It takes incredible foresight to be able to mix neo-classical Lladros, Moroccan-tiled doorways, Chinese monkey jars and aged Philippine hardwood, yet still have an arrangement that looks cohesively put together. Then again, if you ran a furniture factory and were a go-to person for interiors, your creativity will know no boundaries when decorating your own home.

Such is the case with the owner of this abode, who first settled into a quaint village in the northern Cebu town of Liloan, to be close to her furniture factory. The house originally occupied one lot but was extended when she purchased the one beside it, creating a bigger canvas for the owner’s out-of-the-box home ideas.

The house’s façade is a standout with the foliage beckoning from behind its white Roman-style fence. It was the owner’s mother, the landscape artist for national monument Luneta Park in the early 1990s, who designed the front yard garden. Other details that set the house apart are its architecture and the contrast between its oxford blue walls and red tile-shingled roofing. Apparently, this play of shapes and colors was only a teaser to what awaited us indoors.

The open terrace, the spiral staircase, the chandeliers and the fountain in a courtyard-esque section of the three-level house reflect a strong Mediterranean aesthetic. The stucco walls in a palette of indigo, cool blue, light pink and warm yellow to mark the divisions between the different areas of the house, and the light that comes in through the vertical windows bounces off the festive colors.

There is the option to dine alfresco in the patio or in the adjacent dining room. The latter has built-in shelves for the owner’s extensive blue and white china collection. In fact, most of the house’s walls have shelf moldings for the owner’s countless collections, which range from porcelain Lladros (that she has been collecting since she was a student) to vintage lamp burners, wooden artifacts, antique jars and trinkets. Even the powder room has an assortment of white antique arinolas on mounted wooden shelves that glow from the sunlight peering through a green stained-glass window.

The indoor dining room opens up to two hallways that lead to the sala, which has two sofa sets—one in red and white and the other a match of brocade with gold trimming, jade and rust orange. There is no hard partition between them, just a large jar on a coffee table filled with fresh birds of paradise and horsetails. This area is a focal point for the house since it is where you start to have a view of the loft-style upper floor. Thus, it is fitting that in the joint where the hallways end—an area also visible from the second level banister—a 1998 painting of National Artist Mauro Malang-Santos or “Malang” is hung. A top executive of a business conglomerate supposedly visited the house a few years back to buy the artwork but the owner decided to hold on to the valuable.

The high ceiling’s wooden panels are very Mediterranean, but there is also a combination of Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, Philippine influences in the furnishings so that the theme of the house has become contemporary eclectic with infusions of the old world. The homeowner displayed her know-how in mixing and matching furniture pieces while incorporating her beloved Lladro figurines. The design process involved a balance of elements so that even if there are a handful of items, they do not look cluttered at all.

As one climbs up the winding staircase, the floors transition from neutral stonewashed tiles to varnished wood. What first catches the eye when you reach the second floor is a backlit cabinet against an entire wall filled with the owner’s porcelain figures and antique finds. The next thing you notice is the terracotta brick wall in the entertainment area that is offset by a burgundy couch with patterned throw pillows. The second level has the master’s bedroom, the entertainment room, a mini-library and two bedrooms, whereas the third level is an attic that has been converted into a game room for the owner’s sixteen-year-old son. The space is consistently open and one need just go around the banister to reach all rooms except for the master’s bedroom, which is directly beside the stairs.

As colorful as the house is, the master’s bedroom is the drastic opposite—the owner chose to go all white, from the lace beddings of her poster bed to the accessories that surround it. Its bathroom has a neo-classical tile mosaic painting in blue and white beside the bathtub. But even with the tame color palette, there are traces of wood and metal, just like in the rest of the house. One may let the imagination run wild with varying motifs for every room but it takes a true expert to refine it with consistency.

by Pia Echevarria photography Genesis Raña