A 60sqm Pasig Apartment Becomes An Elegant And Cozy Home
"Walang space na pangit," says Wilan Dayrit, who transformed the small apartment into a sophisticated designer hideaway
When interior designer and teacher Wilan Dayrit first saw his bare apartment, it didn’t have a lot going for it, design-wise. Situated in a 1980s development, the apartment’s marble floors were worn, and the walls were done in a dated anay (rough-concrete-wall) finish.
The one-bedroom apartment does have a lot of good points, such as its prime location, and its nicely laid-out, airy spaces, plus a maid’s room. Other designers would have gone the full-makeover route by gutting out the walls, adding ceiling coves, and replacing the flooring, but Wilan took a more laidback approach by leaving the shell as is, and simply decorating it instead.
“Hindi nag-re-rely ang good design sa pagbaklas ng walls,” Wilan enthuses. “After all, your floor, wall, and ceiling can be your blank canvas.” He took this blank canvas, and created a subtly French-inspired but contemporary pied-a-térre, a clear departure from his usual style of tropical-modern interiors. “Dapat kasi yung sanctuary mo, iba sa ginagawa mo. The neutral palette is still very me, but ngayon nagkaroon na siya ng layering. Because of travel, ’di na ako natatakot mag-mix.”
The end result is a richly layered apartment that is not overwhelming, but soothing; the eyes are led to interesting tableaux that tell stories about the homeowner, and his passions. It is a heady mix, but comforting as well, and quite an achievement, given the small floor area. Here’s how he did it.
