Making Room 101

A properly designed room can be a dangerous thing.  One might never want to leave home if it designed too well and becomes too comfortable and convenient.  Here are a few tips to creating/designing the perfect spaces.  Go ahead.  Live dangerously.

1.  Understanding Use of Space.  Even before you pull out your favorite architecture/ design magazine or browse on the internet to "get inspiration" you plan to use on your home, bedroom, or any other room, take the time to really analyze your needs.  You might end up putting in more than you need, or equally problematic, less, when you merely copy or lift ideas from these.  Featured works of design are such because they were successful in delivering the needs of their purposed projects.  Focus on your own project.  List down the regular activities done in each area to be able to determine how to allocate your spaces and know what furniture will be needed.  Keep in mind the things you already have.  Take the time to make an inventory of all furniture, equipment, accessories, and other personal effects you already have, or plan to have in your room. Some of the stuff you have, you might even have to get rid of. 

2.  Knowing Your Limitations (and Strengths!)  In a perfect world, we would have unlimited resources.  Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world.  Next best thing to do...make a definitive assessment or your resources: area, budget, and even time.  Start by preparing your priority list.  Identify the "musts" from the "wants".  There is nothing more disappointing than designing your dream space, then finding out you cannot afford realizing it in your lifetime.  Take advantage of your connections.  You might be able to get discounts in procuring some items if your friends or relatives own shops.

3.  Put Things In Order.  We just love to have things.  And people tend to underestimate just how much stuff they accumulate over time.  People also forget that their things occupy space.  Now that you've been able to assess what you have, keep, or discard, and what you will still have to get from the steps above, you should also be able to determine just how much storage you will need.  Use of space can only be maximized if you are able to put things away.  To illustrate: any ordinary table can be used for a multitude of functions.  To dine on, work on, write on, change diapers on.  It can be used as a vanity, TV console, poker table, study desk, and many more.  However, any surface that is occupied, ceases to be a surface that can be used for any other purpose while those objects remain on that surface.  I now use the term surface, for this principle is applicable to chairs, beds, and floors as well.  A rule of thumb to sum things up: All your things should have its own proper place--be it a cabinet, closet, drawer, shelf, hook, or hanger.  If you find any of your belongings just hanging around, you know you went wrong somewhere.

4.  Make A Plan.  No less than Benjamine Franklin has said..."He who fails to plan, plans to fail".  Consult with professionals such as architects or interior designers.  They are trained in spatial analysis, and will get you the most out of every square inch.  Other than a drawn layout, you should also prepare a budgetary plan, and a schedule as well.  All three will aid you in completing your project in ease, on time, and within set budgets.  Take advantage of the flexibility of this stage.  On paper, you can freely explore your options and experiment on ideas.  It will be more costly to make adjustments while your project is ongoing, rather than on the drawing board.

5.  Stick to the Plan.  This is quite obvious, but many times, very difficult to do.  You may be influenced by other people's suggestions, or new ideas might come across you while your project is already on its way.  Unless they are completely aligned with your current plan, resist all temptation to make any alterations or additions.  You'd be in danger of ending up with a frankenstein project.

6.  Enjoy!  The quintessential last step to every step-by-step endeavour.

R U Mnml?

Modernism and its resulting derivative, Minimalism, though around for decades, are once again emerging as popular design styles of recent.  There is something hauntingly appealing about the bare and stark aesthetics of things simple.  Rooted on the principles of reducing elements to the bare essentials, minimalism does away with embellishment to give favor to function and practicality.  The design philosophy adopted by Arch. Mies Van Der Rohe, "less is more," has become the motto of minimalist designers the world over.

So we know what it is, we know what it looks like, and we know how its architecture is designed.  But contrary to its very essence, which is simplicity, minimalism is not so simple and easy.  We are a culture of butingting and knickknacks--which is a nice way to say clutter.  People (much more, Filipinos) just love to have things.  We can't seem to do away with acquiring more and more.  It seems there's an underlying rule with Pinoys when it comes to space, that as long as there is room to occupy, it should be occupied.  So before you want to design a minimalist home for yourself, or live in one, you should first decide whether you can indeed live minimally.  For minimalism is truly a lifestyle more than a style.

How does one live the minimalist lifestyle?  Before even answering that question, another one must be answered first: Do you want to live a minimalist lifestyle?  Habits are among the most difficult things to change in this world, and assuming your answer to the question is yes, then you would have to make an honest assessment of your habits.

