This Batangas Spa Combines French and Scandinavian Design Styles
This relaxing haven puts a premium on style as much as it does on service
Olie Wellness and Nail Spa is not your typical spa that’s garbed in either saccharine colors or Thai details. From the get-go, owner Des Caguimbal was already sure of how she wants the space to look like. “I don’t like anything girly… para hindi mag-shy away yung male clients,” she says. Interior designer Van Acuña Solaña adds: “Des sent me peg photos of what she likes. She particularly mentioned that she didn’t want the look to be too girly and to avoid pink.”
Having a clear idea obviously made it easy for Van to come up with a design. She also took inspiration from the name of the establishment—“olie,” which is the French word for “oil.” “The style of Olie Spa is a combination of French country and Scandinavian style,” Van describes.
Indeed, there are no sweet pinks or violets in this 56-sqm space—just cool pops of turquoise blue amid shades of light gray and brown. The receiving area, for instance, is awash in airy white, with subtly printed wallpaper behind the counter.
A shelving unit made of steel and wood plants house an array of beauty products that Olie offers.
The lounge shares space with the reception area, and to visually separate the two from each other, Van made use of floor tiles: machuka-inspired tiles for the receiving area and wood textured ceramic tiles for the lounge. The latter boasts a two-seater sofa and accent chairs upholstered in toile de jouy fabric. Behind this set is a screen divider in quatrefoil motif—an eye-catching detail that separates the nail spa area from the rest of the space.
Meanwhile, turquoise wing chairs complete with footstools and foldable side tables populate the main nail spa area. Here, wallpaper with plantation shutters pattern (Van loves using wallpaper in her projects) serves as backdrop. Van also had one wall done in chalkboard paint so that Des and husband Vincent can easily update it with whatever inspirational quotes or illustration that catches their fancy.
Van was quick to say that working with Des and Vincent had been a walk in the park. “I enjoyed working with them because they give me the freedom to design what I have in mind,” recounts the designer. It was just a matter of making sure her design was properly executed by the Laguna-based contractor that the couple hired. “What’s nice about her is hindi siya pushy mag-suggest,” says Des of Van. And by the looks of it, the harmonious designer-client relationship did translate to this airy and relaxing space—something Olie’s clients will definitely appreciate.
Visit Olie’s Wellness and Nail Spa at 2/L RDC Plaza, JP Laurel Highway, Brgy. Balintawak, Lipa City, Batangas.
This article originally appeared as “Olie Wellness & Nail Spa: Cozy Cool” in the August 2016 issue of Real Living Magazine.
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