Lakeside homes get a dash of resort ambience

IN a model home for Lakeside Farms in San Pablo, Laguna, Ernest Santiago has created lifestyle settings that borrow elements from gracious tropical design. The artist and decorator have produced a tapestry of color and detail that redefines the essence of living in this resort-type residential development.

Lakeside Farms is a sprawling development in a thickly forested and rolling terrain. Buyers and visitors enjoy a spread of lanzones, rambutan and other fruit-bearing trees, which have remained untouched. The lake, which gave the place its name, offers the joyful prospect of early morning fishing as part of a leisurely lifestyle.

The scenery is wonderful. Mt. Banahaw, majestic and serene, is a perfect backdrop for delightful afternoons of relaxation and get-together with family and friends. This place has become a retirement haven, not just a weekend retreat. Many Laguna residents are building their dream homes there because of the naturally rugged landscape.

Santiago brings to the compact model home his love for surprising touches of interior fervor. His choices of color never fail to delight, consistently vibrant or appropriately subtle, depending on the mood to be established. Typically, he has filled the place with his signature furniture pieces in recycled molave and other hardwoods, exacting pieces that are certain to be the antiques of the future.

With a preference for bringing much of the outdoors in, huge windows frame majestic vistas and the expanse of trees, looking like three-dimensional renderings that vary with the intensity of sunlight. With the outdoor view stretching to the mountains, the energetic decorator describes it as "borrowed scenery."

Space is transformed as the furniture and design elements are introduced. Bamboo, simple and elegant, takes center stage as accent and as functional items. Soft furnishings and upholstery, mostly in white and cream, provide a refreshing contrast to brightly hued color washes of ochre, yellow orange and melon. A loft is to be divided into a private nook, with possibilities for an entertainment-audio room and an additional bedroom.

The house is naked against a backdrop of forested hills. In essence, its sub-spaces extend to the outdoors as the bathroom is an al fresco structure, partially roofed but walled in for privacy. Window shutters can be folded away. From the loft, windows open to reveal tree tops. Simply framed sliding glass doors in the porch let in the cold breezes that November brings. CPAC Monier roof tiles insulate the house's inside from the heat, blending well with the natural colors of the site even as they protect the structure.

The trusses are revealed to maintain the high-ceilinged concept. Cool air is allowed in while warm air rises outward. It is a tropical house indeed.

The all-embracing character of this home is a reflection of the enveloping tranquility that the quiet hillsides bring. Creating a visual setting such as this demands just a little of Santiago's talents. With constantly evolving design ideas, he is really imbued with the al fresco design spirit, merging Asian and Filipino influences with genuine flair. Designing with lush landscape, naturally ventilated spaces and traditional, homegrown materials is his comfort zone as a decorator and stylist. The sculptor filled wood and stone with fine detail, reflecting the finest of Laguna craftsmanship.

Lakeside Farms thus brings a lifestyle concept that is suitable for couples who have worked for decades in the city and suffered from stress and pollution. It is also ideal as a secluded weekend retreat, blending unpretentious landscapes with provincial flavor. With majestic views of the mountains, clean fresh air and simple but stylish settings, this development has captured the calm splendor to meet a need not just for shelter but for a reconnection with the great outdoors.

Information on Lakeside Farms can be obtained through Imperial Homes, Tel. No. 807-8405 and 842-3671. Look for Sarah.