There was minimal designing required when we moved to our new home. We were going to retain the Filipino Japandi style my wife and I have grown to love. So all we had to do was transfer all our old things to the new unit.
(Okay, we did discard a few things, since the new place is one room smaller. And we did add a wardrobe cabinet to the bedroom and some shelves in the bathroom. But that’s it. We were intent on really downsizing this time.)
The living and dining area furniture are basically the same. We kept our work desks since there are days when we both work from home. We also brought our plants, save for those we gave away to my in-laws.
What’s different?
Aside from the unit’s smaller size (which we find totally cozy), there are these ascending floating shelves in the living-dining area which we totally love. Their increasing height makes the unit’s ceiling feel higher than it is. Eyes are drawn upwards to the beam above the large glass windows, then down to the pothos and heartleaf philodendron leaves and toward the inviting sofa. The visual play is intriguing — for me at least.
The bathroom has an area supposedly for a washing machine and a bit of storage. We chose not to invest in a machine. Instead we simply created a white partition using plastic curtains to hide our household paraphernalia. The result: a tidy, bright bathroom.
There’s very little space in the kitchen. So we had to make sure our kitchenware are just the minimum. Extra glasses and utensils were donated. The pantry contains food only for up to two weeks. And we chose to simply boil tap water to make them potable (instead of buying bulky, blue gallons every week).
In the end, the design philosophy and method we applied was a cliche: keep it simple. We went with what felt like it could highlight the unit’s best assets, or downplay its awkward parts (like the gap where the cooking range is supposed to be).
The result: home sweet home.
Daryl Zamora 