The Real Living Makeover
Eeeee! I've been wanting to blog about this for months! But the magazine editors asked us not to post photos on the internet until the March issue came out. Well, it's out! And Michelle got a copy yesterday (which I've been hoarding ever since! Sorry, Che.) And now I finally finished reading the the magazine from cover to cover, there is nothing left to do but to post some pics on my blog.
But first, an intro. It was maybe two or three years ago that I started visualizing a new home for me and my family. I wanted to employ the tenets of The Secret and use my visualization skills to envision our perfect home. I told myself I would make a vision board, and subscribe to home magazines and then put together a scrapbook of pictures from newspapers, magazines and flyers of things I'd like for my home, colors, furniture, etc. Because I read in a book, if you do this while you're still saving, by the time you're ready to buy or build a house, you just have to show your scrapbook to your decorator and they will know exactly what you want.
Can you tell I was pregnant at the time? Yes, I probably was. These hormones tend to give you visions of color palettes and furniture and design styles and and all sorts of things you never really think of when you're single, or not pregnant. Anyway, OF COURSE I didn't make a vision wall. Much less make a scrapbook. But what I did was watch decorating shows on Lifestyle EVERYDAY, over and over, kahit replay, pinanonood ko ulit. And I subscribed to Real Living Magazine. I looked at all the decor magazines on the rack and found that Real Living was the only one I would actually read cover to cover. It was about real homes, not fancy schmancy mansions that required top designers to put together. Plus it was super affordable. Just over a thousand pesos for a whole year's subscription. That's just a pair of jeans and two blouses I could do without. And true enough, since I subscribed, I would eagerly await each issue every month, read each magazine from cover to cover, and take note of every room I liked, and dismissed the ones I didn't.
And then, about this same time last year, Real Living announced its Ultimate Makeover Contest. See, they feature a room makeover for each issue, but once a year, they have an Ultimate Makeover where they renovate 3 or 4 rooms in a house. Last year, they fixed up a WHOLE HOUSE! Anyway, when I saw this I was like, OhmyGod! Mom has to join! Cause she's been wanting and wanting to fix up the house in Katipunan but didn't really know what to do about it. She's asked me what could be done, and asked to maybe ask a decorator for help, but nothing has really happened. Of course, I would have wanted to join the contest myself, but I liked my house in Sampaloc just fine, and I knew we were going to get a new house soon (cause I've been visualizing, remember?). So I showed her my magazine, emailed her the mechanics, basically hounded her to join this ultimate makeover thing cause I knew, I just KNEW if my Mom joined she would win. Eventually. Anyway, it costs nothing but an email to join. So she had nothing to lose.
She joined last May 2009, just before deadline. And the Ultimate Makeover issue came and went so obviously she didn't win that. (I wasn't surprised cause she only entered one room in to the contest, not the whole house). But last December, she received an email that her entry was shortlisted. Soon, a designer came over to look at the room she wanted fixed, and the next thing you knew, they were emptying the room of all the kalat and then workers came and then a camera crew came with stylists and editors and then, TADA! Free new room with magazine feature for Ayo!
You're all going to have to buy the March issue to see the rest of the article. But needless to say, we were all very happy with the way the makeover turned out. My mom was a bit apprehensive in the middle of the process, since they didn't seem to be building enough shelving for all my brothers' stuff (all my brothers still keep stuff in this room, even if two out of the three don't really live there anymore, at least not right now), but they fixed that and my Mom was happy.
I know I wasn't the one who actually fixed Ayo's room, I wasn't even the one who joined the contest, but I can't help but feel I can claim a little credit for my baby brother's "new" room. I think the space you live in can really affect the way you live your life. If you're surrounded by kalat, your life will be ma-kalat. But if your home is a beautiful place that you are proud of, then you will inevitably live a better life. Naks. Narinig ko yan kina Oprah and Nate. Hehe.
Of course, it's been over a month since these photos were taken. And Ayo being a Lapid, OF COURSE all this neatness no longer exists. But it's still better than it looked before and I comfortably hang out in his room with my kids when we visit the house in Katipunan.
Now, since this makeover, my mom has been on a mission to clear out and fix up each room in the house one at a time. And I was so inspired I spent a couple of sleepless night designing my sister Ia's room in my head. It was so bad, I had to draw up some sketches of how I thought it should look so that I could sleep at night. And some of my ideas, they liked, some were tweaked, and my Mom has been working on Ia's room for a few weeks now. Once she finds the time to stow away all her stuff, I'm sure to take some photos and post them here. And when that's done, I'll be sure to post pics again.
In my own home I'm also working on what was formerly known as the Mess Room. It's not messy anymore so I gave myself license to furnish it as an office/library. The furnishings are coming next week and after they arrive, I can properly decide on accessories, like a rug, and picture frames, etc. The only challenge I'm foreseeing is that it's getting harder and harder for me to walk and shopping is turning into a chore. So now I only want to go where I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for without wandering around for hours.
I can't believe sumusuko ako sa shopping.
