Loading ...Go rustic–think woven hats, baskets
By Alex Vergara
Philippine Daily Inquirer
REMEMBER the “Christmas Alphabet” song from your childhood? Sprucing up homes for the holidays, interior designer Leo Almeria follows his own version, which is as simple as ABC.
A stands for area, B for budget and C for character expression, he says.
These three principles have served Almeria and his clients well.
This year, the Leyte native went back to his roots and came up with a farm-inspired Christmas theme in his Quezon City home. Apart from shiny, multisize balls in copper and various shades of green, he adorned his 10-ft tall Christmas tree with baskets and “native-looking” woven hats from his collection.
Some hats come from as far as HK, Malaysia and even South Africa. The baskets are mostly old backpacks he sourced years ago from Mountain Province.
“I was about to throw the backpacks away during my recent annual pre-Christmas cleaning,” says Almeria. “Then the thought of combining rustic with contemporary pieces hit me.”
Strategically clustered green and copper balls and metallic berries give the tree, wreath and garland a modern touch. His decision to go for various sizes, textures and shades of green allows the balls to stand out while echoing the tree’s color.
Lush
By adding faux fern leaves in golden green, Almeria made an already lush tree even more lush. In lieu of Christmas lights, he makes do with a single pin light.
“I did away with the lights for safety reasons,” he says. “Since I will be flying home to Leyte, I won’t be here on Christmas day.”
Thanks to metallic berries and faceted balls, it’s as if Almeria never left out the Christmas lights at all. These reflective elements give his tree that added sparkle once he turns on the lone pin light.
“This fairly huge tree would have looked out of place had my area been smaller,” he adds. “That’s why you have to take into account what you have before buying anything.”
Area, however, goes beyond a room’s height and size. No matter what motif you go for, the house’s style and its furniture and accent pieces also play a big role in your motif choice.
“You must know the motif that goes best with your house,” says Almeria. “If your place is minimalist, go for a minimalist setup. If you like a European-inspired theme to go with ornate furniture pieces, then go for it.”
Make sure you confine it to specific time and place in Europe, he cautions. As for mixing inspirations, Almeria finds nothing wrong with it, if done properly. But more ambitious and complicated attempts at juxtaposition are best left to professionals.
The same goes with budget. People often equate it simply with money, says Almeria, but it also involves such factors as time and the number of people you can tap to help make your idea of Christmas a reality. Otherwise, be prepared to work until Christmas morning.
“If you want to do it yourself, be sure you have enough time and skills to make it work,” he says. “Whether you work alone or with a group, be sure you have enough materials to work with.”
It’s better to have more pieces, some of which you can choose to keep, than less. Or you can start by investing, for instance, in one basic item—for instance, balls in various sizes, colors and textures.
“You can use them again and again as you beef up your pieces through the years.”
Don’t scrimp on something as integral as the tree itself. Buy one that’s lush and easy to install and keep. A lush tree looks good even with minimal decorations, he says. What’s more, you don’t have to change trees that often.
“A good tree can last you up to five years, even more,” says Almeria. “Choose the umbrella type, which you can split and fold into three sections, and not the detachable type.”
After all is measured and accounted for, Christmas decoration is all about character expression. Apart from enhancing the house, the décor should say something about the owner’s preferences and his or her current state of mind.
It can be anything, from a celestial Christmas with moons and stars to a fantasy one brimming with fairies, dragons and other magical figures. The important thing, he says, is to stick to a theme you like or that best reflects your mood this season and work on it.
“In my case, I wanted to project all that freshness and abundance that can be found on a farm,” says Almeria. “The challenge for me was how to make the look fresh and Christmas-y without being predictable.”
GREEN ON GREEN. Almeria uses clusters of green balls, in different shades and textures, the occasional copper, and woven hats and baskets.
TEXTURE. Almeria designed this colorless Nativity scene from a single piece of stone, which he treated in different ways to give texture to each piece.
INTERIOR designer and Leyte native Leo Almeria goes back to his roots with a farm-inspired Christmas
DON’T forget the belen. Almeria has three Nativity scenes in his house, underscoring his belief that Christmas is all about the Christ Child.
Tags: christmas
