If there’s one thing that kills the mood, it’s a smell that isn’t supposed to be there. Whatever turns your nose off—garbage, partially rotten food, molds, your dog—is eventually bound to be a source of annoyance. And like many things, the solution doesn’t require you to dish out hundreds of…
Who wouldn’t want to have a gorgeous living room where you can hang loose, enjoy family time, or entertain guests? There’s that huge, inviting, grey sofa where you can plonk into after a tiring day and maybe catch some ZZZZZs, or where you can lounge around in comfortable, ratty clothes…
Upon arriving in Quanzhou, I was struck by how much the city has progressed since I last visited. The development the city has undergone during the past couple of years during China’s economic boom has been staggering. Modern infrastructure exists together with old buildings preserved since the Tang Dynasty, resulting…
Jardin Majorelle in Rue Yves Saint Laurent is not a sight to be missed when you’re in Marrakech, Morocco. Translated as the “Majorelle Garden”, the space also includes the Villa Oasis and the Musée Berbère. Owned by French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s, the garden continues to exist today…
Nell del Rosario describes himself in his instagram page as a “Merchandiser. Musician. Magulang. Muralist.” But it’s not in instagram that Nell shows us his works because his posts there are mostly about his private pursuits and his family. Boysen featured Nell’s murals a couple of years ago, and we…
SM Home collaborates with Boysen to bring you five room vignettes using the palette Technology from the Boysen Color Trend 2017. Feast your eyes on how top talents in architecture and interior design create a fantastic ambience in five rooms that you could find in any home (it could even…
The Imperial Palace in the Chiyoda district is one place that is quite overlooked in favor of places like Ginza, Akihabara, and Tokyo DisneySea, but it is a hidden gem that is closed off to most visitors unless you join a private tour. It is the current residence of the…
Vermillion, ruby, scarlet, cerise, maroon, red—it’s everywhere. From the intricate floral hair ornaments and beautiful ornate robes of the passing geishas and maikos, to the pocket-sized omamori or lucky charms being sold inside the temples. Red is a recurring color in the old capital of Japan, Kyoto. Most notably, though, is the…
Stories about the pomegranate abound. The myth of Persephone tells the tale of how the fruit was instrumental in the creation of the four seasons. It’s a symbol of fertility, abundance and good luck, or as an offering for the spirits of the dead. Ancient, mysterious, magical, the pomegranate is…
As environmental degradation becomes more alarming, sustainability should no longer be a trend but a need. Sustainability is a lifestyle which includes the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the things you buy, and the little habits in everyday life. We live in a world of rampant consumerism, and this…
The true spirit of those who use the palette Avant Garde: They take risks. Breach boundaries. Go to the edge and leap. If you’re bold, unconventional, supremely individualistic, you don’t need the color wheel as your compass. Because your choices and your combinations are as instinctive as breathing, any…
This crystalline structure in Aoyama is Prada’s flagship store in Tokyo. One of their most iconic stores to date, it was designed in 2003 by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. Easily distinguishable by its structure and geometrical façade, this building has become one of the city’s architectural marvels.…
A Happy Father’s Day to all the Papas out there! This one’s for you!
That moment when you’re looking at your new unpainted pad, and you’re supposed to choose the color combos. How do you start? Go back to basics and use the color wheel. There are many ways to combine colors , but for beginners, let’s play it safe and stick to these…
“Wait for us!” I helplessly called out to my younger cousins who were already lost in the maze of colorful blocks, which, up until then, they had only seen on iPad screens while playing Minecraft. Who could blame them for being so eager? Against the pale whites of the mall’s…
What happens when a renowned global brand taps a Cebu creative studio to design a mural that incorporates the spirit of action and adventure with the best of the Queen City of the South? A kick-ass wall and an awesome office. That’s what happens. The Client Red Bull is the…
Red, white, blue and yellow – these are the colors of freedom for the Filipinos, where blue is above and red below. Wherever you are, in the country or abroad, celebrate the freedom won for us by our ancestors, and being defended until today by our fellow kababayans from Batanes to Jolo,…
Don’t you just love the internet? Millennials, you don’t know how lucky you are, that learning about something, anything, is always within reach in just a matter of minutes! In my day, we had to go to a library. First stop was the card catalog where we searched through drawers…
Most of us have spent the greater part of our lives living in these spaces that, whether we like it or not, we’ve come to call home. Their place in our personal histories is undeniable. Yet our homes have even deeper connection to our identities, much in the same way…