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space matters: jigs adefuin’s home in the city

It is always a treat to visit a designer’s home. Because designers usually adapt to their clients’ style and taste, they don’t usually get to exercise their “creative freedom” when doing design projects. Oftentimes, their home is their venue where they have the liberty to apply all the ideas that have always wanted to try, sometimes to the point of having an idea overload. Surprisingly, this is not the case for my friend, Jigs Adefuin, who knew from the start how he wants his condo to be designed.

Jigs and I were officemates in my first job at Focus Global Inc.(FGI). He now has a successful practice together with his partner, Oliver, who takes care of the construction management arm of the company. I was just supposed to interview Jigs and Oliver for a Condo Living feature. But because Ana and Green Guide were also free that afternoon, I brought them with me to shoot the interiors for df.

Jigs and Oliver share this 3-bedroom condominium residence with their two dogs, Pucci and Krypton. Jigs used a lot of black and gray–two colors that he loves but his clients are not too excited about.

We love his pair of Arturo Luz paintings of the Palitana Temples in the living area (above & top photo), and the paintings of df’s creative director, Lilli Beth, in the dining area and in the hallway. They are the only sources of vivid colors in the entire living-dining-kitchen area.

The bedrooms are full of surprises! The compact office (above) also doubles as an extra guest room with a pull-down bed (below) built under the overhead cabinets. The turquoise guest room beside it, where Oliver’s mom stays when she visits them in Manila, has its own commode disguised as a chair. Because of the limited storage, even the small space behind the TV of the masters’ bedroom was made functional by integrating a pullout rack for cologne bottles and accessories.  Cool!

Jigs was recently named as one of Philippine School of Interior Design’s (PSID) 10 Interior Design Iconoclasts (congratulations!). To know more about Jigs’ past design works, check out his website here. Also, grab the June issue of Condo Living magazine which includes a couple of features about him. {thanks Jigs and Oliver for welcoming us in your beautiful home!} -ardel

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in good taste: café by the ruins

I want to go back to Baguio. There are a few restaurants that I didn’t get to visit when we were there last month — like Oh My Gulay! and Bliss Cafe. Luckily I was able to pass by Café by the Ruins. We really enjoyed the food (especially Tita Susie’s Crispy Tapa) but what made our lunch extra special was the atmosphere of the cafe.

The mostly wood interiors made the place cozy and relaxing. And the ruins they built the place around, the house of the first civil governer of Benguet which was destroyed in World War II, made the cafe fascinating. I also like how they made use of unique nature-inspired lighting fixtures and the rough textures of wood and stone to complement the ruins. I’ll definitely go back to Café by the Ruins when I get the chance. -lilli

space matters: ‘slide’ house

It would be a dream for every child (and maybe for the child-at-heart) to have playtime all the time.

Good news! The guys from Level Architects, a design studio in Japan, just made that fantasy a reality by building this ‘Slide House’, a three-story house with a combination of a staircase and a slide that encircles the interior. With half of the loop in typical stairs and the other half in a 2-level slide, the occupants have the option to descend by the stairs or by slide.

Apart from the slide, the house also has a ball pen in the living room area to be consistent with the playground idea.

According to the designers, by placing the slide along the ‘daily flow line’ of the stairs, instead of just introducing a playground in the building, the home itself becomes one big playground and daily life is like a never-ending playtime.

Don’t you just love how the Japanese think?! They can turn such a profound idea into a fun and amusing design. I guess it also helps that they have an audience (clients) who are also willing to think out of the box.

*images via Level Architects. see the restof the photos here

in good taste: breakfast at antonio’s

I’ve been meaning to visit the newly renovated Antonio’s restaurant in Tagaytay. Good thing a friend of ours invited us to have breakfast there during the long weekend. I’ve been to the old Antonio’s restaurant and Breakfast at Antonio’s, and both were very successful in creating a wonderful ambiance for its customers. Naturally, I had high expectations for the new one and it did not disappoint me.

Reception area of Antonio’s

The interiors of the dining areas were very easy on the eyes, making use of only white and black paint. I love how the designer was able to include key elements to make the space look fresh and inviting. Apart from using intricately designed tiles and lamps, wooden pieces were also into integrated creating a very homey atmosphere.

Big vases in bold colors were also used as accent pieces

We ate at the ground floor, surrounded by big windows, perfect for the cool Tagaytay breeze. Of course the food was fantastic! You can choose from a wide variety of Filipino and Continental dishes. In case you plan to visit, order the french toast and the beef roesti - ana