Henihoo, everybody get the March issue of Real Living! Not only will you see a pic of my mom and Ayo in it, you'll see the promo mechanics for the Ultimate Makeover Contest. And you never know, you could be the next winner. ;-)
Congrats Mom and Ayo! (And Carlo and Norman na rin. hehe.)
But first, an intro. It was maybe two or three years ago that I started visualizing a new home for me and my family. I wanted to employ the tenets of The Secret and use my visualization skills to envision our perfect home. I told myself I would make a vision board, and subscribe to home magazines and then put together a scrapbook of pictures from newspapers, magazines and flyers of things I'd like for my home, colors, furniture, etc. Because I read in a book, if you do this while you're still saving, by the time you're ready to buy or build a house, you just have to show your scrapbook to your decorator and they will know exactly what you want.
Can you tell I was pregnant at the time? Yes, I probably was. These hormones tend to give you visions of color palettes and furniture and design styles and and all sorts of things you never really think of when you're single, or not pregnant. Anyway, OF COURSE I didn't make a vision wall. Much less make a scrapbook. But what I did was watch decorating shows on Lifestyle EVERYDAY, over and over, kahit replay, pinanonood ko ulit. And I subscribed to Real Living Magazine. I looked at all the decor magazines on the rack and found that Real Living was the only one I would actually read cover to cover. It was about real homes, not fancy schmancy mansions that required top designers to put together. Plus it was super affordable. Just over a thousand pesos for a whole year's subscription. That's just a pair of jeans and two blouses I could do without. And true enough, since I subscribed, I would eagerly await each issue every month, read each magazine from cover to cover, and take note of every room I liked, and dismissed the ones I didn't.
And then, about this same time last year, Real Living announced its Ultimate Makeover Contest. See, they feature a room makeover for each issue, but once a year, they have an Ultimate Makeover where they renovate 3 or 4 rooms in a house. Last year, they fixed up a WHOLE HOUSE! Anyway, when I saw this I was like, OhmyGod! Mom has to join! Cause she's been wanting and wanting to fix up the house in Katipunan but didn't really know what to do about it. She's asked me what could be done, and asked to maybe ask a decorator for help, but nothing has really happened. Of course, I would have wanted to join the contest myself, but I liked my house in Sampaloc just fine, and I knew we were going to get a new house soon (cause I've been visualizing, remember?). So I showed her my magazine, emailed her the mechanics, basically hounded her to join this ultimate makeover thing cause I knew, I just KNEW if my Mom joined she would win. Eventually. Anyway, it costs nothing but an email to join. So she had nothing to lose.
She joined last May 2009, just before deadline. And the Ultimate Makeover issue came and went so obviously she didn't win that. (I wasn't surprised cause she only entered one room in to the contest, not the whole house). But last December, she received an email that her entry was shortlisted. Soon, a designer came over to look at the room she wanted fixed, and the next thing you knew, they were emptying the room of all the kalat and then workers came and then a camera crew came with stylists and editors and then, TADA! Free new room with magazine feature for Ayo!
You're all going to have to buy the March issue to see the rest of the article. But needless to say, we were all very happy with the way the makeover turned out. My mom was a bit apprehensive in the middle of the process, since they didn't seem to be building enough shelving for all my brothers' stuff (all my brothers still keep stuff in this room, even if two out of the three don't really live there anymore, at least not right now), but they fixed that and my Mom was happy.
I know I wasn't the one who actually fixed Ayo's room, I wasn't even the one who joined the contest, but I can't help but feel I can claim a little credit for my baby brother's "new" room. I think the space you live in can really affect the way you live your life. If you're surrounded by kalat, your life will be ma-kalat. But if your home is a beautiful place that you are proud of, then you will inevitably live a better life. Naks. Narinig ko yan kina Oprah and Nate. Hehe.
Of course, it's been over a month since these photos were taken. And Ayo being a Lapid, OF COURSE all this neatness no longer exists. But it's still better than it looked before and I comfortably hang out in his room with my kids when we visit the house in Katipunan.
Now, since this makeover, my mom has been on a mission to clear out and fix up each room in the house one at a time. And I was so inspired I spent a couple of sleepless night designing my sister Ia's room in my head. It was so bad, I had to draw up some sketches of how I thought it should look so that I could sleep at night. And some of my ideas, they liked, some were tweaked, and my Mom has been working on Ia's room for a few weeks now. Once she finds the time to stow away all her stuff, I'm sure to take some photos and post them here. And when that's done, I'll be sure to post pics again.
In my own home I'm also working on what was formerly known as the Mess Room. It's not messy anymore so I gave myself license to furnish it as an office/library. The furnishings are coming next week and after they arrive, I can properly decide on accessories, like a rug, and picture frames, etc. The only challenge I'm foreseeing is that it's getting harder and harder for me to walk and shopping is turning into a chore. So now I only want to go where I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for without wandering around for hours.
I can't believe sumusuko ako sa shopping.
Henihoo, everybody get the March issue of Real Living! Not only will you see a pic of my mom and Ayo in it, you'll see the promo mechanics for the Ultimate Makeover Contest. And you never know, you could be the next winner. ;-)
Congrats Mom and Ayo! (And Carlo and Norman na rin. hehe.)