Innholdsfortegnelse for Homes 27 i Tatler Homes Philippines

There is nothing I like more than a good story. This love of mine transcends literature and permeates everything around me. I’m drawn to charismatic people with interesting backgrounds, to dishes rich in history and peppered with exotic flavours, to art that is not only layered in technique but steeped in philosophy. I believe in living a storied life and choose to surround myself with objects that have unique tales behind their creation, discovery or purchase. Much like a stellar glass of wine, where in each sip one can imagine the vineyard’s distinctive terroir and the winemaker’s legacy, a handcrafted object elicits similar emotions of reverence. We cannot help but have respect for the genius behind each piece, and I find myself imagining the creation process and the people involved.…

FITZ HERRERA Expressive Virtuoso Finding freedom in abstraction is what most artists experience. But for this visual artist and band drummer, it is also more of expressing life’s triumphs and pains. There are two creative sides to Fitz Herrera, a native of the province of Nueva Vizcaya: art and music. An advertising graduate from the University of the East-College of Fine Arts, he got into both painting and playing drums for various bands. Herrera’s figurative acrylic works that utilise impasto technique have been exhibited in various hotels throughout the country and numerous times in premier art galleries and fairs in Metro Manila. Among his accomplishments is earning 3rd place at the 2004 Metrobank Art and Design (MADE) Competition. “To understand my work is to understand my present predisposition, which is…

Right at the heart of Doha, Qatar is the Royal Palms, an elegant and serene residence for three generations of an eminent Qatari royal family. For the house, renowned interior designer Timothy Corrigan successfully balanced elegance and homeliness by merging luxury, comfort—and a touch of the tropics. “Palm Beach casual—luxury and glamour tempered by a sunny palette, crisp, clean lines and a certain relaxed sophistication—became the touchstone for this project. The image we wanted to elicit was not so much a pool house and swimsuits at noon, but a terrace at twilight, the kind of place that evokes images of caftans, palazzo pants and silver cocktail shakers,” Corrigan says. Before bringing his vision to life, Corrigan first asked his client his prerequisite question: “What’s going to get you to actually…

Happily for Dawid Augustyn, the chance to set up a home in Clarens, one of Cape Town’s coolest new apartment blocks, happened almost effortlessly. “I worked with the developers—Malcolm Kluk and Christiaan Gabriël du Toit of KLûK CGDT—as the project’s quantity surveyor, so I’d been watching its journey from an insider’s perspective from the ground up,” shares the homeowner, and managing director of DA Quantity Surveyors. Augustyn also owns a design company, Establishment, which is now on its 16th year and represents a roster of leading design and lighting brands including DCW éditions, Woud and New Works. Establishment also offers its own range of bespoke pieces, all of which have an aesthetic that works well with the interiors of Clarens. “Their vision of a community lifestyle, based on a non-standard…

SUN KISSED Designed by Rodolfo Dordoni for Minotti, the Sunray seating system evokes a cosy outdoor vibe. Its comfortable fabric can be personalised with elegant textures and hues to complement the interiors. www.livinginnovations.ph SUNRISE, SUNSET If the sunset could emit a scent, it would be like the mellow bouquet of Simoy ng Haraya’s Dapi’t Hapon reed diffuser from Kultura Filipino. Infused with peppermint and lavender, it suggests a transition from activity to rest, day to night. www.kulturafilipino.com IN THE TROPICS The Les Palmiers wallpaper from the Veranda collection is a design created by Pierre Frey in collaboration with Caspari. This design evokes a calming atmosphere with its classic palm tree motif. It’s a wonderful detail to add in any room as it merges a sense of peace and luxury with…

Long-time city dwellers often speak of how the urban skyline has changed over the decades. In the case of Makati’s bustling Central Business District, this has manifested in the way its famed skyline has evolved from the squat and functional Brutalist buildings of the Sixties and Seventies to the stately skyscrapers of the late Nineties and the fin de siècle, and today’s gracefully towering corporate and residential structures. The latest addition to this dynamic landscape is a residential development that aims to give discerning urbanites a truly luxurious lifestyle in expertly designed surroundings that weave together a sophisticated 21st century aesthetic with innovative technologies. This is the promise offered by The Estate Makati. “It’s not just a simple, smooth-sided building,” says David Nelson, the development’s Head of Design. “It’s much…

Like the waves of Siargao’s Cloud 9, the tear-shaped island was once still, then formed a promising bump, accelerated to peak, and come 2020, caved into silence again. Blame the travel restrictions that caused tourist arrivals to cease, which made a huge impact on the once-bustling surfing destination. Tourism activities and social gatherings were banned. Construction of resorts and villas was compelled to pause indefinitely. The island was on a months-long lockdown. These circumstances left a lot of locals jobless, a challenge that pushed a young couple living in Siargao (who would rather remain anonymous) to make a move that would, later on, turn into a huge opportunity for the locals and for the island itself. “We were both busy with other projects when the Covid-19 crisis struck. Those projects…

Even after working on several homes in Mexico, celebrated interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard considers his latest project, Casa El Faro, to be the most inspiring thus far. With a vision to create not just a beach house but a soulful homage to Latin American culture, Bullard worked with architect Juan Zapata to shape an abode inspired by the local landscape and cultural heritage. ONE WITH NATURE Dubbed Casa El Faro—“el faro” meaning “the lighthouse” in Spanish—the 1,180sqm building is dramatically perched on a rocky cliff within the private community of Maravilla, overlooking the Sea of Cortez. Evoking the iconic Acapulco villas of the mid-20th century, Bullard and Zapata wanted to strike the right balance between the interiors and the architecture to capitalise on the breathtaking setting. “I worked with…

