{"id":494,"date":"2020-05-29T13:18:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T05:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/?p=494"},"modified":"2020-05-29T16:39:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T08:39:47","slug":"living-room-design-for-sm-homes-essentials-of-condo-living-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/?p=494","title":{"rendered":"Living Room Design for SM Home\u2019s \u201cEssentials of Condo Living\u201d series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"TOUCH<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

TOUCH OF NATURE. Plants can easily bring even the smallest corners to life. Photo by Martin San Diego\/ Rappler<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2013 Condominiums can be the most convenient places to live these days. They\u2019re easily accessible, close to commercial areas, and come built-in with security and amenities. The trade-off for all that is having less space than you would in a traditional house. But having less space doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t make it look nice \u2013 and interior designer Ivy Crisostomo proved this with the model living room she dressed up for SM Home\u2019s \u201cEssentials of Condo Living\u201d series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivy only had a space of 8×6 (her design partner James Razo asked for an extra foot for the bedroom he was doing), but she managed to fill it with all the living room essentials: a couch, a coffee table, a bookshelf \u2013 and a lot of personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SMALL<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SMALL CORNER. This tiny 8×6 space is the living room that Ivy worked with. Photo courtesy of SM Home<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did she do it? Here are the designer\u2019s top tips for small spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identify what is essential to the space<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before even going out to look for furniture or home decor, Ivy recommends identifying the non-negotiable pieces that the space needs for it to function. \u201cFor the living room, there\u2019s the sofa \u2013 that\u2019s number one. For the bedroom, there\u2019s the bed,\u201d she said. Knowing what needs to be in your room can help you focus when you actually go out and buy your furniture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use multi-functional items<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For small spaces, using multi-functional items is key, Ivy said. For instance, in her living room design, the sofa pulls out into a bed, the coffee table is actually a chest that can hold a lot of items, and a strategically placed mirror expands the small space and can also be used for quick face checks before heading out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy choose a table that could just be a table when you can choose a table that could also be storage?\u201d she said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t put too many pieces in your space. You can have a few pieces but if one is twice its function, you don\u2019t have to add items.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"DOUBLE<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DOUBLE DUTY. The chest seen here is both a coffee table and a storage unit. Photo by Martin San Diego\/Rappler<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it personal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding your personality into the space is an easy way to make it more cozy and comfortable. Consider your interests and what you like when you\u2019re choosing your pieces. For the living room, Ivy\u2019s hypothetical clients were a young couple who loved to travel \u2013 so she incorporated the travel element through a world map wall mural, as well as a clock that showed different cities around the world. She also made sure to add accessories that the couple could have bought from their travels abroad. Even the coffee table\/chest had a travel element to it with the embroidered in a Paris-themed print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome people put paintings. You can try to be creative that you buy something and at the same time give a personal touch to it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add a touch of nature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith condo living \u2013 you\u2019re living in a city or on the upper floor \u2013 there\u2019s no nature. Everything\u2019s cold, it\u2019s concrete, it\u2019s cement, it\u2019s glass, it\u2019s tiles. So it\u2019s also important in a way to bring the outdoors in,\u201d Ivy said. She suggested adding live plants to soften up a space, though she said that if maintaining live plants is difficult, artificial plants will do. She also suggested bringing in fresh flowers, or even adding a water feature to bring nature into a small condo space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IT'S<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

IT’S LIT. Ivy used a combination of light fixtures \u2013 including these drop lights at placed at slightly varying heights \u2013 to add visual interest to the small space. Photo by Martin San Diego\/Rappler<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the lighting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivy, who studied lighting at the Parsons School of Design, pointed out that this underrated design element could actually dramatically affect a space. She suggested playing with different types of lights to create a good ambience. \u201cOthers want to flood [the space] with lighting\u2026right now to create a good interior, you can have spot lighting or accent lighting that brings drama to the space. You can combine several lighting techniques to achieve a generally lit area,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want more decorating advice? SM Home is hosting a series of free design talks on September 16 and 17. Ivy and fellow designers Erika Uichanco and James Razo, as well as architect Maya Franco will be sharing their tips on space-planning, space-saving, and using color in your home. The talks will be held from 1 pm to 5 pm at the ground floor concourse of SM Makati. \u2013 Rappler.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/life-and-style\/arts-and-culture\/182064-5-tips-for-decorating-small-space<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOUCH OF NATURE. Plants can easily bring even the smallest corners to life. Photo by Martin San Diego\/ Rappler MANILA, Philippines \u2013 Condominiums can be the most convenient places to live these days. They\u2019re easily accessible, close to commercial areas, and come built-in with security and amenities. The trade-off for all that is having less … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Living Room Design for SM Home\u2019s \u201cEssentials of Condo Living\u201d series”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[24,21,25],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-condo","tag-interior-design","tag-residential"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=494"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":500,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494\/revisions\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ivcrisostomo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}