PSID Class Exhibit 2012 : Gabay

You might want to visit this exhibit of our future and promising interior designers from The Philippine School of Interior Design, graduating class of 2012. It's at SM City North Edsa (at the former Super Sale Club) from September 29 to October 31, 2012. 

Here's a sneak peek of the exhibit booths and the press release from PSID.

Bo Concept's 60th Anniversary

Sixty years. Three generations of Danish design founded by two Danish craftsmen. Sixty years. A vision that started in a small furniture factory in Denmark to what is now a global retail furniture chain in more than fifty countries. Sixty years. And still counting.

On My Shelf : Kelly Hoppen Home

"When you create a home, you create one to live in now - not tomorrow, next month, next year, but now. There is no better time than today. My hope is that, with this book, you, too, can transform your house into a home that feels as perfect to you as Stone House did to me all those years ago."

Kelly Hoppen, Home

Pinned : Bathrooms

For the month of September, Pinned is all about bathrooms. These are just some of my personal favorites, as seen in Pinterest.

from Elle Decor
I love the detail of the stainless steel counter legs.
It gives that much needed accent to an all white, pristine bathroom.

Condo Living Magazine: 7 Years

Condo Living Magazine is celebrating its seventh year with a stylish home exhibit. The exhibit will showcase a collection of vignettes curated by the editorial team of Condo Living Magazine. This year's anniversary and exhibit will be at The Podium and shall be open to the public from September 23-27, 2012. A cocktail party shall be held on September 25 at 6pm to officially open the exhibit.

Congratulations to the Condo Living Magazine team for living up the sky high lifestyle!

Design Tips from the Kitchen Specialist

The Kitchen, I would say, is one of the most busiest places in the house. There are so many activities going around there for each member of the family - the mom prepares food and cooks, the kids grab their snacks and beverages from the refrigerator, the dad prepares a midnight snack on the kitchen table, the helper stores the freshly bought food from the grocery and sometimes, the family gathers in the kitchen to have an informal meal.

4th Bluprint AVid Competition

In line with the government's National Tourism Development Plan and the 40th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage List, this year's BluPrint AViD (Annual Visionary Design) Competition's challenge is to design a Destination Pit Stop or a Visitor's Center to be located at one of the Philippine World Heritage Sites.

The competition is open to all Filipino citizens, based in the Philippines or abroad and shall be divided into three categories: Architects (licensed, here or abroad);Students & Graduates (currently enrolled students or graduates of Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering and other allied disciplines such as Fine Arts, etc);and the General Public. All categories are open to an individual or a group. 

Grand prize winners for each category will be awarded with a cash prize, a feature in BluPrint magazine, and a trophy by world-renowned glass sculptor Architect Ramon Orlina. Runner-ups will also get a cash prize and a feature in the magazine.

Deadline of entries is on September 30, 2012. For more information, you can visit their website http://avid.myhomedesign.ph/# 

September 2012: The Countdown Begins

Oh how I long for September! It was just like yesterday when it was January, and come Valentine's Day, Christmas is really over. How I dream of my favorite season to be back again soon! Time flew by during the summer months. And when the rainy season starts, we all know it's just a matter of time. And here it is again. :) Christmas in the Philippines officially starts when the "ber" beckons our calendars again.

For the month of September, I am excited to feature the work of this interior designer turned kitchen specialist, Margarita Montiel-Encela. She will be sharing with us her expertise in designing a kitchen and get a chance to also see the projects of her kitchen company, MMKitchen Cabinetry.

Also, from this month on, I will be sharing rooms that I have pinned on Pinterest which I will call Pinned! And for this month, I will be showing the different bathroom designs that I have pinned so far. I'm also planning a feature on commercial interiors on the Local Scene and hopefully a review of a design/art/architecture book for the now monthly, On My Shelf.

