There are houses and there are houses. And for this lifestyle consultant, the challenge in her latest project is to transform a house into a house that is not only revived by maximum and non -matching design elements, but also by special moments and meaningful objects that are most important for your owners.
By Anne Stephanie Nilo
It comes from a closed descent of artists and architects, especially her great-grandmother maternal, Rosario Luz, one of the country's first interior designers in the 1950s and the mother of her Grand oncres National Arturo Arturo Luz and Filipino modernism, which developed Alfredo Luz-Tania Fricke for a good design.
And her family not only taught her art and architecture, colors and shapes, but also textures. Your childhood fascination SolihiyaA legendary Filipino weaving technique, which is used in particular in furniture, was later classified in a signature that was classified in almost all its designs – even in her business card.
“I love Solihiyaalso my card Solihiya“, Says Tania.” It is a tissue that I've loved since my little girl. Now, 15 years later, since I started it, they see everything Solihiya. It's nice because it doesn't get old. People really start to love it more. A growing number of people is indeed loving Filipino (touches). “
Maximal and proud of it
Choose integration Solihiya And other local visual elements in all their designs speak of the strength of their work that is not based on trends but on design principles. In a sea of foreign design inspirations that she picked up from her travels, her work stabs and remains mostly Filipino. And while many of her contemporaries have become minimalistic, in the middle of subdued colors and the school of design “less is more”, she dares to go in the other direction by being modern and maximum.
But it was not a smooth start for Tania when she started the introduction of concepts on the subject of Filipino Concepts many years ago.
'' Isn't it too Filipino? We want Asians or we want Europeans. 'And I would think: “You know what, this tissue, the flea markets in Paris and London, all furniture, the rattan, has that.” So I would tell you: “Don't be afraid to bring in a little Filipino.” And now everyone wants it, ”she recalls.
A cabinet with curiosities
While she remains true to her design philosophy, Tania gives her customers the freedom to choose what is going in her home. This collaborative approach ensures that the apparently different pieces combine into a versatile masterpiece that reflects the taste and character of the homeowners.
“We like a lot of eclectic, because that really exists what really exists [a home] Warmth, elegance, meaning – it is not so thought of or invented. It makes it more interesting. “She explains.
The mixture and adaptation of parts ensure that there are no predictable and boring designs in the Tania portfolio. And this is obvious because they give us a tour of one of their customers' houses in Metro Manila.
For example, take the two identical contemporary rescue meat in the dining area that attract the attention of everyone to their ornaments. For this husband and woman who likes to love travel and art, Tania has ensured that the jewelry and treasures from her globe trotting adventures are completely exhibited.
Regardless of whether the pieces are not unanimous – these are memories in tactile form that the couple can visit again and again when they remember. As the lady of the house says: “Sometimes you cannot buy or repeat certain experiences” and this is the value of these priceless treasures.
There is a shiny tea set between the Armoires that not only bears the weight of silver, but also history. After all, it is a wedding gift from the former President Elpidio Quirino to the grandparents of the woman.
The wallpaper of the dining area with illustrations of pineapple, lanzon and banana trees becomes the background of the tropical paradise, and its lively Filipino pattern complements various local elements in other parts of the house.
A gallery of gifts
Tania works with everything the owners have, and neither the lack nor the abundance of space limits their creativity.
“Whether big or small, I use my creativity to fill it – or not. I recently worked with a tiny room. We had to draw many for a project. Fourteen rooms for 14 designers, and I drew the smallest room, which ironically, ironically, to enable the largest piece of furniture, and it was a challenge, but it worked out.
When she received this project, the house gave her many walls – a wide, concrete screen – to work on it.
The client wanted to “call and call” her walls with tricks or call the gifts from the special people in her life. One of the works that were prominently exhibited in the living area was a gift from her father who told her that the little girl reminded him of her on the screen. The couple has invaluable artificial pieces that can be passed on by one generation to another – or defamed, bleak walls that have effectively done works of art by contemporary Filipino artists Ombok Villamor and Bullet Dematera.
A house of Yin and Yang
Tania has more than just an eye for creativity and has the intuition for good design. “I look aesthetically in an area and already know exactly where I can place the pieces of furniture and what areas they are missing,” she says.
In addition to her spatial intelligence, Tania thinks it is important to get to know the taste and preferences of her customers. For this house, she wanted to mix the soft and elegant properties of the woman with the man's masculinity. The taste of reconciliation is part of their design, and each piece has a place in their blueprint- whether it is the contemporary art and metal furniture of the man, which he began to collect as a bachelor or the chairs in leaves and floral prints that the woman loves.
The entire procedure led to a living area that represents tropical delicacies for the eyes, since Tania brought in free plants that complement the rattan furniture and other Filipino elements, such as the side table and the tablets that represent men and women in Filipino clothing. Wide windows to the ceiling and a sliding door offer a refreshing view of the lush green and the pool.
A clean, well -lit place
By moving to a house of a condominium, the couple made it possible for the couple to finally have a committed place for entertaining guests – who enjoys it – so that Tania designed a multi -purpose room, which serves as bar and home cinema.
Their characteristic use of Solihiya extends to this area, which is the most popular space of the audiophile husband and the couple. The Solihiya If the monotony of the simple wall breaks and there is a screen in front of the ceiling.
Apart from wine and vodka bottles and drinking glasses, the most important feature of the bar is the backlit metal shelf, in which the couple's souvenirs are saved with tattle and speeches in one night – that the owners are not only more important, but even more important, not only from their wedding and honeymoon not only from their travels, but also from their wedding and honeymoon.
Despite her love for indigenous materials and the Filipino craftsmanship, Tania is not averse to using synthetic materials and decided to install a translucent Faux Onyx board behind the metal shelf. “We don't have to worry that it will break,” she explains. “The owners of the house use this area a lot for a bar – they splash water here, break a glass there, spill wines and spirits here. No problem. Materials from which the bar is composed are easy to wait.”
“Function before the form!” Tania sees this as the most important guiding principle when designing a house.
The stratification distinguishes this bar from the many other home bars that she designed. “This is new. Combine metal, combine synthetic, combined natural materials, laminate and layer,” she adds.
But even someone who is seasoned as Tania has to work and not do customers a good job and all make everyone happy. In other words, it makes your work easier when a client knows or at least has an idea of what he or she wants. But how do you start?
“It starts with what you really want. If you like plants, bring the plants in. You start with a collection, one piece and then you grow from it. And” Who am I? “No two houses are the same,” she advises.
Because for Tania Fricke a house is larger than the sum of its pieces and parts. Above all, it is a spatial wall carpet of your own memories and identity.
Photography by Paola Azeron