(Referring to the first photo below) – Where is this cool place? Better yet, what is it?
We had an awesome time at the Island Paints Showroom yesterday when they invited us to come by for a visit. I got acquainted with their paint basics (and the colors they offer) and their line of paint products with more focus on architectural and interior paints and finishes.
I have always loved paints (I mean I love color to begin with) and I do get so enamored with ranges of paint and product lines. I especially want to try out their Concreto Bond (Ok Pau, showing your nerdishness again. Haha.). Basically, it’s a plaster and waterproofing compound.
They also gave us tips on how and when best to apply their paints, as well as how best to prep and do surface preparation. They were quite informative with ratios (ex. amount of their cement polymer mix to how many kilos of concrete to mix together for optimum strength and durability) as well as how to apply some of their other products (ex. their stone coating system by means of a mortar gun). They also talked a bit about appliance paints.
They were quite awesome as well for doing a great deal of demo for us, I am quite into stain finishes and beautiful wood (Yup, that explains just a little bit why I have quite a number of pictures of their demo).
P.S. Yup, paints come in various “stages” (I can’t seem to find a better word at the moment.). You can get them in gloss, semi-gloss, satin (or an egg shell finish) and flat (or matte). Do know when to use solvent based and water based paints and what best to use for a certain surface (ex. wood, concrete, metal).
P.P.S. Bernie (I love you and your armpits. Haha.) and I were able to get a picture taken together. Awesome sauce! I’ll add it to this post once I get a copy. Oh, Happy Bonifacio day as well if you are in the Philippines 
This is sort of the continuation of my post from last Sunday with regards to my Bacolod trip and bombarding you with my pictures (Haha. Sorry about that.).
The cool thing about going on a trip is that you not only get to know more about a certain place, you also get to know more about the people you are traveling with. What made up for an even more awesome adventure such as this is the good company. Here is to more trips in the future. Cheers.
Yup, no “brief narrative” for this post. Haha.
P.S. I might do a quick add if inspiration and more words suddenly hit me. I might but don’t hold me to it. Oh, I hope you all had an amazing weekend (Sundays are for laidback posts ). Though we don’t celebrate thanksgiving here, I am thankful for all of you and this design journal. ♥
P.P.S. Credits to the group pictures (basically the pictures with people in them) goes to Khe2x. Thanks Khe!
This is an excerpt from our Directory and Sourcebook, basically a Publication from PIID-Cebu (Philippine Institute of Interior Designers – Cebu Chapter). Do get your copy!
Who needs an interior designer, one might say, when you know what you want and think you have the eye for it. A sofa you’ve been eyeing comes on sale so you rush to purchase it only to find it is way too big for your room and is now blocking your doorway.
Or, seeing tiles that are on sale, you rush to purchase them and have them installed only to find you are missing a few more pieces but the tiles have been sold out and discontinued.
Hiring a professional interior designer may cost a bit, but it’s more costly to make one mistake after another. PIID-Cebu would like to share some reasons for hiring an Interior Designer:
1. An Interior Designer is client-oriented and designs spaces based on the client’s budget, needs and lifestyle.
2. An Interior Designer is a problem solver and he does it systematically.
3. An Interior Designer pays attention to the littlest details.
4. An Interior Designer can plan, schedule, manage and see formidable costly mistakes that may incur in the long run.
5. An Interior Designer can anticipate a long-term view of the situation, not merely a current snapshot.
6. An Interior Designer can present unique and custom furnishings that cannot be found everywhere else, he can also give you access to furniture showrooms that are not open to the general public.
7. An Interior Designer can pull together spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and functional – he can maximize space and make it more efficient.
8. An Interior Designer can translate your vision into paper, making it easy for contractors to execute the design.
9. An Interior Designer has a wide database of vendors, contractors, and other service providers; thus simplifying the client’s life, as designers can have samples brought to the client instead of having the client go out of his way to check out materials.
10. An Interior Designer is acquainted with a wide array of surfaces, materials, finishes and products, and can recommend the most appropriate one for the client’s needs.
(Image Credit – Paula Cañete, A Quick Perspective Sketch for a Café)
Fresh Oysters?
Nope, not in my tummy (I have nothing against oysters but I don’t eat them). We ordered some as well for lunch. By the way, today is an awesome day (although it’s not over yet, we had a long morning) and I am very grateful to God (Thank you!). I am full and contented and have decided to do a quick “What’s in my tummy log” of some sort.
The Crème Brûlée sampler was quite good and the serving was just right since everything was quite rich. I also enjoyed the Churros Con Chocolate. We also had some tuna sisig and yes, I took pictures (just a couple) as always. I liked the place where we had lunch and they do shark feeding. How cool is that (in a sense)?
