You’ll love the neutral palette and giant windows in this breezy home

Large windows complement the calming neutral palette of this forever home

Making sure everything has its place and function is easy when building a home from the ground up. However, renovating a home for the better is something different altogether. This is what one family experienced during the construction of their Quezon City home. With its neutral palette and large windows, this home is easy, breezy, and beautiful.
Located in the wife’s family compound, their house was planned to be their permanent headquarters. The goal was to maximize as much of the space despite the relatively small lot. This paved the plan for the three-storey house and basement. The couple got in touch with interior designer Carol Peña-Santos early in the project. The first order of the day was making layout changes to accommodate the couple’s favorite activity: entertaining guests.

“One of the changes I made was to tear down a wall to open up the kitchen. I wanted the dining area to be bigger than the living area because they frequently entertain,” explains the designer.
As a result, the house has an open layout where the living room, dining room, and kitchen can be seen at a glance. Visualizing a party is easy with a dining table that sits 14 and a kitchen counter that also doubles as both seating and buffet area.

The couple also relied on Carol’s specialization in using textures, playing with neutral palettes, and incorporating a few surprising accent corners. The style of this home borrows heavily on modern elements. Warmth is brought to the main floor with wooden pieces such as an Atelier coffee table and three framed wooden pieces cut from the former house’s old door. The wooden flooring for the stairs and some bedrooms were upcycled narra planks from the now-demolished house of the wife’s grandmother.
The living area and kitchen display a clean symmetry that sets the tone for the rest of the house. This is furthered by the chosen neutral palette that allows the artwork and shelved trinkets from the couple’s travels to pop out. Most of the furniture are new as the couple wanted a new house from inside out, although the wife kept some items that she refused to part with. One of these is the statue of Mother Mary from Spain that has been in her family for a number of years. Carol created a nook by the stairs for it so visitors to the house can admire its beauty.

The wife also has a collection of silver trinkets that are displayed on shelves by the dining area.”They’re made from sterling silver which is a lot of effort to take care of. But they were given so they’re not something you’d want to throw away. I really like them and I appreciate that Carol made sure to accommodate that request,” says the wife.
The designer also introduced a new take on accent corners. Untreated corner windows are found throughout the living and dining areas. The lack of curtains and obvious framing gave the house the light and airy feel the owners wanted.

This marriage of modern elements and sentimental requests made its way into the master bedroom situated on the ground floor. Since this will be their “home until the end,” the couple made sure all their present and future needs wold be met.

The couple’s children enjoy plenty of room on the second floor. Their rooms are in keeping with the house’s neutral palette but incorporate green and pink accents. Furnishings are simple yet elegant.

The neutral palette Carol chose culminates in the roof deck with its beige walls and a grand views of trees and sky. The wife had originally been averse to having a third floor as she couldn’t picture how a roof deck would be utilized in a tropical environment. However, she now considers it one of her favorite spaces after throwing some parties with friends and chancing upon a nice view of the moon over the Eastwood skyline.
“I eat my words now. That moment was accidental but even that got me thinking of how we could have full moon parties someday. The moon is already there by chance, what can we do except just enjoy it, right?” she muses.

These little moments were delightful surprises when the family moved in. The big window above the front door shows different views of the large tree growing just outside. The husband recalls that it was previously framed right in the center, but now they bear witness to its slow but steady growth. The house itself continues to grow, just like the family that lives in it.