Design Folder: Your Online Design and Decorating Resource

i saw design: art in the park, an invitation

If you’re not doing anything today, you might want to check this one out:

ART IN THE PARK on February 27, 2010, Saturday, 2 to 10 pm, Jaime Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, Makati City. Organized by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines with the help of Bgy. Bel Air and Security Bank MasterCard.

An annual project of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines, ART IN THE PARK is an affordable art fair for paintings, prints, photos, and sculpture. Pieces have a price ceiling of P20,000.00.

conscious living: how green is green? (part two)

Everyone is talking green and selling green–green fashion, green furnishings, green houseware, green building materials. But are we sure they are ”green” enough?

One of the related concepts of carbon footprint is embodied energy. Another way to determine the greenness of a specific building material or product is to look at its embodied energy index.

Embodied energy is the sum of all the item’s/material’s energies used in processing (from extraction/harvesting of raw materials to manufacturing), packaging, transportation to the site, construction and eventual use, and finally its disposal. Put simply, embodied energy looks at the entire lifecycle of the material and computes how much energy is consumed.

Embodied energy is also called by different terms: cumulative energy demand, embedded energy, virtual energy or hidden energy. The relation of embodied energy to carbon footprint is through the CO² byproducts of the energy consumed by the material. Meaning, the more energy used to harvest, manufacture, transport, use, and dispose a product, the  more CO² is being produced.

Therefore, the smaller the embodied energy of the product is, the “greener” it becomes.

Bangui Windmills in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Photo by Sir Mervs

SOURCES OF ENERGY

The embodied energy of materials is mostly similar from region to region, regardless of where it was manufactured. Although most material production processes are universal, the type of energy utilized may not be the same. A country whose power plants are mostly coal-fueled will have its products having a higher carbon footprint than a country which relies on geothermal or wind power (for example Iceland, which uses mostly geothermal and hydroelectric power) .

IMPORTED VS. LOCAL

Be careful on buying imported products and building materials. Even if the product from another country is green, it may not be the greenest decision to purchase it. Transportation costs will add a significant amount to its embodied energy. Plus, the energy used to process the product may not be from renewable sources. Of course, recycled materials and handmade products have a lower embodied energy. Therefore, make sure that the other stages in the product’s lifecycle saved/will save on energy to compensate for its international shipping. Otherwise, love your own and buy local products! You do not only help the environment, you also help the local economy.

EMBODIED ENERGY INDEX

Most computations for the embodied energy only consider the manufacturing process (starting from the acquisition of raw materials to the finished product ready for shipping).

The following are some values from the Center for Building Performance Research, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand to give you a comparison of the commonly used building materials today. (Unfortunately, we don’t have values yet for our country.)

Hope this will help you make greener choices and purchases next time.

product wars: department store shopping part two

For the second and last installment of our department store shopping series, we went to Crossings Shangri-la Mall and Landmark Trinoma.

I visited Crossings at Shangri-la and found lots of interesting items. They’ve upgraded their home section. Before, there were only a few furniture pieces displayed at Crossings. Now, they are really keeping their home section alive and bright – especially with the accessories. There were a lot of interesting vases to choose from! I think their theme now with the vases is “coral reef.” The downside is that there were more interesting accessories than furniture pieces. I guess it also matters that the space they’re occupying is very limited. They can’t really display many big items.

Overall, though, the pieces available at Crossings are worth a second look. They’re also very affordable and they have frequent half-off sales. Here are my finds:

clockwise from upper left: droplight, P2,698.00; table lamp, P1,238.00; dining set, P19,998.00; pillow, P349.75; metallic vase, P1,779.75; queen bed, P23,198.00; arm chair with ottoman, P11,800.00; green container, P1,108.00; green vase, P1,439.75

Ms. CFO was the one who visited Landmark and here’s what she found:

“There were a lot of great finds inside Landmark, but these were mostly home accessories.  You can choose from a wide variety of lamps, photo frames, and bathroom accessories.  I found the designs of the floor lamp and tray quite unique and affordable.  For the big items such as the sofa set, the bed, and the dining table, Landmark had very limited choices, most of them either had a similar color palette or design.”

clockwise from upper left: bed frame, P11,999.75 / bed (orthopedic), P10,719.75; photo frame, P259.75 (set of 3); floor lamp, P1,099.75; tray/organizer, P249.75; L Type sofa, P10,000.00; dining set, P9,900.00; bath organizer, P199.00

We hope you enjoyed our two-part department store shopping series. Don’t forget to answer our mini poll below:

product wars: department store shopping part one

I’ve spent a huge chunk of my life in malls. I’m a mallrat – and I’m not ashamed to admit it. What’s not to love about malls? They have everything you want and need. They have cinemas for the film buff, boutiques for the fashionista, bookstores for the reader, and a food court for the hungry. And of course, malls also have something for the homeowner – department stores with lots of nice and affordable furniture and accessories.

