While interior design has been flooded by all things ornate, kitschy, detailed and patterned in the past couple of years, it seems that I always fall for the simple, no-nonsense designs. In almost everything—from fashion, jewelry, and graphics, to art, architecture, and interior design—I naturally gravitate towards clean lines, tailored silhouettes, and well-made products that do not need to scream for attention. I know I can live with them for a long time without eventually becoming dated.

These are the kind of designs that I personally recommend to my clients when buying the main furnishings for the house. Think Tim Gunn’s 10 Essential Pieces, home edition. A streamlined, well-made sofa, bed frame or armchair can go well with almost any style and any accessory, just like your basic black dress, classic white shirt, and well-fitted jeans. They are like your investment pieces.

However, like your basic black dress, classic white shirt, and well-fitted pair of jeans, furniture pieces in perfect “basic” designs are quite difficult to find (unless you have enough budget to buy from those European furniture stores). Camerich, a high-end Asian furniture brand took advantage of this demand and created a line of quality contemporary furnishings that are more affordable than its European counterparts. Combining sleek, well-proportioned form with comfort and design flexibility, Camerich is increasingly becoming a designer’s go-to brand and a homeowner’s must-have furniture piece in over 40 countries worldwide including Australia, France, Spain, Japan, the UK, the US, and the Philippines.

While Camerich’s pieces seem very simple at first glance, the details of the furniture reveal a well-thought design. I love how each furniture show some form of contrast that makes it interesting, like pairing the massive yet plush body of a sofa with slim legs, and combining the traditional elegance of marble with the more modern industrial appeal of blackened steel frame.

Their sofa’s are also designed with removable fitted covers. Apart from making care and maintenance easier, this feature allows you to change the look of your sofa by opting to have additional sets of covers in another color or fabric. Camerich has a wide variety of fabric and leather options so you can choose a color, pattern, texture, or material that will suit your personality or your space’s changing style.

Here in the Philippines, Camerich is carried by PLC107 in Makati. To provide designers and homeowners with more display pieces and design settings, PLC107 recently moved to a new and bigger showroom. Visit them at Warehouse 1C (Gate 2), La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City to view Camerich’s latest 2012 collection. You can also view their website www.plc107.com or call them at 840-2678.

Probably one of the highlights of the recent Manila Fame show is the addition of live vignettes featuring craftsmen (and women) in action—weaving fabrics, carving wood products, and weaving rattan and buri furnishings. Whoever thought of this is a genius! It gives a human face to the featured products. At the same time, seeing how the furnishings and decors are tediously made somehow adds to their value.

On top of the usual furniture and decors, there was also a section for Philippine textiles. Twinkle Ferraren’s collection made from paper fabric (fabric made from plant fiber pulp) caught our attention. They look very similar to linen but they are actually made from pineapple fiber pulp. Twinkle is a young fashion designer who designs paper-art clothing since 2005. See her collection here.

Another interesting collection is the recycled crafts from Bayan ni Juan. I think most of them are made from shredded magazine pages, rolled, and made into small beads and cones.

This just proves how much talent we have in this country. I’m not just talking about the designers behind the furnishings, but also the men and women who make it possible for the drawings to become actual objects. We’re definitely a handmade nation!

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I was in Shangri-la Mall yesterday and saw for the first time the newly renovated 2^nd and 3^rd levels of Rustan’s Department Store. The clean and sophisticated design of the store made everything look even more expensive! It was a huge transformation from the store’s very dated appearance (circa 1991). I especially love the look of the home furnishings department—floor in bleached wood vinyl planks with accents of woven abaca matting, white walls with shiny stainless steel trims, and streams of bright light from metal halide directional lamps.

The design, especially the color palette and textures used, actually reminds me of the predominant look of the furnishings and accessories featured in last month’s Manila Fame 2011 exhibit. Many of the products look raw, bleached, lime-washed or unstained. Does this mean we’ll be saying goodbye to wengue, and hello to white and “bleached” finishes? Here are some of the pieces that we saw:

1) Coast Pacific (above & below):

2) Detalia Aurora & Accessoria:

3) Las Palmas:

4) Masaeco:

5) Tadeco:

6) Mood Indigo:

7) Naturalist Pavillion:

Before we take a break for another long weekend (yay!), we’ll leave you with a preview of the recent Manila FAME 2011 show last October 16-19. The show featured a lot of designerly goodness, from furniture and decor to new applications of natural materials and finishes.

