adorable 2680 compound kittycat Trini suddenly walked into the room, so Gwyn perched him on a chair.

Here’s the end result—but wait, we didn’t use this cover…

…we used this, also shot in a11. Now tell me, which cover do you prefer?

Real Living’s March 2009 issue is out on newsstands and bookstores now.

The Makati Artists Guild is holding an exhibit entitled “Rurok” at the ART CENTER, 4th level, SM Megamall Building A. It started last February 27 and will run until March 15, 2009.

Curated by Renato Habulan, “Rurok” features the works of Rubee Alcantara, Fanny Blanco, Mel Cabriana, Thomas Daquioag, Lita Gelano, Teresita Mapua, Obi Mapua, Hadrian Mendoza, Helen Mirasol, Peter Sutcliffe, Stella Torres, Aina Valencia, Abby Yao, and Molly Yap.