This is what I love most about the home sections of mall department stores. They offer a lot of choices. But the possibilities and options can be a bit overwhelming. So we, the Design Folder team, decided to do a challenge: find the best and most affordable pieces that mall department stores have to offer.

Let’s start with SM Megamall and find out if they’ve really “got it all for you.”

Ardel checked out SM Homeworld at the basement level of Building B, while Green Guide went through the furnishings at Our Home at the basement level of Building A. Here are their finds:

“There were not much interesting/stylish selections for the big items–dining set, bed frame, sofa, arm chairs, cabinets. Most of them look very typical.  So, for that part, it was quite a challenge for me. However, I’m still a big fan of SM Homeworld because of their good selection of accessories that are very affordable. Although it’s not included in the list, it’s worth to mention that they also carry a wide range of beddings, from affordable ones to high-end lines.” -Ardel

Clockwise from top left: two-seater sofa, P10,950.00; 21″x15″ frame with matte board, P469.75; ikhea drop light, P2,299.75; pillow, P149.75; four-seater dining set, P15,950; yellow green accent chair, P6,995.00; two-drawer side table, P4,995.00; table lamp, P3,249.75; turquoise molded plastic chair, P1,995.00; and red vase, P579.75.

“Our Home is packed with a range of really nice products, from basic items to trendy pieces. Unfortunately, the really good ones are quite expensive. They have a range of styles and price points for the main furniture pieces–sofa, chairs, cabinets, beds–so you have a lot to choose from. Similarly, Our Home also carries home accessories that are basic and affordable, as well as stylish but a bit more pricey (i.e. umbra line and their table lamps).” -Green Guide

Clockwise from top left: Eglo Fargo, P3,4999.75; pillows, P499.75 (blue plaid), P549 (gold metallic); quadro wall decor (mirror), P4,999.75; white bed frame (queen), P11,000; dining set, P24,950; Eglo sendo, P1,499.75; circk wing chair, P13,000; geneva coffee table, P8,995; small canvas bin, P299.75; and 3- and 2-seater sofa set, P24,950.

diy project: love-is-[almost]-blind tray

Last week, I had to get an eye exam for the renewal of my driver’s license. As usual, I did really bad. I think I only got the letters correctly upto the third line. So, I guess my astigmatism is getting worse. *blag*

That’s why I can totally relate to this tray project, which I stumbled upon at ink bloom. This project calls for a printed vinyl decal on a typical serving tray. You can also make this project replacing the tray with a large wooden picture frame and a similar image displayed inside it. Simply screw in coordinating cabinet pulls to function as tray handles. 

i saw design: heirloom giveaway update

 

diy tips: plan & coordinate your own wedding

I know it’s nearly impossible for many “modern brides” to personally take care of the wedding from planning down to the event itself. Having a lot in their hands, juggling career, family and graduate school (for some) altogether, they don’t have a choice but to hire a wedding planner/coordinator.

However, there are still couples who do it the old way and do the planning and coordinating themselves. My “oldest” friend Shar (we have been friends since kindergarten!) and her husband Jolly prove that it is possible. Shar is a career woman herself but she managed to pull everything off with the help of (then fiance) Jolly, her supportive family, and her talented friends (yihee!).

The thing that I appreciate the most about DIY weddings is that they feel more intimate and personal because everyone has a part to play in making the event memorable.

Here are Shar’s Tips for a DIY Wedding:

1. Own it! – Consistent with our personalities, we wanted to go for an intimate and personalized wedding celebration.  That’s why we tried, as much as possible, to incorporate a personal touch to the wedding details. If we were to put a name to our theme, it would be quirky DIY + organized chaos. Haha! Our idea was to make everything appear as if we personally made everything. We did not want anything too structured or too formal.  For instance, for the flowers and table setting, we wanted the arrangements to have the hand-picked look, as if we just went out for a walk and picked the flowers from a garden nearby.

2. Small is beautiful. – One of the most challenging parts in planning the wedding was to keep the guest list short. We wanted a small wedding to be consistent with the “personal and intimate” concept. We had only 120 guests so the venue choices—the small chapel at the Archbishop’s Palace for the ceremony and the Valle Verde Clubhouse for the reception—were just perfect.

3.  Be realistic. – We set a limit for our wedding expenses. In spite of this, we managed to include all the features to make the wedding perfect. My point is, you can work within your budget and still achieve great results as long as you know where to save and splurge on and when to be creative.

4.  Get the help of talented friends. – You’ll be surprised that your friends are more than willing to help. We had unconventional, handmade invitations. Our friend Yasmin made the sketches that fill the front of the invites. The ink and watercolor “doodles” were illustrations of the most sentimental items and events in our relationship (images above; know more about them here). Apart from the invitations, we also used Yasmin’s sketches for the thank you cards and table numbers.  It’s quite expensive to have things like these customized. So, if you have creative friends, take advantage!

