Modern Fusion Interior Design Home
This rental house is the home to my expat friend, Sandra, and her family in Manila, Philippines. I was fortunate enough to visit her home shortly after we had arrived in Manila. As you might be able to imagine, I was in total awe with admiration when I first walked in.
The house is filled with art pieces and decor that Sandra and her husband have collected over many years. The items displayed in their home represent their everlasting life overseas as well as travels around the world. I learned about many artists and new way to decorate spaces by seeing her home. I hope that you will find her modern fusion home inspiring and be able to learn something to use in your home.
If you just see her house in the condition today, you probably wouldn’t think about the time and effort that Sandra poured into creating this home, which started with a few pieces of furniture. In order to make this house into a modern fusion interior design home, she said she spent about 2 years.
Making a beautiful home takes time and patience.
Living Room
The four eyed woman painting was created by Cesar Caballero, a Madrid native, Spanish painter, who is based in Manila, Philippines. I thoroughly enjoyed this article “Artist at Work: On The Joy of Discovery” which explains what his art work is about. The article says that Cesar Caballero paints to appreciate and capture the beautiful chaos that we live in.
In modern times, our senses and brains are overloaded and overwhelmed. In such condition, we are challenged to live in the moment. This “assault on our senses was the key interest to Caballero.” He sees beauty and derive inspirations in chaos which most people may find stressful. It’s about perspective. Cesar works to incite a strong appreciation for life in the present moment.
The painting in the focal point of the room is a great reminder to appreciate life and live in the present.
“Painting is a kind of expression, a beautiful channel to try to converse with someone who we may not usually know. We could use different techniques and resources to try to create this “conversation” but if nobody is there to appreciate it, nothing really happens.”
by Cesar Caballero
Sandra combined the beautiful white couch, a jute rug, and a modern striking art piece by a local Filipino artist, Martin Honasan. The following article published by Philippine Tatler summarized how the artist, Martin Honasan, refined his style.
“The New Breed: Martin Honasan”
Did you notice the beautiful modern side tables in the living room?
Sandra found them at one of the antique shops along White Plains Avenue in Quezon City in Metro Manila. What amazing finds!
This object above was Sandra’s find on a street of Bali, Indonesia, during her trip. She actually bought two of them, but unfortunately one of them did not make it.
Family Room
The placement of every object, decorative item and furniture piece in her home seems to be carefully calculated to bring harmony. I admire Sandra’s style and eye to be able to see the space and create the beautiful flow in her home.
Front Foyer
Hello, Chairs!
The use of white blank space at Sandra’s is very clever and effective.
This red wall decor is a photography by Peter Lik. Sandra and her family own another photography by Peter Lik in their dining room.
Dining Room
I love this dining room. It has the perfect amount of decor, which makes the room feel serene, natural, and beautiful. How awesome is this table? It is one piece of wood on two simple design metal legs.
The painting above the buffet is another work by Peter Lik.
You can see the gallery of his inspiring work on his instagram feed in the link below.
Sandra is a wonderful entertainer. She hosted her birthday party and cooked for her friends at her residence during the day. Her spread was very impressive to say the least.
If you ask me what would be my favorite moment of my expat life, my answer would be the time that I get to spend with talented fellow women from all over the world like at Sandra’s party. We recognize that we are fortunate in many ways. At the same time, we are bonded because we all go through the same challenges in our expat lives as trailing spouses. The comradery is a gift that I treasure in this life style.
Kitchen
The simple clean design and styling gives spot light to every detail.
Guest Bedroom
This is a guest bedroom where the lucky guests get to spend some time. The chair in the corner is a purchase at a Sunday market in Brazil. Brazil is the country where Sandra and her family called home for some years prior to moving to Manila. It is also a country where her second child was born.
