Rustic Appeal of Bricks and Wood

Recently we went out for a swim in Calamba, Laguna and then tried this posh eatery before going home. I thought it would be boring to have dinner here, but I was excited about some of its interior design details.

I've always been excited about bricks and wood when it comes to Pinoy architecture ideas. Again, it gives you a mountain cabin feeling even while you're in the midst of the hassle and bustle of the metropolis. And it's perfect for a touch and effect of antiquity and archaic eras. With the right blend and rendition, seeing bricks and woods in design takes you back centuries ago, with an air of the good old days when lolo and lola used to be young people.

Recently we went to this classy restaurant along C5 road where I thought old-style spaghetti alone was served. I was wrong and shocked. I saw various delectable food items in the menu lineup. And the place was terrific! The interior managed to lend the place a measure of royalty. I took time to appreciate the wall antique decors on the corners of the ceiling, and together with the bricks and wood and the subdued lighting, everything looked elegant.

For HOUSEpinoy, there is subtle beauty and attraction in the right mix of bricks and wood and lighting. If you add to that the display of other antique furnishings--like the archaic steel chairs I saw in this restaurant--there suddenly comes an atmosphere of palatial wonder, like a flash of mansion scenes from the Spanish era. I also took notice of the sword, hatchets, shield, and the mosaic lamps--nice touches for a total medieval look.

I love bricks and wood in houses, too. There's always a rustic appeal created by the combination of the two elements. There's a fresh ambiance and the place seems cooler. And quite amazingly, there's always a touch of mystery about. I would love to line up my wood planked wall with my favorite books on an attached shelf. Then, perhaps, a fire place below where fresh meat can be grilled? Of course, this is in the vicinity of the kitchen and dining room. I love reading while cooking or eating.

My grandmother used to have those antique steel chairs with twisted steel bars for supports. I don't know what happened to them, but when I was a kid I used to enjoy sitting on them. My uncles would pile them one over the other and step on the topmost to reach something up the ceiling. They were handy antique chairs. This restaurant applied some upholstery on the sitting surface and that added to its elegance. I couldn't help but take pictures of them.

Bricks and wood and lighting and antiques. I'd consider them the next time I design an interior. The concept is not just for restaurants. I think it's also perfect for living and dining rooms, small lobbies, and vacation houses.

Showcase in Wood

Relishing the enchanting sight of wood, especially natural and polished wood! I'd always go for wooden furnishings and interior design elements, more than steel or plastic. Wood connects your inner urge for things natural and feeds the yearning for nature within.

This summer 2011, I went to different provinces in the Philippines. I was amused by the various interior designs in wood with the amazing unique imagination of their designers. Wood is really a great relaxing sight in edifices and a great break from the usual tiring sights of the city concrete jungle. I hope you enjoy this short showcase in wood. By the way, the photo above is a wooden dining set in a posh restaurant in Tagaytay.

The beauty of wood is that it reminds you of nature, and thus of the goodness of God. And all that amounts in one's soul refreshment. Concrete reminds you of man's technology. Well, sometimes, that's also nice to remember, but then you also think of how man's technology has been destroying ecology and nature and how an all-concrete city landscape has turned our metropolis into a huge oven.

Then you see wood in a design, and it immediately refreshes your mind like you get a good splash of cool mountain spring water on your face. The beauty of wood really evokes mental relaxation in you. Thus, when I see a sightful showcase in wood I have the tendency to give it a good look and even turn my head to look at it more. Like when we were in Tagaytay and there were these makeshift shops of wooden furniture along the road. Simply fascinating!

An amazing showcase in wood backgrounded in a scene of nature is even better. I was captivated by the scene above and had it taken--a wooden mountain cabin overlooking a background scene of Taal lake and adjacent hills. The sight helped you quickly switch to a pensive mood.

There was this rest room in one of Tagaytay's businesses we saw that featured a small manual water pump on its lavatory instead of a usual modern faucet. It was simply amazing. I wish to have something like that in my kitchen and bathroom. The lavatory itself was like one of those China wares my mom and grandma used to keep in their China cabinet. All around the room were wood designs reminding you of rustic settings.

And then there was this ceiling design made of rough but varnished tree branches placed horizontally like grills covering the ceiling. It was simple and yet it easily suggested an exotic ambiance. The side railings were also of rough but varnished branches, and the whole place overlooked some mountains in Tagaytay.

If you'd look at the dining table and chairs in the picture above, they are heavy, thick planks of wooden timber, polished and varnished. The effect was a wonderful appetite for grilled native food menus and natural fruit drinks, although the latter was not available. So we settled on bottled mineral water.