Let’s start with the chairs.

Aside from the variety of shapes, sizes and textures, many of the chairs were noticeably inspired by something “borrowed” and something “old”–period style silhouettes, indigenous materials, and traditional weaving techniques. It’s a classic case of the-past-meets-the-present.

Watch out for more pictures from the show next week. Happy weekend!

How was your 4-day weekend? Mine was spent mostly at home, in my bedroom. After three very busy weeks, I think spending it in my room doing nothing is a holiday well spent. Call me boring, but that’s my idea of a relaxing vacation.

This reminded me of one of the interview questions for a feature in MyHome magazine a couple of years ago. They asked me, “For newly-wed couples, what do you think is the very first piece of furniture that they need to purchase?” For me, the answer is simple—invest in a good bed.

There a three key pieces in a home that every young couple should invest in: the sofa, the dining furniture, and the bed. But if you have enough money for just one, buy the bed first. Among the three, the bed will be the most utilized furniture in the house, where you’ll spend approximately a third of your life for the next 10 years at least (because some experts suggest changing your mattress after 10 years).

The things to consider when selecting a bed tend to come under these categories: the size of your room, the size of the bed, the material of the bed frame (wood, metal, upholstered or leather beds), type of mattress, additional storage, and budget.

The size of your room is important when buying a bed because if you choose a massive bed and you only have a small room, you will be caught in a bit of a pickle. The best way is to measure your room. Make sure you take note of the necessary clearances around the bed for walking around it and for the addition of night table/s. From these measurements, you’ll be able to determine possible limitations with the size of your bed. As a reference, here are the dimensions of mattresses available in the market.

Because you are purchasing a bed for you and your partner, you have two needs to consider. If your partner is a lot taller than yourself  (especially if they’re more than 6’ tall) , you will need to be looking at larger/longer beds as you do not want their toes hanging out the end of the bed. Consider beds/mattresses that are longer than the standard 75”. You will also have to come to an agreement about whether you want a hard or soft mattress.

For those with limited storage space, you now have beds with pullout compartments. Many beds have built in storage underneath, which is ideal for smaller rooms.

Obviously all this is irrelevant if your budget will only allow you a few options. You must work out how much you are willing to spend for the bed frame, mattress and beddings. It can all mount up pretty quickly, so keep an eye on your sums.

One important tip: shop around with your partner. Also, try the mattresses. Lie on them to check if they’re comfortable according to your standards.

For beddings, I’ve written a previous post on it here. Mattresses require a different (and longer) discussion. We’ll have a different post on that next time.

I’ve been seeing a lot of this 70s Peacock Chair lately. I first spotted it in Rue’s July/August cover. I saw it again recently in French Elle’s April issue and in this blog.

Even Patricia Urquiola’s outdoor chair for B&B Italia is reminiscent of the peacock chair’s form. I guess it is safe to say that the popular 70s furniture is making a comeback.

I don’t know who originally designed this chair. I can’t find any information about it. I know, however, that many of these chairs were made in Cebu using buri. I confirmed it with Vito Selma. I was glad that I asked him because he also confirmed that their furniture company, Stonesets, is actually producing them again, using the same weavers who used to make them in Cebu around 35-40 years ago!

Above is Stonesets’s peacock chair which we saw in Kish late last month.

Speaking of ‘made in the philippines’, Manila FAME will be opening this Sunday, October 16, and will run until October 19 at the SMX Convention Center. The great thing about this year’s show is that it combines three exhibitions–Manila Now, CebuNext, and Bijoux Cebu (eco fashion accessories)–in one big event!

For more details, visit Manila FAME’s site here.

When I did the Space Starters section for MyHome’s May issue, I visited Gus* Furniture’s showroom at The Residences in Greenbelt to source for featured items. I like the style of the store–modern but very casual, clean and sleek but not too “polished”. And I love how they integrated the chalkboard walls (which is recently becoming a mini-trend) in their showroom.

Their store is located at the G/F The Residences at Greenbelt, Makati. They also have a small store at the 2/F of LRI Design Plaza in Nicanor Garcia, Makati. To know more about Gus*, read our previous feature here.

