Home is where the art is

It’s not unusual for interior decorators to design around a piece of vintage furniture or artwork. Many manses in richer parts of the world devote a single room to a favorite artist’s piece, scaling furniture and matching (or contrasting) wallpaper and accents with the artwork. Numerous Park Avenue apartments have reading rooms or foyers refurbished solely to show off a recently acquired Monet or Warlhol. Riding sticks are placed helter-skelter next to luxurious leather sofas, a foreground for the rich tapestry that covers the walls of the wealthy – all the better to nonchalantly display a prized possession like a tiny Matisse that clocks in at more than half the interest rate of the entire Philippine debt.

This attitude is emblematic of the super rich, old or new, who find jeweled baubles trifling compared to the allure of a hard-to-get piece of art. No doubt a restored medieval tapestry says more about its owner than the hundred-acre lawn or the twin Hummers parked in the back.

Art – as most would have it – is the crowning glory of any home, whether it is a marble bust of some Venetian goddess or a metal contraption utilizing random pulleys and levers to recreate the movements of R2D2. Classic or pop, old or new, art is the piece de resistance of any abode, the cherry on top of an impeccably put-together cream sundae – well, you get my drift.

The Philippine School of Interior Design’s (PSID) advanced class Batch 2006 crafted booths that celebrate art through complementary interior design in an exhibit called "Art Masterpieces in Masterpiece Interiors." Together with Ayala Land and Avellana Gallery and in cooperation with Art Sentral Manila, the students designed spaces of their choice to fit the thematic concept of their selected art pieces.

Many opted for a minimalist or modern space, finding inspiration in the clean lines of a sculpture or the stark etching on a textured mixed-media painting. Tessie Tan, Carina Seneviratne and Mabel Alipui designed a sleek bedroom in a muted palette inspired by the painting of Honrado Fernandez and sculptures of Seb Chua. The smooth curves of the Chua pieces are reflected in the rounded side table and soft bed and in the coziness of the room’s ambience.

"A modern bedroom can still be warm," says Tessie Tan. The group made use of architectural details as a modern element and utilized soft mood lighting to make the room comfortable. "We wanted to bring in nature as well," she adds, referring to the moss green color swatches dotting the furniture and wall, the wooden bench decorating a corner of the room and the holographic lights on the ceiling to recreate a starry night view.

Ola Arcala, Avi dela Cruz and Audrey Montalban followed the same theme with their living room, dedicated to the works of Ronaldo Ruiz (the focal point of the room), Alvin Villaruel, and Joe Datuin. Filled with plush couches in beige and a glass-and-steel coffee table, the group edited what could’ve been a rather bleak take on traditional modernism with thick throws and rugs to warm up the room.

Zen modernism took a front seat in Joel Cardenas, Lesley Co, Maan Pereira, Emil Ramos and Kym Takezawa’s tribute to Impy Pilapil. The famed sculptor’s shapely piece with rippled texture was the groundwork for the group’s ocean themed design. The use of curves reflected the room’s Zen leanings, with rounded cutout shelves, sweeping curved woodwork along with the subtle light reflections mimicking the transformation light makes underwater.

A bachelor’s pad was given a stark approach to design with a virgin theme. Marc Amortizado, Dan Nogales, KJ Bayot, Marc Yao, Melody Tan and Marj Chua enjoyed the contrasting juxtaposition of themes (after all, modern bachelors’ pads are blank slates used as hoochie nests). The team concentrated on structure and lighting. The team used the lighting device as a cool trick, alternately highlighting different spaces and levels of brightness to create different moods. Inspired by the graphic work of Lex Calip and Dan Raralio, they repeated the green patterns from the art piece on wooden appliqués subtly woven through the design.

Che Bello, Ely Divino, Charlene Pasia, Kat Ong and Wadie Montano had a similar idea for their loft space. This time giving the modern two-level foyer an industrial feel with concrete floors and walls dramatically juxtaposed with cold steel fixtures, see-through stair panels and sleek molded furniture. The group inserted architectural elements like a geometric banister and a mobile kinetic sculpture by Arnel Borja. "We wanted to simulate the lightness and balance of the Borja sculpture," says Wadie Montano. Dramatic points of fluorescent lights spare elements and keep the room on an even modern keel.

Other noteworthy efforts include an executive lounge, given a modern treatment, by Jeana Gonzalez, Cathy Milan, Jennelyn Que and Jiezl Sunga. The group opted for a darker, more masculine room with steel chairs and dark paint juxtaposed against mod pieces like Lucite-topped tables and overhanging steel frames.

Clocks were the centerpiece of the room designed by Cherry Goson-Lim, Grace Mantilla, Mark Ocampo, Stacy Quodala and Samantha Sze. A taupe-colored room is dominated by a wall with moving clock-like elements in floral-inspired shapes. "It’s a mixture of classical and modern elements," explains Grace Mantilla.

A trio, consisting of Nana Aoyong, Kristy Acosta and Joan Lorica, turned a living space into a high-ceilinged room filled with Asian accessories. The theme of contemporary Asian shone through the hanging lamp, simple furniture, the use of bold reds and the framed views of a bamboo-filled pocket garden.

The trend framing each space was modernism, interpreted by each group either through the use of light and space, the transitory resting space between the indoor and outdoor and the warmth of natural elements, whether it’s the use of actual natural materials or the framing of scenic views as focal point.

While some of the groups struggled to come up with a cohesive space that not only attempted to complement and display each artwork alongside original design (sometimes failing completely so as to cross the border of dubious taste and much-maligned kitsch – like one room painfully dubbed "funky haven"), some took the opportunity to celebrate the artist’s sensibilities by creating spaces that showed off the art – and the interior designer’s perspective – to the audience.

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PSID’s "Art Masterpieces in Masterpiece Interiors" is open to the public until Oct. 31 (from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at the third floor of Greenbelt 1, Makati.