棲居美學21 一窺這間以屋主寵物命名的藝術氣息濃厚的公寓單元

Hi, I'm Jolly. And I'm Aldwin. And welcome to the House of Nudes. That's N-O-O-D-S, not the other way. It's called the House of Nudes because it's named after our pets. So we have a Russian Blue named Noodle. We have a Westie named Soba. And we have an aquarium fish who are collectively known as Palabok. So that's the House of Nudes. It's an eclectic industrial house that I think combines our sensibilities. It's more industrial and more modern traditional. That's right. And a little bit of our designers touch also. Hi, I'm interior designer Jesse Cruz, co-founder of Alela Design Studio based in Ortigas, and we designed this space. The client's brief was a combination of opposites. Both of them have very strong personalities. The other wants it to be more polished, while the other wants it to be more rugged and industrial. So basically our job was to find a common point wherein we can mix both of these personalities and make a cohesive space. Starting from materiality, there are different kinds of materials here. Polished wood to rugged wood, polished tiles in contrast with bricks. You would also see different material finishes of steel. So it's mostly about contrasts. And somehow because of the contrast, we were able to create layers of moods. Even when we formed the brief, we had a clear idea of what we would be using the spaces for. And I think that's part of the reason why the design was such a success. Because the brief wasn't make a nice space for us. The brief was, this is what we intend to do with the space, and this is how we want to live in it. The design, the elements, the construction, that was secondary to how Jolly and I sort of saw ourselves inhabiting the space and living in it. Customizing the space was everything. Because I think if you see the original layout of the unit versus its current layout, literally every room except the two bathrooms were changed. When we moved in, we had five art pieces. And Az and I didn't really have a point of view yet about art. So those artists were mostly suggested by Jesse and the entire team. So we had picked those five pieces, and then that was our initial set of art. And then I think over the next year, we started going to different art fairs, getting to know the different art galleries. And then more and more, we started to develop our own taste, and figuring out what piece of art would elevate the vibe of the space. And spark joy. Yeah, and spark joy. So the very first one that we bought on our own volition was a piece from Jessica Macho called Become Someone's Home, Oh Sweet Caramel. It's a very calming piece with very intricate flowers and kind of spoke to us because it felt like how we felt when we were at home with our pets. Essentially, that started this rabbit hole of collecting art over the past two or three years. I think another piece that sort of stands out to me when I think about our collection is this piece by Deja Mago. So we had a commissioned piece, and being two queer people living in a queer household, we sort of wanted an unapologetically queer piece of art that, you know, sort of celebrates who we are, what our relationship stands for. Essentially, we wanted something that celebrated that. And I feel like his watercolor and his pencil work actually adds so much sort of softness and expression to that idea, which is why that particular piece is very special to me. With Alero, most of our projects are actually collaborations, and we try to put an emphasis on that because as much as possible, we try to emulate the character and personality of the user because at the end of the day, after designing, they're the end users, and they're the one who gets to enjoy the space. We just try to harness and somehow give it direction in order for us to be able to build something that would suit them in the future. I think what makes good design for us is that it doesn't have to be extravagant. Like, we didn't want to go with all of the cliches of what a luxurious house might look like. We really wanted to express our personality in the house. You know, I love a home when you sort of enter and you get to know the people who live in it a little bit more, and I think that's what we were trying to aim for with this house. So there's a lot of us in this house. So actually, what makes a house home, as cliche as it may sound, is really the people and the individuals that are within it, pets included. Really, it's us being able to live in it and inhabit the space that really makes the structure around us the place you like to call home. Do you have a design that you would like to share with Design Will Save the World? If so, email us at designwillsavetheworldchannel at gmail.com