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'Dream home' archive

Lights, scents and home accessories

I would have posted photos of loots from our most recent trips to Dapitan and Tiendesitas but, quite unexpectedly, I got sick on December 23 and I didn’t feel better until late evening on Christmas day. It was a quiet house on Christmas Eve. The house helpers attended midnight mass in town and, a little before midnight, Alex roused me from sleep, hand on hips, demanding...  (more »»)

Wrought iron wall clock and more shopping loot

We have huge walls in the house that I don’t know what to do with. Originally, I wanted framed photos but the girls don’t want their photos on display because when their friends come over, there are the usual jokes about how “Is that really you?” They are even more empathic about not having their baby pictures on the walls of the house. So, I went for...  (more »»)

Warm colors for the living area

Unlike blog themes which I can change just about as often as the mood hits me, changing how a house, or sections of a house, looks is not as easy. It costs money (as against free Wordpress themes), it takes time and, in many cases, it’s difficult to get the items you like with the exact specifications that you prefer. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how to define sections...  (more »»)

Housekeeping

The weekend was all about housekeeping. A portion of the parquet flooring in my study had to be repaired. In the garden, Speedy started installing lights and Sam was his assistant for an hour or so. We chose pendant capiz lamps a long time ago. Four had been installed in the gazebo but the rest of the garden is still bathed in darkness at night so we really need the additional...  (more »»)

Defining a section of the house

One thing about this house is that, strictly speaking, there is no “living room” and “dining room.” Instead, there is a living area and a dining area. Meaning, the dining and living areas are contiguous and no wall divides them. Now I like every area of the house to be defined. The easiest solution would be to place a divider between the two areas but...  (more »»)

The right grass for a lawn in a tropical garden

Yesterday, after getting a much needed haircut, I passed by a couple of garden landscapers in preparation for the much delayed garden project. We have bluegrass and I’m not so happy with it. It came with the landscaped garden and we weren’t really planning on overhauling anything except that there is a portion of the garden that is lower than the rest where the...  (more »»)

Malunggay tree in the garden

Two months ago, we planted two sturdy branches of malunggay in the garden. They were cuttings from a mature tree owned by an aunt of one of the house helpers. It took a while but it looks like we’re finally going to have a steady supply of malunggay. I can almost taste it… clams and malunggay soup, fresh malunggay tea… And since the malunggay fruit is edible,...  (more »»)

Furnishing the office / study

Last Saturday, we had a party. A joint birthday party — mine, Buddy’s (my brother-in-law) and Buddy’s girlfriend, Laura. A family affair, really, but Speedy has a big family so it was not a small party. The only small part was my side of the family because I have only one sibling. It was loads of fun but it was also disorganized. There was a long table in...  (more »»)

Clay jars and indoor plants

If you go around malls and interior decoration shops and boutiques, you will notice that fortune plants — a favorite indoor plant because they require little maintenance — are often placed in glass vases (or crystal in high-end shops). Pebbles are placed on the bottom of the vase, the stalks of fortune plant are inserted into the pebbles then water is poured in....  (more »»)

The wind chimes in the gazebo

There are four remaining areas in the house that are quite unfinished. Structurally, they are complete but they still need to be furnished to be functional. One of these areas is my study/office but it’ll be fully furnished by the middle of the month. Honestly, it should have been a priority considering the amount of time I spend there working. The second area is the...  (more »»)