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home tour: fresh love, fresh space

I’ve always liked visiting homes of young couples and young families. Aside from their fresh and youthful aesthetic point of view, I noticed that young couples also manage to make their homes efficient without looking like a huge closet filled with built-ins.

This condo residence in the South is the new home of a young couple after living with their in-laws for almost two years. They told us that this is their first taste of “independence”. Independence means that they now do everything themselves including all household chores! Good thing that they chose to make their home supportive of an independent lifestyle.

Instead of maintaining the three-bedroom layout of the house, the couple decided to convert one into a den/entertainment room that opens to the living area (below), and the other into the masters’ en suite walk-in closet.

In spite of the relatively compact space, they were able to fit in their open kitchen a washer-dryer (hidden inside the cabinet beside the refrigerator), a dishwasher, and an oven. It also has a glass backsplash which they use as a message board where they write reminders, to-do lists, and even recipes.

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Reflecting the couple’s personalities, this home looks simple, easy, and happy. While the interiors are mostly done in basic white, black and gray, pops of color can be seen everywhere through their paintings and accessories, rendering this home with a fresh and welcoming appeal. df

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space matters: small space solutions

{dining area with brick wall – inspired by new york lofts}

Terence Conran, one of my design idols, once said that “the central dilemma of living in a small space can be best summed up by a single word: stuff.” For this cozy condo in Pasig, however, the designer found ingenious ways to fit and organize all of the owners’ and their children’s possessions in a limited amount of available space.

Luckily, the condo unit had a high ceiling so the designer was able to convert the extra room above the dining area and above the bed in the master bedroom into storage. With a trusty stepladder always on hand, the owners hide a lot of their belongings in these converted storage spaces.

{storage above dining area}

{additional storage below living room seating}

{left: clerestory windows let light & air in; right: cabinets on other side of the wall}

{left: closet space spanning whole wall; right: storage space above bed}

{left: kids’ room; right: cute shelves for children’s books}

I love how the designer cleverly placed storage solutions all over the condo – like above and below furniture and on wall partitions. It was obvious that the unit’s design was well planned and that storage was a big factor in the design process. I wouldn’t mind living in a small space if it was as chic and as organized as this!