It may be September already, but I still have to wait for November before I can officially see some decors around the metro. But what makes it feel so Christmas-y at this time is that warm feeling that I get knowing that it truly is just a few sleeps away. And the waiting for it, is always the best part. :)

Pinned : Dream Kitchen

Lately, I've been fantasizing about my future kitchen. You see, I love to cook and bake, when I have the time. But most of the time, I love to prepare meals for the family, especially on weekends. If I had my way, I would have a kitchen big enough to have a small breakfast nook with a beautiful view of a big garden. Or a small bar that spills over to an open deck for barbecues. An organized pantry is also something that's on my mind. This is something that's not really feasible for our current house, as of the moment. But it can be something that I can be inspired with in designing for my client's kitchens. Here are some that I grabbed from Pinterest, and hopefully help you out too if you're also conceptualizing on your future kitchen design.

Large windows let in natural light for efficient energy consumption
greigedesign.blogspot.com

Museum Hopping in Singapore Part 2: MINT Museum of Toys

The building of the MINT Museum of Toys,
designed by Singapore architectural firm SCDA Architects.

Just behind the Raffles Hotel at Seah Street is the MINT Museum of Toys. It's a five-storey high, narrow contemporary building with a wave-like glass facade. The building is quite narrow that we barely noticed it and actually passed by it. If not for the banners on the posts, we would have missed it completely. It may seem unnoticeable on the outside, but inside is an exhibit that you shouldn't miss. It's for the children and for the children that we once were.

Museum Hopping in Singapore Part 1: Red Dot Museum

The Red Dot Museum on Maxwell Road is painted in bright red.

Last March, I had a chance to revisit the beautiful city of Singapore. This city had been my home twelve years ago, and this was my first time to go back again. Although I lived here for some time, I was not able to go around the museums at that time. This time was no excuse anymore. There are so many museums to visit in Singapore and each museum is really worthwhile to go to. And since it's a multi-cultural city, you can expect to see and "taste" the different cultures at each one you go to.

Papier d'Art

One of the things that have kept me busy in the past few months was going back to one of the things that I loved to do which is drawing. Inspired by my daughter's love for the arts, I decided to explore again the very thing that paved the way for me to become an interior designer. You see, before I knew about interior design, I have always loved to draw when I was still in my elementary days. And that took a step back when I took up interior design in college. Sure, we draw our perspectives and do the rendering too, but most of the time it's about interiors or furniture. What I missed, was the freedom to draw anything I liked. So, when the time and opportunity came up, I just had to grab it. And this started what I now call Papier d'Art.

Papier d'Art
creative pursuits with paper

Howkapow

I think I've been bitten by the art bug. Ever since I joined Pinterest, my interest in handmade illustrations has practically taken-over my spare time. There's just so much inspiration on the internet and so many talented artists, most of them unknown, have so much potential. As an interior designer, artworks and prints are part of the finishing touches in our designs and most of the time, it's really hard to look for that piece that will complete the look that we want. It's a good thing that there are online shops out there that really recognize these talents and help them reach out to interior designers and art lovers. And one really good online shop that I recently bumped to is Howkapow.

August 2012: And We're Back!

I know, I know, it's been a year. It seems like the past year had me juggling a lot of activities, mostly for family. Plus, I was quite busy with exploring another business venture that I have always loved to do since I was a kid. Still, nonetheless, it's no excuse to be gone for too long. I should always find time to do the things that I love, like writing about the arts, design and architecture. So, here I am again and I'm excited to be back!


Since I've been gone, I had the chance to look into another side of the visual arts, specifically, illustrations. Pinterest was a visual feast for me, with so much great ideas for design and fashion. But I also discovered there the different creative illustrations and handwritten fonts. There's just so much inspiration out there for artists! So for the month of August, I will be doing features on different artists on the web and on the local scene as well.


For interior design, I'll also be squeezing in some beautiful kitchen designs that I discovered recently and hopefully get some tips from a Kitchen Specialist on how to make our kitchen design more efficient. 


The past year also gave me a chance to fly abroad. One of the beautiful places I revisited was Singapore. I have always loved Singapore because it's a multi-cultural country that boasts of a well-supported art community. The best thing about that is that people can visit several different museums that are easily accessible to tourists and locals alike. Join me as I tell you about my journey into the famous ArtScience Museum and a look into the Mint Museum of Toys that travel bloggers have been talking about.


