Before we take a break for the holidays, we would like to leave you with a peek at the lovely home of Gene and Ache Florendo.

Ache (or Ma’am Florendo to me) was my professor/adviser in college. Because of a feature in MyHome magazine, I learned that she has a penchant for collecting antique decors and does holiday decorating with so much passion. With that in mind, we were quite curious to see for ourselves how she puts together her home during the holidays.

True enough, the Florendo house sports a nostalgic look for Christmas with their vintage trinkets and decors. Every corner of the house shows off an array of cute Christmas-y ornaments. From the foyer, living and dining areas, down to the kitchen, the interior spaces are all rendered in the familiar holiday colors of red and green.

Their Christmas tree is filled with multicolored lights and the most adorable collection of handmade figurines.

At the bottom of the tree is a “Christmas Holiday Express” train railway setup. This triggered me to sing the old Coca Cola jingle “Holidays are coming…. Holidays are coming,” in my head all throughout the shoot, hehe! Ache told me that it’s one of Gene’s collections. Yup, collections with an emphasis on the “s”! Apparently, her husband also shares the same love for collecting interesting thingamabobs. (We’ll reserve that for a different post)

Their decors are not just limited to the nook of the Christmas tree. Tabletops, curio cabinets and shelves allover the house feature Christmas tableaus with a whole range of Santa Clause ornaments, unique antique finds (we especially love the vintage sleigh and the mini sewing machine), and mini Christmas trees.

In contrast to the contemporary, trendy decorating styles that we often see, Ache’s take on creating a classic Christmas atmosphere at home has an element of nostalgia and sentimentality. Her home actually made me feel like a kid again, bringing memories of how I eagerly anticipated the celebration Christmas during my childhood.

I’m sure these pictures are already making you feel the warm Christmas spirit!

So, from all of us here at Design Folder, we wish all of you, dear readers, a very merry Christmas!

While picking out items for my Space Starters shoot in Rustan’s, Shangri La Mall, I took the chance to go around the home department to look for unique Christmas decorations. Rustan’s never lets me down (except for their high-end prices, hehe) when it comes to providing the best and the latest in home decors.  Here are my top three favorites:

1) The lace reindeer (above) displayed at the conceirge.

2) The most interesting Christmas tree at the bridal registry, which is adorned with birds and balls. There’s the blue green peacock (very Carrie),

 and cute little birds on nests.

3) The purple-green-gold Christmas tree by the main entrance of the home department. I like the combination of different shades of purple and green, and the use of glass mirror panels as tree charms.

Visit Rustan’s  (Shangri-la is my favorite) to see more of the latest finds and ideas in holiday decor.