Upstairs Landing
On one side of the corridor wall is a gallery of black and white photos taken in the Philippines by a photographer, Justin James Wright. He beautifully captures mundane moments of the city and rural areas of the Philippines. If you are interested in seeing more of his photos, please click the following link to his Instagram feed.
Justin James Wright
INSTAGRAM
This colorful painting of a beach town was a souvenir from Brazil. It holds a special meaning to the family because it is a painting of the beach and the building where Sandra and her family used to live in Brazil.
Girl’s Room
This is Sandra’s daughter’s room in a calming aqua color. The accent wall decorates the room so beautifully with white and grey as accent colors. String lights are a wonderful mood creator for the room. I’m a fan.
Boy’s Room
This is Sandra’s son’s room. Her son is the younger one of her two children and my son’s good friend. This is probably a room of my son’s dream with a Star Wars bedcover, Star Wars character toys and Super Hero wall posters, which are all my son’s favorite! This room has a full of ideas for a boy’s room.
Take a look!
The Yoda and BB8 stuffed toys were purchased in Rockwell in Manila. When I find out the name of the store, I will update my post with the name of the store. I’m sure there are parents who would love to have those for their kids!
This Darth Vador decor piece in the photo above is a 3D paper puzzle. Brilliant idea.
Master Bedroom
The photography above the bed in the photo above and the chair in the photo below were both purchases from Fashion Interiors by Paul Cornelissen. By the way I loved visiting Fashion Interiors. I have some photos on my Instagram.
Patio
The beauty of living on a tropical island like the Philippines is that we can spend a lot of time outside.
Meet Sandra
Sandra and her husband are both Europeans, but they grew up in Morocco. Sandra speaks French, English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese fluently. Listening to her talk and switch from one language to another is like seeing an actor flip from one character to another on a stage. Just like her background, her home is filled with variety of art work from various places where she and her husband lived and visited. They have lived in Morocco, Brazil, the U.S. and the Philippines.
At the beginning of this school year, Sandra’s son and my son met in the same class room and quickly became friends. My son, who was fresh off the airplane and brand new to his new school last summer, was invited to Sandra’s son’s birthday party in the very first week of school. It meant to so much to him as well as to me as a parent to know that he has made a friend in the new city in a new country.
There’s nothing like having a mom friend. Sandra has taken me in since the first time we had met and helped me with many things related to kids. You can’t help feeling gravitated towards her friendly, cheerful, open, fun and thoughtful personality. She has the way to make others feel cared. To me she was like a big sister that all the expats dream of having when arriving at post.
Her home is a representation of her glowing personality and her family’s expat life. Her keen eye for style is reflected in the modern yet warm and welcoming interior design.
Epilogue
The day of the photo shoot was the actual wedding anniversary of Sandra and her husband. No, I didn’t know about it! The beautiful red roses are the gift from her husband to her. Isn’t it romantic?
The couple has faced some hard challenges in their family expat life which you wouldn’t even guess by seeing their home. Their strength, trust, respect and profound love for each other seem to be the key factor of their successful family life overseas.
MORE EXPAT HOMES
Under Interior Design Tab, there is a series of expat home features from the various countries I have lived.
Please click the link below!
WOW!!!!! I couldn’t help closing my eyes. It is totally a breathtaking place. You took photos of the place that made me walking inside the place. Another inspiring story in the world of interior design. Thank you very much
Thank you, Mimi, for checking out my post!! Indeed, it is a breathtaking place. Sandra clearly has a talent in interior design.
I LOVE this!!! I feel like I am right there with you!! Wish I was!
Your house is beautiful Sandra and love the warmth you have created…
Miss you Miss you Miss you – MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!
What a sweet message! I will make sure Sandra reads your comment. I feel honored to have photographed her warm loving home. Thank you for visiting my post!
Almost every Filipino home will have wooden furniture, rattan ornaments, and a plethora of indoor plants. That’s just the local touch.
It’s the style that is very popular everywhere these days, it seems like. The Filipino design is very inspiring.