Georgia and I both were able to take awesome showers as well and are now squeaky clean. That’s all for now with the randomness, General.
Quick Add: Ate Tatie had about 14-16 oysters.Yeah boy! Haha.
I was able to finish working on the pictures for this particular trip (Finally, Pau. Haha.). But before moving on to set below, I would just like to include a couple of details first. (A short personal narrative hopefully. Haha.)
Known as the “City of Smiles” here in the Philippines, Bacolod is also the capital city of Negros Occidental. It is said to be the cleanest and greenest urbanized city here. For the most part, I love Bacolod. I love that they are focusing on organic and healthier ventures (i.e. vegetables, produce, their well-known Muscovado sugar). The hotel we stayed at was amazing, they are going green advocates. They even have an extensive vegetable and herb garden at the back where fresh produce used for some of our meals were harvested (Hello freshly-picked tarragon for my tea). On a related note, a cool structure there was their mud house and the bunch of interior designers that we are, we pretty much examined every nook and cranny. I for one was quite fascinated by the technicalities of the building aspect. It has been said that the mud house is quite a strong structure and will last for many, many years. It is also quite cool (temperature-wise as well) once you are inside, if I may add.
We had a very long itinerary (Aside from immersing in the arts, food and sampling the cuisine was also a main priority for us. Shameless. Haha.) and that definitely included stopping by highly-recommended Pasalubong (Translation: the Filipino tradition of a homecoming gift) stores, they had a cool selection of jams which are grown and made in Bacolod (I got some all natural passion fruit and sweet kamote jam for my mom. They also had some watermelon varieties!). I was able to get some organic black rice (which is really good actually) there as well. Since we are on the topic of food, they also have the most amazing and the best-tasting cheesecakes (hands down) I’ve tried to date (Hello Calea!). I also love the Napoloeones at Pendy’s! ♥
For those who know me, I love heritage houses and antiques and awesome artifacts. We dropped by some of Bacolod’s awesome heritage houses and sites. It has been said that Bacolod is comprised of prominent families (from a tour guide’s brief at one of the sites, haciendas and hacienderos are common words there), thus the antique collections in most of the said houses are extensive. Though I got quite dusty and sweaty, I definitely had a ball during the tour!
I had fun taking pictures immensely. That also meant lugging my things about all throughout the trip. I was sore and worn out every night. (Haha.) But it was definitely worth it.
I can go on and on with this narrative (I told you we had a long itinerary) but I think I should just stop to here for now. I will definitely do a couple more posts about this trip (which includes my favorite site there, The Ruins) throughout this week hopefully. Do stay tuned for “City of Smiles (Part 2)” over the weekend!
P.S. I’ll try to look for a picture of us with the whole group. Yup, just a random thought after checking out the rest of the pictures.
An awesome structure confection you can find in San Francisco, California. You basically have a good mesh of two things, a Victorian neighborhood and a sleek modern house. Said structure is by brilliant Craig Steely and also features an office and a split-level living area.
Yup, I am (also) drawn to structures such as this (i.e. wood, glass panels, urban feel, angular/boxy look, etc.).
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you
Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile
Though a favorite (I loved singing it!) while I was growing up, I had forgotten about this song until today. It is a comforting reminder and a very big help to me right now.
To those who are having a hard/difficult time at the moment, this song is dedicated to you and to all of us. Cheers!
P.S. If you haven’t heard of this song before, have a listen here.
P.P.S. Perhaps I should make it a mantra of some sort?
Your dining room is a place where you and your family will be spending some time each day. This area is also going to be used when you entertain guests or invite family over for a holiday. So the kind of dining room furniture you buy is important.
Here are some tips to help you get started decorating your dining room-
What type of dining room table will you require? You have to decide whether it is a glass topped one, a regular wood table or whether wrought iron can make more sense. Decide on the shape and the size – round, square or rectangular?
Depending upon the dimensions of your dining area and the size of your family and other requirements, you will also have to decide whether you want a regular 6 seater, a smaller 4 seater or a larger table. Also consider extendable dining tables that can be increased in size when required to accommodate more people or guests.
Consider your chairs – Your chairs don’t have to match your dining room table slavishly. In fact you can create some interesting contrast and combinations using different materials and textures. For instance you may well have a modern looking glass topped table and then team it effectively with more traditional chairs.
Or you can decide whether you want a plain and simple dining table teamed with futuristic chairs of a minimalist aspect. Mixing and matching the dining room furniture in this way can be fun and will offer a highly individualistic and eclectic result.
Consider whether you want stark looking, contemporary designs or whether you want traditional types of chairs. You will also have to decide whether it is armchairs that you want, whether you need them upholstered or not and so on.
