A Lovely Resort-Like Home in the City

Designing a family home involves taking into consideration the needs of each occupant, how every inch of space can be put to good use, and achieving a welcoming ambiance that the owners would love to come home to. In finalizing the look of their house in Las Pinas, the owners wanted to create a feel of a resort—with open spaces, a relaxing vibe, natural colors, and minimalist furnishings. After opting to build a U-shaped property, they also decided to complete the look of the home with a mix of modern and traditional influences. To achieve this, they worked with interior designer Kristine Neri-Magturo. Since the owners and the designer are friends, finalizing pieces and materials to be used became easier. Taking into the account the need to have a modern feel and the wife’s request for Asian touches, Kristine thought of working on a modern tropical feel while incorporating the couple’s preferences and love for traveling.

“My clients were very hands-on and personally supervised the entire construction from day one until turnover. Decisions with sourcing and designs came from a personal level as I know the owners well. I know their lifestyle and in a way, it was easy for me to incorporate details which I know will work for them,” shares Kristine. Meanwhile, the owners wanted to maintain the bright and airy look without wasting any inch of space. “Our top priority is to make sure we don’t have a dead spot. There are a lot of old houses wherein you have too many rooms and you end up using only half of the house,” says the man of the house. The ground floor was kept open and airy, with the areas seamlessly connected to each other and natural light streaming in from the glass sliding doors.

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