Catch A Glimpse of the World with This Balinese-Inspired Home In Makati

A family chronicles their favorite journeys in the various corners of their home

For a family that has traveled and seen much of the world, creating a home is akin to settling down in one place. It also means that they will need to integrate all the trinkets that they took in every journey.
This was the dilemma that a couple and their two sons encountered when renovations began for their new condominium unit overlooking the busy Makati skyline. The husband and wife decided to combine two adjacent units to allow for a more comfortable living space, and enough room for their travel memorabilia.
They decided to tap design firm Sohu designs, spearheaded by Jen Sohu. She also led the team through the rigorous task of breaking down and putting up walls where needed to get the proper flow of spaces.

balinese-inspired home — The couple created the perfect viewing area right outside the master bedroom with a rattan armchair and a telescope ready to look up at the night sky. Adding to the relaxed feel are figurines and other trinkets obtained from their trips abroad

“The design inspiration for the home was more of a design constraint—we had two units that were basically a mirror image of each other,” says the man of the house. “We needed to make everything fit together.”
The family had lived in a Balinese-style house in Singapore. They acquired lot of their furniture and accessories there and they wanted to bring in some of the elements in their new home. While Jen took that into account, she also wanted to incorporate solid-colored accent walls in every room. This will become a more modern break from the neutral backgrounds commonly used in Balinese motifs.

balinese condo — Instead of having an accent wall like the other rooms, Jen used a neutral tone for the living area to showcase the homeowners’ art collection. “The paintings are sometimes rotated and changed with their other pieces to provide more dynamism to the space,” she says

Found to the right is the master bedroom. It might have a compact space, but there is a royal feel in the master bedroom. There is a canopy bed and an antique chest that take up most of the room, with a vibrant green accent wall behind. Heavy antique double doors found on the right, lead to a walk-in closet. Given the short height of the doors, Jen asked her clients to purchase a wooden installation to even out the height so she could use it in her design.

The couple immediately bought a carved Indonesian installation during one of their trips to Singapore. The installation is used as header for the entry to their closet. Outside the master bedroom, there is a sitting area with great views outside. Here, the couple installed more modern cabinetry for their other belongings. The study area and powder room are located to the right, each splashed with a yellow and a green accent wall to set off antique basins, chairs, and cabinets.

Across the hallway to the other unit is the dining area with its eye-catching red accent wall. Paintings on the walls add to the oriental feel, and even a sepia-toned painting at the head of the dining table depicting a Chinese coffee shop with its patrons adds its own world charm. Statues of monks are lined up along the accent wall that adds another layer of character to the space.

A bedroom found at the right side, breaks away from the feel of the rest of the spaces. A cool, eclectic mix in the bedroom is provided by the sleigh bed, a vibrant painting overhead, and ceramic lamps with Chinese warriors on a horseback, which a soft blue wall helps emphasized. The kitchen takes the opposite side, fashioned to be more modern and spacious while still retaining its aesthetic appeal.

Jen admits that the lady of the house had a very keen eye for design, so much so that her taste made sourcing for furniture pieces and accessories much easier. “They provided me with a very neat archive of their collected pieces that I could choose from,” she shares. “We didn’t even have to purchase a lot of furniture.”
Despite the overarching theme in all the spaces, the couple has difficulty choosing a favorite spot in their home. For them, each area has its own story carried within the pieces.

This story first appeared on MyHome Inspiring Interiors Vol. 3, edits have been made for omgmhstaging.wpengine.com