It has been a year of absence from the Green Room, but it has been a year of being "present" to new ideas, new places and new designs. The past year had a lot of things going on for me, and even if I wasn't really writing here, I'm actually in the action, where everything is happening. I'm just glad to be back :)

Sugar and Spice (And Everything Nice)

Tie Me Up Buttercup Kiosk at Greenbelt 5

Okay, I admit, I can be a little obsessive-compulsive but I'd rather call myself a neat freak. I just love to organize things, making sure they can be easily accessible when I need them. I also love sorting things together. After that, my being an interior designer kicks in. I'd make sure that my things are positioned nicely and visually balanced. This applies to most of the things I do, and even to wrapping gifts. I have a penchant for making my gifts look really nice. I have always believed that making the wrapping of the gift nice, makes the actual gift more special. I don't really splurge on expensive wrappers but putting on a creative touch to the wrapping is what makes it fun.

Southern Exposure

Located in the southern countryside, this is the retirement house of former city dwellers. The owners of the house, being used to the traditional style that their city residence used to have, wanted something a little different yet nothing too contemporary for their taste. The result is southern plantation style - relaxed and sophisticated classic interiors.

Smart Interior Design Apps

With the advent of the smartphone, it's no surprise how everything can be accessed with just one gadget. Games, Email, Facebook, Exercise Routines, Recipes, Twitter - it's all there in that small piece of gadget we used to know as a mere cellphone. And for designers like me, life is made much more interesting and fun with these cool apps that can show me how my walls will look if I repaint them, or how I can measure and make a floor plan by just taking pictures or how I can easily access an Autocad file when I'm not on my laptop. For my top picks, I divided them into two categories namely: Design Apps on My Iphone and Other Design Apps I Have Yet To Try. Read on:

Eco-friendly Building and Decorative Materials

Finally, here is the list of some interior eco-friendly materials that are available to the Philippine market. 


1. Boysen Eco-friendly Paints : Boysen's eco-friendly paints has the Green Seal for Certified Paints with significantly low VOC content. If you also want your project to be LEED certified, the new line of Boysen paints can help you gain points by using their line of paints that have VOC levels under 50 grams per liter. If you want to know more about the new line of Boysen eco-friendly paints, you can visit their website at Boysen Paints .

Sustainable Sensibilities

 

The NUVALI community development in Sta. Rosa Laguna paves the way for sustainable eco-living. What brought about this initiative by Ayala Land to build the first sustainable community in the Philippines, is actually the desire to nurture the people who will live in it. At the core of it all, sustainable living is all about nurturing it's people – that means having a healthy relationship with our living environment through conscious evo-living.

I have been to Nuvali several times on family occasions whenever we feel like trying out something different. Malling can be pretty tiring, with all the white noise and visual overload, so on lazy weekends, the family goes to Nuvali for a breath of fresh air. Kids love the koi fish feeding and boat ride at the man-made lake. Personally, I love to take a walk on the jogging path that goes around the lake and after, breakfast at the nearby Starbucks coffee shop. It can get pretty windy there with all that wide open space, which is perfect for flying a kite. They also have bicycles for rent that you can use on the same wide jogging path. After all the activities, I just love to take a break at the nearby Conti's for a slice of my favorite cake.

May 2011: Still Going Green

April was just not enough to feature all of the go-green products and interiors that I had in mind (besides the fact that my hands we're so full the past month! :)), so for May, I will be continuing the Going Green theme, still in celebration of Earth Day. I have finally rounded up interior products and materials that support eco-living and sustainable design, which means the list is going to be out soon. Also, a look at Nuvali of Ayala Land and how they are already making initiatives in sustainable design not only for the homes but for the whole Nuvali community as well. For the interior design feature of the month, I will be featuring a southern home with a classic twist.

April may be Earth Day, but May is definitely the month for flowers, coincidentally (or not) also the month when we celebrate Mother's Day. Show your appreciation for your mom by giving her flowers on Mother's Day, or better yet, a flower for every day of May. Happy Mother's Day to you Mom!