7 Local Home Stores That We Really Miss
Which store do you miss the most? Take a trip down memory lane and discover what new shops to go to instead.
Sometimes, a really fantastic home and lifestyle store comes along—and then the next thing you know, it just suddenly closes, never to open again.
Real Living has seen its share of beautiful home and furniture stores, and even if some of them have long closed shop, these are the best ones that we simply could not forget. And we list down here other similar (and still open-for-business) stores that you can head to instead.
1. KISH
Visual storyteller and furniture designer Ito Kish is an expert in visual merchandising and curating, and his best creation was his eponymous store located in the former Budji Layug showroom/house along Nicanor Garcia in Makati. It was a decorative masterpiece, with international designer décor and luxe brand Gallano on the first floor, and the second floor dedicated to Ito’s award-winning furniture pieces like the Basilisa chair. KISH was simply magical, especially during Christmas.
Instead, go to: Kish’s occasional pop-up stores—which he had recently at Powerplant Mall—or order online from his website.
2. F1rst
Ito Kish recognized the growing need for sophisticated condo furniture, and he addressed this with F1rst, a sister store to KISH that he opened at LRI Design Plaza, also at Nicanor Garcia Street. The reasonably priced furniture pieces and décor at F1rst all had a clean, modern-Scandinavian style in Millennial hues like blush, robins’-egg-blue, and rose gold—one of the first local stores to showcase the popular colors.
Instead, go to: Design Story at Uptown Mall Bonifacio Global City and at Karrivin Plaza. The store carries HAY, a modern Scandinavian furniturebrand.
3. Domani
Stylish siblings Joey and Anthony Yupangco’s tiny but sleekly designed shop at the New World Hotel was filled with strictly modernist, almost futuristic furniture pieces by international design superstars like Ross Lovegrove, Marcel Wanders, and Toshiyuki Kita (domani is Italian for “tomorrow”). It was groundbreaking, albeit a little ahead of its time. The Makati shop closed a couple of years ago.
Instead, go to: The Cappellini Manila showroom at One Parkade, 28th St., Bonifacio Global City, which carries some of Domani’s designer pieces.
4. Area Loft
It was one of the first concept stores to house a café inside its shop. Designers can’t forget the Megamall branch with its wide selection of Philippe Starck furniture and Karim Rashid accessories, plus their delicious Banofee pie. That branch closed in the early aughts, but Area Loft opened a smaller store in downtown Pasig, but that too closed soon after.
Instead, go to: The different Dimensione branches for your reasonably priced modern furniture fix.
5. Duodeco Studio
Husband-and-wife team Elle Uy and Yuseff Aguell opened this jewel box of a store in Quezon City back in 2013. Set up in a 1960s townhouse, it was filled with offbeat paintings, ceramic accessories, and a mishmash of vintage furniture repainted in crazy colors. The thrift-store vibe was again, way ahead of its time, and it came before the rise of social media furniture buy-and-sell groups. It eventually closed, and the couple opened Third Space Café (also with the same eclectic vibe) while Elle continues to decorate homes.
Instead, go to: Embrace Homestore, architect Allen Oblena’s carefully curated Kamuning shop filled with up-cycled midcentury modern pieces.
6. Howards Storage World
The early condo boom was in need of a storage specialty store, and Aussie brand Howards Storage World came to the rescue back in 2010. It carried every storage bin and catchall imaginable, from gigantic bed linen boxes and rubber toy tubs to wire cubbies and the tiniest acrylic jewelry cases. One of its main features was its Elfa shelving systems, which could be customized to fit your closet.
Instead, go to: Abenson Home at WMall in Pasay, which offers a wide range of affordable storage bins and containers.
7. Regalong Pambahay Pioneer Showroom
Long before “concept store” was a byword, homegrown decorating brand Regalong Pambahay was already walking the talk with its factory branch at Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong. The sprawling showroom was color-coded (pink on one side, blue on the other side, and neutrals in the middle) with impeccable visual merchandising that changed with every season like Easter or Christmas. A big plus was that everything was 20 percent off.
Instead, go to: the smaller Regalong Pambahay store, downsized and relocated to the space next to the old showroom.