There are several publications that promote the minimalist lifestyle, and many websites dedicated to it as well.  In a nutshell, it actually goes back to the "less is more" motto.  It might not be obvious for many, but this ideal means by losing something, you gain something else.  Having less material objects, you gain more valuable space.  Doing less activities, gives you more precious time.  Having less desires, gives you more peace in mind.  You get the drift.  But don't just start tossing out your possessions, or stop doing your daily activities and quit your job.  One very important principle in the practice of minimalism is being able to determine what is essential in your life.  When you are able to identify the things that truly matter to you, it will be easy to get rid of the things (or even people) that don't.

Minimalist home designed by Andrea Oliva from Cittaarchitettura

Photo courtesy of www.everydayminimalist.com

One has to work at becoming minimalist.  It does not happen overnight.  To reiterate, it is about habit forming.  Habits are formed by repeatedly doing things a certain way.  Purging your belongings once, but allowing yourself to acquire and accumulate things all over again is obviously a failure in principle.  So, if you are new to the concept of simplifying your life, it would be helpful to actually have an outline of goals and a schedule to achieve them, until the acts become second nature, thus becoming a habit.  Do baby steps, so as to not be overwhelmed.  Start with things you have direct control over.  Choose specific aspects and areas, and break them down even further.  If, for  example, you plan to clean up your house, start with one room.  And in that room, do the clean up by area, by corner.

As a designer, I have very strong leanings toward minimalist details and design principles.  But before implementing such details, I try to assess if my clients can actually live such a lifestyle.  It is easy to connect to minimalism and appreciate its aesthetics, as the style is quite universal.  But still, it is not for everyone.

Couldn't We Have It All?

Whenever you get into any project, you are bound to face three interrelated yet conflicting objectives in the face of time, cost, and quality.  Emphasis on Conflicting.  Even with little explanation, most people are quick to understand this opposing relationship.  It is common sense really, if you think about it.  If you want completion time to speed up, you expect either cost to rise, or quality to suffer, or both.  If you give a premium to quality, you can be sure costs to rise, or time to extend, or both (again).  When you are keeping a steady eye on your expenses, you really can't expect grade-A quality, nor can you demand work to progress at full throttle.  Logical and simple isn't it?  

Not when YOU are the client.

Client:  I need a formal gown for an event in 14 days.  But I want it done in 5 days.  Also, I want it made of silk, and embroidered with gold threads.

Designer:  Ok, sure... (makes a quick sketch, and presents to client)

Client:  Oh that's gorgeous!  I like it.  How much will that cost me?

Designer:  Well, with the fabric you want, and the rush in schedule...


(Designer passes bill to client)


Client:  That's too expensive!  Ok, forget the silk.  Let's just go with cotton.  And forget the embroidery.  And uh... no need to rush.  It can be done before 14 days right?


Designer:  Oh yes.  We can actually have it ready for you to pick up in 10 days.  


(Designer shows adjusted price)


Client:  Ok!  I am happy with that price!


After five days, the Client pays a visit to the Designer...


Client:  Is that the gown?  It isn't done yet?!  And where's the embroidery?  Sigh... it's just in cotton.  It would've been better in silk.


Yes, we want it all.

Rain Rain Don't Go Away

I love the Philippines and (just about) everything that goes with it.  Including the weather.  We Filipinos always complain that it is too hot and/or too humid.  I must concede, when it gets bad, it gets really bad.  But we take for granted our close-to-neutral climate.  Compared to four season regions, we never really experience extreme cold nor heat.  Yes, it gets wet.  But really, if controlled properly, the rains can be wonderful.  The kind you want to sleep in for the day.


So I will say it again.  We take our climate for granted.  To a fault, designers and architects--professionals who should be most conscious about the weather, tend to forget where we are exactly.  We "are inspired" too much (read as copy) by popular trends in style and design, mostly by Western influences, that we let aesthetics dominate all design considerations.  Functionality and practicality tend to suffer just so our projects "look like that awesome house/building we saw in that magazine."  

I have been practicing architecture for almost 10 years now.  I've worked for among the best designers (at least to this author's opinion), and have run my own firm for some time as well.  And throughout my experience, I've worked on a number of projects that were guilty of looking too good -- that's all they had going for them.  In no time, problems arise.  Problems such as heat build up, leaks, poor ventilation, quickly deteriorating materials...a list that is a result of ignoring climatic conditions.  We have to face the fact we are in the tropics.  The sun is harsh.  Rainfall is significant.  Houses and buildings are like the human body.  Health is beauty.  No amount of make up will save a sick body.


I am not saying that architects and designers should avoid modern trends.  Nor am I saying they should allow their designs to be limited by our tropical climate.  On the other hand, being mindful of this basic consideration should push their creativity even further.  We should take advantage of the new possibilities in design brought about by current technologies, new materials, and ever changing lifestyles of people.  We just need to keep in mind that we can't make the sun change its intensity.  We can't make the rain just go away.