Of Love and Time
While anyone can acquire and own the best or the latest, my definition of true luxury is having something money can’t buy. There are two things that immediately come to mind: love and time.
Living luxuriously is about filling your home with an abundance of love. It could be souvenirs from your travels, mementos from the past, an artwork that moved you, or an impulse purchase of a piece of furniture that you’re not quite sure where to place but you just had to have because it was love at first sight. It’s also about designing for love – big kitchen counters where the family can gather while cooking a meal; cozy corners with comfortable seating so you can chat for hours with an old friend; the plush and ample king-sized bed that envelops you in a blanket of intimacy and peace. However, all of this would be for naught if we didn’t have the time to relish them. The ultimate luxury is having a home filled with the things and the people you love and the time to enjoy it all.
Today, with the current quarantine measures and offsite work and study directives, we have been given that time at home with the people we love - luxuries we once so desperately craved. When we started working on this issue, the world was a very different place, where freedom and ease of movement were indulgently accessible. However, in the current context, this is not the case. I’ve had to reflect on the relevance of the key concept of this issue: Dual Living. Originally, referring to the choice of some individuals to have a compact and efficient apartment in the city built for focus and habit, alternated with a vast weekend home designed for rest and pleasure; perhaps we now have to think of “Dual Living” as more of a philosophy within the confines of four walls.
Now more than ever, the home is an integral part of our lifestyles - being the axis around which not just routine but also work, school and leisure revolve. It has the potential to be a true reflection of our activities where spaces are not just created beautifully but with purpose and intent. Let’s take some inspiration from the people we have featured in this issue and explore how we can adopt their mindsets and design principles to create a harmonious home that encompasses all aspects of our lives.
It was Architect Sarah Canlas, whose stunning, self-designed Antipolo family home features on our cover, who first introduced me to the concept as she herself was fashioning a life split between a chic urban condo and an expansive retreat. Dual Living advocates Donnie and Crickette Tantoco open their beautiful homes to us and share how they have created two distinct spaces adapted to the dichotomous rhythm and flow of weekday and weekend. We also feature another gorgeous set of properties filled with sentiment and heart: one in a nondescript building in the central business district of Makati and the other by the sea. I would also like to point out that at every location we were warmly (and slobberingly) welcomed by the rambunctious doggies–boss, Simba, and Fulgoso—of the homeowners.
For now, let’s savour the gift of time we’ve been given at home and hold on tightly to your loved ones - human and furry alike.