O.M.O. by Movement 8 furniture designer Milo Naval is now my favorite store! Every time I go to LRI Plaza, I make it a point to drop by the store just to admire their pieces. I especially love this beautiful white daybed and the poster bed behind it. Because I know I can’t buy them for myself (the daybed is P93,000 while the poster bed is P120,000 if I remember correctly), I’m praying that I’ll have a client who will be willing to buy them!  :)

O.M.O. is located at the G/F LRI Design Plaza, N. Garcia (Former Reposo St.), Makati.

If you are a fan of K-pop and the Koreans’ adventurous sense of style, you’ll absolutely love the new Subspace Coffee House in Ortigas.

Owned by Wilmer Lopez and Thor Balanon, the duo behind the hip home and lifestyle store Space Encounters, Subspace was created with two things in mind: 1) to have a setting where their clients can see how their funky vintage pieces can be used for commercial applications, and 2) to have a venue where they, especially Thor, can celebrate their love for coffee, design, and K-pop.

Their trip to Seoul last year inspired their design for the coffee shop. Similar to Korean fashion, the interior of Subspace is cute, edgy, nostalgic, geeky and quirky all at the same time. Their colorful pieces from Space Encounters like the Papa Bear loveseat and the Wishbone chairs are arranged in an industrial setting of plain white paint, unfinished concrete surfaces, retractable iron grilles, and exposed pipes and ducting. K-pop and Korean vintage posters are mixed with mid-century accessories, and space science details.

It’s interesting that instead of using them as chairs, the Wishbone were hanging above the dining area (photo above)! Thor explained that they were supposed to demonstrate anti-gravity. Clever!

Subspace also features Korean films and concerts. But instead of installing a TV, they simply installed a small projector and used a portion of one wall as their screen.

Of course, it wouldn’t be coffee shop without coffee! Thor suggested for us to try their Sweet Purple Potato Latte (flavored coffee popular in Korea), Iced Lemon Green Tea, Nebula Coffee Jelly, a couple of cupcakes, and samples of their chocolates. Everything was delicious!

Their Sweet Purple Potato Latte (which I call ube coffee for short) is my favorite. It was perfect for that rainy afternoon. Lilli and Green Guide loved the green tea. We enjoyed everything! Too bad Ana, our “coffee connoisseur”, wasn’t able to join us.

Subspace Coffee House is now open! Visit them at Unit 103, GF Grand Emerald Tower, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig. Also checkout their facebook page here for more photos of their food items.

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Simplicity doesn’t always spell b-o-r-i-n-g. In fact, the concept of modernism, the design philosophy behind the mid-century furniture pieces that are making a comeback, is based on the idea that the simpler, the plainer, the better, and that beautiful designs are straightforward, efficient and honest (with reference to the material).

Simplicity of form and practical function are the main inspiration of Gus* Design Group, a modern furniture company based in Canada.

“We are inspired by simple forms and honest materials. We use them as the springboard for everything we create. From the simple two-by-four and construction I-Beam, to the useful miter box, we delight in the simplicity of everyday objects. The result is furniture, accent pieces, and accessories that mix the elegant with the industrial. Mirroring the great modernist of yesterday, we strive to combine great design and practical purpose.”

Gus* also supports sustainable practices, being a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and a certified company of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which ensures that all wood products come from well-managed forest.

I’m a fan of simple and no-nonsense designs. They’re easy to dress up, to dress down, and to pair with a wide variety of styles, much like the little black dress or crisp white button-down shirt in your wardrobe.

Some of my favorites from Gus* are the Atwood Sectional (top photo) with its clean, tailored look,

the Annex Storage with its basic shape and a nice pairing of warm walnut wood with cool stainless steel legs,

the Upcycle Ottoman which uses repurposed fair trade coffee bags,

and the nostalgic School Chair and School Stool which are modern versions of the elementary school chair using bent-ply seat and back.

Gus* Furniture is now available in Manila! And the great news is that they’re having a SALE starting today, July 14, until August 16 (see details in their ad at the righ side bar)!!! This is a good deal for those of you who might be in the process of renovating your home or furnishing a condo.

Visit them at the G/F The Residences at Greenbelt Retail, Esperanza St., Ayala Center, Makati City. They will also have an exhibit on July 16 – 29, 2011 at Greenbelt 5 Exhibit Area (near Superga). For inquiries see contact details below:

Phone: 621-8171, 566-9293

Email: gus@livingspace.com.ph

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gusphilippines