But this is not to say that wood is only good for a rustic and rural look. Wood also goes well with modern design, as we enjoyed it in our stay in one of Tagaytay's posh conference hotels--what I call Confetels. One look and the overall design made us feel at ease, ready to plunge on the cushioned beds. The darkly varnished wood furnishings matched with the light colors of the room. It created a light ambiance suggesting that you forget about the job you left behind in the city for a while.

Umm, that's my Word disciple, Toots, wondering why I was taking pictures of the toilet entrance. The rest room was comfy enough and the inserted study nook in the picture was perfect for conference delegates. Oh, and yes, I was delighted to see the wooden cabinet that smelled of mountain pines.

Wood is charming, more so when treated with artistic finesse. We should appreciate its quality more and apply it in Pinoy architecture designs, of course with a mind to continually preserving our forests. With structural members embedded in concrete or in ceilings and which are hidden from our sights, we need to opt for steel design. But with design elements naked to the eyes, we need to consider more the elegance of solid, polished wood.

Bamboo's Refreshing Appeal

Whenever I see bamboo--tree, furnishing, or house--it has a refreshing appeal. There's an inner urge to go closer  to see it or try it if it's something built or constructed. Like a bamboo house. Bamboo houses are considered more an entertainment than an actual human abode in most places, but I think more bamboo human habitats ought to be built. Bamboo's refreshing appeal ought to change lots of moods for the better. And that means a better community.

It is observed that bamboo's refreshing appeal creates an atmosphere of:

• Relaxation. At a glance, it powerfully suggests easement of activities, if not utter cessation. It quickly develops an atmosphere of resting, releasing positive energy and enhancing mental de-stressing. 
• Putting defenses down. We're often alert about intellectual and emotional aggression against us, so more people have developed an always-ready defense mechanism wherever they are. But seeing bamboo furnishings or houses like the ones in the pictures sometimes can make us put down our guards for a while in appreciation. It is advisable to get some attractive bamboo furnishings in your areas of leisure  study, or where you meet clients.
• Nationalism. Bamboos in the tropics can begin to cultivate a sense of nationalism in you, a quick pride in your heritage and culture, especially in Pinoy architecture ideas. And the good news is, it often brings out a positive kind of Filipinism.
• Meditation. I note most people, when they step into a livable bamboo house or try a bamboo furniture, they immediately assume a pensive mood and then say, "Beautiful!" In that short moment of time they transform from being too mundane or material to being spiritual. At that short interval, they become artists appreciating intangible values.
• Play. Even adults become children with their children.

Bamboo creates a sense of lightness in you and transfers that to your life experience in a glimpse. If you have a heavy heart and come in touch with bamboo, the heaviness often lifts up. I remember the cluster of bamboo in our school premise near a creek when I was a pupil. We'd often go there to refresh after a hectic class. Chemistry was a daunted subjected, and we wished we had it there by the bamboo cluster.

If you can't get along with your spouse, I suggest you both stay in a bamboo house built right beside your house. Spend your nights there. If your kid seems to have problems you cannot understand, get him a bamboo play house. If you have teens you have difficulty understanding, spend overnight camp outs with them in your bamboo house within your property. 

However, problems or no problems, bamboo is among God's gifts to make life happily simpler.

Rich Design Variations
It has lots of varying possible designs you can experiment with. You may render it arched, diagonal, vertical, horizontal, raw, polished, varnished, stripped, logged, matted, or treated with fire for durability and permanence. Some bamboo experts bend, arch and form bamboo in certain forms and make it stay permanently like that by treating with fire.

Some imaginative designers subtly combine bamboo with modern embroidery or upholstery, and the result is a more relaxing and beguiling look raised to the tenth power. I love a bamboo bed or sofa with thick white cushions on them. And if you render the pillows in native tropical design patterns, you have a superb relaxer home furnishing.

Every boy and girl loves bamboo play houses, and I plan to have one in my yard one day--for my boys and their future boys, Godwilling. And I can imagine a huge bamboo house with a large veranda a perfect place for holding my bible studies with my disciples.

It's also advisable to grow bamboo trees in your yard. Having a small cluster would do. It's perfect for relaxing the mind and meditating especially when there's a gentle breeze blowing. Bamboo trees in harmony with the wind creates soothing chuckles.

Here in the Philippines, I think more people should have these houses in their yards. They're perfect not just for relaxation but also for all occasions. And I think interiors should have more of this wood as design feature. In an age of bolstering nationalism in Filipinos, this wood can greatly contribute to this end. If you have growing kids, it's good to expose them to things Filipino, even in the furnishing designs they see around them. We cannot under estimate the power of recall in kids' minds. The more they see native crafts and design elements, the better for their patriotism. These are Pinoy architecture ideas we should consider more.