5. Think out of the box. – We originally wanted a garden wedding but we did not want to worry about rain ruining everything we planned for. So, we decided to go indoors and make design details more, uh… organic, so that the garden feeling is still there.

6.  Be organized. – Call me OC but most of the wedding details were organized in an excel file! This kept me sane during the whole process. On top that, my excel files were particularly helpful when I was delegating “wedding work”. We got the help of our family and friends to do the wedding coordination during the day itself. I simply sent them the “to do” lists complete with schedule and contact persons.

7. Have fun! – In the end, it’s all about you and your partner. So, do not stress over the minor mishaps. Besides, the imperfections do add in making the event more memorable. You have something to laugh about afterwards.

design trail: a wedding in memphis (part 2)

The current trend among couples is to have a concept pre-nup wedding shoot. But for Ken and Jessie, they decided to have a day-after shoot instead.

“Our photographer came up with the idea of the day after shoot. Usually she does bridal shoots like that before the wedding but we opted to do it after, mostly because it was so hectic beforehand,” Ken explained.

The couple chose Downtown Memphis as their location. They casually walked the streets, while their photographer, Annabella of Asian Bees Photography, took candid photos of the couple. They hopped around the historic district, stopping by some famous spots like the Peabody Hotel and Beal Street.

Here are some interesting tidbits about the location [texts via wikipedia]:

Downtown Memphis in Tennessee is located on the Mississippi River and is the oldest part of the city. The area includes the riverfront and the bluffs overlooking the river. The upper riverfront became the site of the river landing where steamboats were loaded with cotton and other goods during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Between 1844 and 1886 the river landing was paved with limestone and granite cobblestones brought in from the upper Midwest. This created what is today the largest intact Mississippi River landing still in existence, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

One famous site here is the Peabody Hotel, a luxury hotel in Downtown Memphis. It is well known for its “Peabody Ducks” that live on the hotel rooftop, but which make daily treks to the hotel’s lobby in a daily “March of Ducks” celebration.

What Downtown Memphis is most known for is its role in the development of music genres particularly blues, jazz, and rock’ n roll. It is the home of Beale Street, world famous for being the “Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock ‘n Roll”. For this reason, the clubs and restaurants that line Beale are major tourist attractions. Popular names such as Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Memphis Minnie, B. B. King, Rufus Thomas, Rosco Gordon and other blues and jazz legends played on Beale Street and helped develop the style known as Memphis Blues.

Beautiful couple in an equally beautiful setting!

*Photos by Annabella Jackson-Brandon courtesy of Ken & Jessie.

i saw design: a wedding in memphis (part 1)

We’re extending the love theme a bit for a few more days!

Last week, we featured three romantic white homes to give you ideas for your space. Now, we move on to romantic events and venues. For this, we have prepared two inspiring wedding features–one from Memphis and the other one from Manila.

Weddings have now become more and more creative. From the theme and venue, down to the décor and even the photography, couples are being very open to unique (and sometimes outrageous) ideas to make the event personal and memorable.

Last December, while watching some wedding videos by Jason Magbanua with a couple of friends, Practical Princess told us about the interesting wedding of her friend, Ken, in Memphis. Instead of the usual hotel ballroom or garden setting, Ken and his wife Jessie decided to have the wedding in the zoo!

“We chose the zoo specifically because of the uniqueness and our love of wildlife,” Ken said when I asked him how they came up with the idea.

The setting is in the Northwest Passage of the Memphis Zoo where the sea lions and the polar bears are viewed. This part of the zoo is a tribute to the culture of the First Nations people and the animals and horticulture of the Pacific Northwest.

Here, the couple exchanged vows by the rocks while their guests stayed at the viewing deck (photo above).  

The place was beautifully decorated to complement the lovely young couple. It came alive with bursts of warm, cheerful colors like orange, fuchsia, yellow, and turquoise from the flowers and candles. Even the food served during the reception followed the summery color palette.

Everything about the wedding feels young, warm and spontaneous! Here are the people who made it all possible:

Catering: Wade and Company

Flowers: L and J

Wedding planner: Southern Event Planners

Photography: Annabella Jackson-Brandon

I’m sure you got several ideas from these adorable photos. But we’re not done yet!  Tomorrow, we’ll share with you part 2, as Ken and Jessie take us on a walk to downtown Memphis.

*Photos by Annabella Jackson-Brandon courtesy of Ken & Jessie

diy project: printable valentine’s day cards

“Fixing a broken heart” front

It’s the day to say “I love you” to everyone!

Here are two last minute printable cards for our single (card below) and broken hearted (card above) friends. These cute cards were designed by Ms. Creative Director (a.k.a. Lilli Beth! ) for pushtheenvelope.

“Dateless on valentine’s?” front

“Dateless on valentine’s” back/inside

Click the photo for the link, print, and write your love thoughts! You can also throw in a gift with the card to make the person feel extra special.

To all our families’, friends, and df readers, we love you! Enjoy the day with your loved ones.