Antique Furniture and Abstract Art in an Urban Home

Family antiques and abstract art go hand-in-hand in an urban decorated 150sqm home for interior designer Joby Belmonte and abstract painter Manix Genabe. Tastefully livening their home is an eclectic mix of repurposed furniture and art—like a 137-year-old console table from the house where Jose Rizal first studied (owned by Joby’s great grandfather Don Justiniano Cruz, Rizal’s teacher); Malang, Antonio Ko, and Manix’s paintings in different rooms; huge wooden jars as floor lamps; an old gallinera (a bench made for storing chickens underneath) used as a sofa; and a carved wooden panel that used to be a console that stored communion bread.

But it’s not just about the furniture or art pieces; even their home got a makeover to fit the couple’s needs and style. Once a two-bedroom, three-toilet affair, it’s more spacious now—with lots of room for entertaining guests. The bedrooms were turned into a creative space for work—one a study, the other a den. Part of the living area was closed off to make the master bedroom and two restrooms were combined to make a master bathroom. The living area itself is spacious and bleeds into the balcony, where cool air flows through. To tie it all together are the family antiques and art that decorate each room, giving it a vaguely historical but definitely urban feel.

Original article by Amillah Rodil. Styling by Gwyn GS Guanzon. Photographed by Ocs Alvarez.

Read the original article ("Asian Spice") in the August 2005 issue of Real Living Magazine. Download your digital copy of Real Living on the Real Living App (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/real-living/id553158056?mt=8) now! Log on to summitnewsstand.com.ph/real-living for more details.