All the love in the world

CEBU, Philippines - Upon its birth, the house is poised to survive facelifts.

Even Divina Veloso-Couvreux, the owner and the decorator of this manor atop a hill in Pardo, could no longer remember which one comes from the original concept.

Like an old Joan Rivers comedy—“I wish I had a twin, so I could know what I’d look like without plastic surgery.”

Or at least, Divina can still recall major points such as the façade in the second floor that used to hold an ordinary A-roof but knocked down into an al fresco lounge bordered with Moroccan low railings.

“For me, it was too flat,” the entrepreneur, who has just opened Fuzion Gourmet at the ground floor of Mango Square Mall, enthuses over the last-minute decision. “Sometimes, I feel it’s a little too late to restructure, but this is my house, and I want it to be the way I’ve envisioned my dream house. I don’t know what else we’ve changed.”

She has been very keen with the interior designs. From the minutest of details (lights and lamps) to dominant features (roofing, floors, ceilings), she is certain of them.

The hallway to her bedroom was originally box type, but to be cohesive with her Moroccan theme, she transformed it into a dome. Spanish tiles go well with bricks, which are made-to-order in Lilo-an, north of Cebu.

Well, with all the beautiful things around her, who could decide easily?

Living in Europe for 30 years, she has been exposed to all art forms. So homecoming means lugging all her favorite decors in a shipment, arriving a month before her.

“I live in France; my family is in France, but when I first visited Morocco, I fell in love with culture and its architecture. I love the warm colors, the dark wood, and the Moroccan way of wood carving,” Divina says, a native of Leyte who’s married to a French tycoon.

“What I like about France is its romantic approach to anything. The decors, most especially, are so elegant.”

Upstairs, three rooms with bathrooms are built, identified by their hues. The Green Room which has a round bathtub is the grandest while the Purple and Gold Rooms are kept simple. “We had to test several shades of green—lighter, darker, mid. I don’t know what shade we’ve decided. This isn’t still the color I’ve been looking for, but it’s close enough,” she laughs. “My husband was a little impatient in the beginning—with all the changes—but now, he’s satisfied with the results.”

As of now, the French man can relax.

Or he’ll just have to wait until another view is refashioned.  (FREEMAN)