Home and horizon on the beach -2

Japanese influence

Japanese influence is mirrored in the sliding doors

leading to the master's bedroom and guestroom.

This time, though, bamboo and paper has given

way to wood and capiz. Both doors are framed by

wooden curlicues and crowned with several brass

kulintangs from Mindanao. The Southern feel also

seeps into the furniture's throw pillows covered

with eye-catching batik fabrics from Mindanao and

neighboring Indonesia.

Several beaded Indian tapestries have been framed

and are displayed on the walls of the ground-floor

living room. Other conversation pieces include a

Balinese floral sculpture and a hollow tree trunk by

the stairs that doubles as a huge flower vase.

Several painted Mexican sun emblems made of

wood spice up the wall by the stairs.

She has also succeeded in achieving a cohesive

look despite mixing and matching furniture pieces

of various designs and makes. A long table made of

bamboo, for example, also functions as her

worktable upstairs. Instead of paring it with hard,

bulky bamboo chairs, she has opted for more

comfortable and flexible rattan stools.

Several feet away from the wicker sofa are several

dulang or meditation pieces made of bamboo by

Quezon-based artist Ugu Bigyan. An antique pillow

rack has been converted to showcase a driftwood

near the stairs.

And believe it or not, she hardly spent money to

buy new furniture. Most of them, she claims, are

excess pieces from her Dasmariñas Village home.

Instead of throwing them away or letting them rot

in a bodega, she found an ideal way to resurrect

them.

''This house is probably what they call eclectic,''

she says. ''Nothing is really studied. Somehow,

everything fell into place.''

Recycled

One of the most amazing aspects about this house

is its use of old wood, primarily narra. Thanks to

materials from two old houses that were buried by

lahar, she was able to expand the family's

sanctuary by working around existing antique

doors, doorframes, windowpanes, wooden flooring,

fretwork and haligi.

''The family's grandchildren were no longer

interested in restoring the two houses,'' she

relates. ''So I was able to use portions of them to

expand our home. Almost 80 percent of the

materials used here are old wood. Only the sheets

of plywood are brand new.''

Indeed, this is again another classic case where a

house was built and designed around existing

doors, windows and walls. It also shows the

owner's practicality when she thought of

converting old wooden floors into walls.

So, she lacked antique fretwork to adorn the

ceiling's second-floor living room? Not to worry.

Instead of getting bogged down, she had it

reproduced by again using old wood. Yes, the

house has another more sprawling receiving area

upstairs, which doubles as a party venue cum

dormitory for overnight guests.

All rooms, by the way, are air-conditioned, but

they can only hold a limited number of people. So

the woman of the house has readied 40 futons just

in case unexpected guests suddenly drop by during

weekends. She also installed several ceiling fans to

keep pesky mosquitoes at bay. If all else fails, then

it's time for old-fashioned mosquito nets to do the

job!

''I've had several hooks nailed to the posts for the

mosquiteros,'' she says with a chuckle. ''When our

kids were younger, we also used to hold

simultaneous parties here. Young people party

downstairs, while we stay with our friends

upstairs.''

Since all of them love to entertain friends, the

family's matriarch made sure they're as comfortable

as ever. In short, she provides guests with enough

space to relax and move around without having to

worry of displacing furniture and breaking accent

pieces.

So modern, so practical, yet so Filipino