What other dining room furniture do you need? Ideally you should pick out the other bits of furniture after you’ve decided on the table and chairs. Because this will inform you how much space you have left over in the dining area, and will also help you create a central theme for your dining room if you so wish.
Hutches are popular options when buying furniture for the dining room. Again here you need not match the hutch or the side board to the table and chairs, rather try and create interesting combinations. Here as well there are several practical aspects to consider – do you need pull out drawers or cabinets / doors and do the doors have to be wooden or glass paned?
Make sure that the sideboards or the hutches you consider are suitable in size and proportion for the area. Also consider whether you will be using it for laying out dishes, for displaying photos, china or artifacts or whether you want it principally for storage of crockery, cutlery, dining linen such as napkins, tablecloths and so on.
Also consider whether you will need dining table furniture accessories such as a table pad, which can help to protect the table surface from heat, dust, spillage and regular wear and tear.
Author bio:
Sarika Periwal represents Amish Furniture Home, a hardwood furniture store where you can buy authentic Amish furniture handcrafted by Amish craftsmen, both online and offline. It is one of the premier furniture stores in Michigan.
P.S. A big thank you to Sarika for providing all these important tips for all of us, they certainly come in handy when you are starting out or doing your own dining room project. On a related note, my family and I love to eat and we spend a great deal of time in our dining area. How about you?
P.P.S. I love putting together and designing dining rooms. Sarika was kind enough to let me pick out the pictures for this post. I definitely had a ball with that and ended up making a sort of collage. Haha.
I fell in love with all the amazing illustrations in this post. I have always had an affinity for Zebras (Yes, I seem to have an affinity for lots of things and when I meet nice and brilliant people, I always end up wanting to adopt them. Haha.). Not only do I enjoy Zebra prints on clothes and my loafers (as well as my Sanuks), but even my online design portfolio was inspired by Zebras.
I find them unique, edgy yet elegant, puzzling (Is it white with black stripes or black with white stripes?) and they go well with pops of loud and neon colors. They are quite beautiful too! Rest assured, when I do settle on what my dream place will be like, Zebras will never be overlooked in the mix. I might even get one if they have teacup ones. Haha.
Enjoy the brilliant illustrations from Jose Luis Romero, a Creative Designer and Illustrator below. Love!♥
P.S. For updates of a more personal nature, I am a busy bee at the moment and my to-do list is a bit long. I hope I can get everything accomplished right away. Since I cannot exactly expound on the serious work stuff on my list, I would love to babble a bit about the not so serious ones. So, I did some cleaning in preparation for Saturday and I am grateful that I had some help as well. For someone so tiny, I have a lot of stuff!
I hope to take some pictures as well for something and Georgia needs a bath as well. I do have to check if she is due for her other deworming medication and she smells like mangoes. She had been eating some during lunch, her whiskers are yellow! How random am I?
P.P.S It’s 11-11-11 soon and I just want to say that you are loved, all of you.
Hi Everyone!
One of the coolest things about doing this journal is meeting really incredible people and having the pleasure of developing treasured friendships even though we are far away. Getting to know Kelly has been awesome and she is an amazing person. She’s really nice too!
It was fantabulous of her to do a feature on what I do (in a sense) and I am very honored that she allowed me to impart some of my own thoughts to her readers. Do check out her blog!
If you are interested to know how I came about being an interior designer (to a certain extent and in paragraph form. Haha.) and see some of my work, you can read my feature here.
Thanks! ♥
I believe this is sort of out of the blue. We are going on a trip/holiday/brief get-away. I don’t know what to call it really since – 1.It’s not our usual “protocol”, it’s a trip that was made totally out of the blue, 2. We won’t be going out of the country, 3. I’ll be away but it’ll be brief because I’ll be back before Sunday. Do I sound confusing?
I’ll be lugging (haha) my camera along so I’ll be taking pictures. My camera and I are excited. I know I have quite a backlog with regards to pictures that I need to work on but I will be doing something about that.
By the way, I love the lovely, lovely, lovely illustrations above by amazing Gabriella Barouch. I love them a great deal, they exude a romantic and vintage feel about them.
See you all when I get back from my wachamacallit. It’ll be awesome. ♥
How was your Halloween?
We had a long weekend here and it passed by so fast. It’s already November! I was planning to watch a horror documentary (and munch on some chips) with my sister but we had to cancel that because she got scared (haha). Enjoy the fierce and eerily fashionable pictures by Jeff Orgina above.
P.S. I find it cool that the model was holding a Philippine flag in one of the pictures
P.P.S. I was able to enjoy a couple of beautiful mornings by the beach and spend some time with special friends. Oh, it’s been raining here as well.