TEATOXIFY FLOWER TEA Drinking tea infused with flowers can help you relax, especially when dealing with PMS cramps, or if you simply want to detox. Teatoxify’s flower tea offers a selection to choose from, like hibiscus and peony. @teatoxifymnl GOURMET PANTRY BANGUS IN OLIVE OIL Savour this bottled bangus (milkfish) free of MSG and preservatives from Gourmet Pantry. In these bottles, the staple fish is soaked in healthy olive oil with lots of spices and cloves. Irresistible! www.gourdos.com SIMPLY ORGANIC MUSTARD SEED GROUND Season your appetiser as much as you wish with mustard seed ground by Simply Organic. Adding pure ground mustard to salad or soup creates a rich flavour and provides health benefits like reducing blood sugar levels. It is also believed to provide protection from some forms of…

SEASONAL SUSHI, 6 KINDS More titillating than the sight of supermodels queued to strut their stuff on the catwalk, a comprehensive sushi course strategically begins with a neutral white fish such as seabass or grouper before segueing into different cuts of tuna, from unctuous ootoro to meaty akami. Sweet and briny shellfish follow suit; Sushi Kazu’s precious haul might encompass akagai (arkshell clam), mirugai (Pacific geoduck), kaki (oysters) or uni (sea urchin)—a unanimous customer favourite. With a slight tilt of the head, squint of the eyes and dash of imagination, Sushi Kazu’s logo can be said to resemble a hand and a mouth—one poised for action, the other open to receive. Could there be a more apt representation of the dynamic between a chef and his guests? Turning food from…

“A Peranakan enclave until the mid-1970s, culturally-rich Koon Seng Road boasts some of Singapore’s most well-preserved shophouses. Constructed between the 1840s and the 1960s, the narrow two-storey shophouse structures are ubiquitous throughout the island city-state. While originally built for mixed use with the owners operating their businesses from the ground floor while living on the higher floor—hence the term ‘shop’ houses—many of these properties have over recent years been converted into private homes or commercial spaces such as cafes, restaurants, cocktail bars, boutique hotels or offices while adhering to strict Singapore conservation guidelines. Whenever I walk past these heritage structures on Koon Seng Road, I stop and admire their beauty. I’ve lived in Singapore for nearly 25 years, but I am still struck by the architectural attention to detail, the…

Glass art is an age-long tradition dating back to the Roman Empire. Refined by artisans across hundreds of years, glassmaking styles have evolved, bringing us an array of options today. A glassmith or gaffer manipulates molten glass by introducing air into a glass bubble—this process is done repeatedly and meticulously to create specific designs and colourways. Behind these elegant final products is a rigorous process that requires not only technique and skill but also intricate artistry. Amongst the most famous glass art hubs in the world, many flock to Venice, Italy where this tradition has been preserved and concentrated in the island of Murano since the 13th century. Here are some beautiful picks that double as art pieces and handy homeware. EYE-CATCHER A testament to the fine mastery of Murano’s…

I have long suspected that there is a tremendously talented group of craftsmen and women behind the structures and details of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. In this series of images, we were given access to the workshops of Las Casas and the opportunity to photograph these artists. What struck me most is the collaborative nature of the endeavor, sculptors work alongside plaster makers and teams of mosaic artisans work alongside welders. It all comes together to create the historic buildings of Las Casas. “My motivation is my family, co-workers and myself. [I want to] prove that [despite] how hard metal or iron is, we can soften it to create something”— ABNER SUMINTA “My goal is to broaden my knowledge in art so I can do better…

Please tell us about the location of Palacio de Memoria. It is located in Roxas Boulevard, formerly known as Dewey Boulevard in Manila’s Commonwealth period. What used to surround us were old stately homes but because of the war, modernisation and the reclamation of Manila Bay, [this house] and the Lopez house were the only ones left standing. We are now surrounded by miles of casinos and buildings. We are quite lucky to have been able to preserve the house and land of what was once a seaside manor. “We are quite lucky to have been able to preserve the house and land of what was once a seaside manor” When was the Palacio originally built? It was built in the latter end of the 1930s, but because of the…

When American interior designer Alison Pickart chanced upon a remarkable moonstone-and-gold firescreen in an auction catalogue, she never thought this serendipitous find would guide her artistic direction for a particularly memorable project—one that involved refurbishing a 1930s penthouse apartment located in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighbourhood. Its owners had envisioned a warm and inviting space that would highlight their contemporary art collection while also framing the surrounding views of the bay. This would entail a reconfiguration of the apartment’s original layout, which comprised a constrictive number of smaller rooms with heavy architectural millwork and small doorways. They engaged the services of architecture firm Sutro Architects, which led to a collaborative partnership between the interior designer and architects Stephen Sutro and Karen Moy. Together, they had to decide on an overarching…

How good your sushi is can really make or break the dining experience. Don’t leave it up to chance; instead, order from these trustworthy sources to ensure that your next Japanese cravings are satisfied. POLARIS FINE FOODS Polaris is known for stunning finds. Their mosaic and hana boxes are particularly eye catching and are pretty much a work of art. The mosaic looks just as it is named, each piece of seafood is cut into perfect squares to create a colourful pattern. On the other hand, hana, which was inspired by the plum blossom, presents sashimi dolled up to look like flowers. Sliced and plated so delicately and creatively, you almost don’t want to eat it! But trust us, you should. Their fish is so fresh and worth it! The…