design and relaxation

When I called my uncle, he said that we should stay at his house, but I told him that we already paid for the apartment. He said that we should come over anyway and see the house and decide. So, when we went to his house for dinner, I asked him for a tour. I’d been to his house years ago, but he had bought the adjoining lot since then and extended the house and garden.

He has a beautiful house, and I mean beautiful. I have always liked architecture and interior design, and I could just look at magazines and books on those and daydream (seeing as I don’t have my own house). His house could be featured in one of those magazines. (I think one of his friends actually offered to have his house featured, and he said no. So, I hope he’s okay with my posting a couple of pictures on here.) And the great thing about it is that he designed it himself.

The main design and decor of the house (i.e., the living room, dining room, and master bedroom) is Southeast Asian, with an emphasis on Southeast (instead of Asian, which is often Chinese and Japanese). For example, my uncle explained that the division between the living and dining rooms may look like a pagoda, but he was actually emulating the beam and pillars of a Filipino house (and he used old electric company poles for the pillars). Also, the curtain separating the dining room from the kitchen is actually made from Igorot (a mountain tribe) bahags (loin cloths). I like that about my uncle—I like the fact that he appreciates his own culture and goes with his own vision, instead of subscribing to what’s popular or fashionable.

To highlight the Southeast Asian-ness of the design, he used dark woods in the architectural details and the furniture. The color scheme is primarily brown and orange. The furniture and decorations came from all over: some were bought from throughout the Philippines and Southeast Asia; some were gifts; and some were taken from my grandmother’s house or from other relatives.

The Southeast Asian theme continues outside in the covered patio that has long wooden tables and a bar and in the garden with the native plants and wooden gazebo. The koi pond underneath the gazebo and the related water elements would probably be more Japanese, though. The garden is beautiful and peaceful, with the sound of trickling water and birds. The amazing thing about it is that my uncle didn’t hire anyone to do the landscaping (though it would have been cheap to do so); instead he and another cousin of mine did it themselves.

But the house has all the Western amenities. Every room has heavy duty airconditioning. There are hot showers. There is wifi. The main guest room has an en suite bathroom and looks just like a hotel room, except with bigger closets. There is also a movie room in what used to be the attic, and it opens up to the upstairs patio.

It didn’t take me long to decide that I did want to stay there, even for a few days. It would be like having a vacation within my vacation. I would be in comfort. And I would be pampered, as the meals would be prepared for us. So, after our Tagaytay trip, we went to stay at my uncle’s house.

I wanted to enjoy the house so much that, instead of going out as planned on Friday (March 21), we stayed in instead. We lounged around, watched some movies, and did some work on the computer. When we were hungry, the food was already laid out, and we would open to door to the garden, so we could see it and listen to the sounds. It rained a little during the afternoon, and we tried to take pictures of the rain. We thought of taking a bath in the rain, but it wasn’t raining that hard or that long. Plus I didn’t really want to bathe in Manila’s pollution.

When we first visited, the gazebo didn’t have curtains. By the time we returned, it did. On Friday evening, we untied the curtains so that it was more like a mosquito net. There’s a lantay (bamboo bed) in the gazebo, and we were tempted to lay there for a little bit. But it was a bit too warm for me in there. It might have been nice to lay on the grass and look at the stars, but the grass was wet and then we would have to deal with the mosquitoes.

I enjoyed staying at my uncle’s house. I was spoiled while I was there. We are planning to stay there again for a couple of days next month, after our trip to the Mountain Province. It should be a treat, especially after the more basic accommodations up there.