Tag: interior design

3 things to do when setting up your dining room

Among the spaces in our house, the dining room is the one that’s most often used for gatherings. Whether for intimate family meals or a social occasion with more attendees, the dining room provides the venue and backdrop for shared experiences of eating and conversing with other people.

We all want this room to be comfortable and conducive to memorable times spent eating and talking with family and friends.

Crate & Barrel Dining Room
Crate & Barrel Dining Room

Whether you’re designing your dining room from scratch, or re-designing it to fulfill your evolving needs, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Define your purpose for the dining room.

Are you using it mainly for private family meals and occasions? Or will you be hosting large parties? How often will it be used? Will it perform additional functions such as doubling as a workspace for household working from home or students doing online lessons?

These considerations will influence the type of furnishings that will go into a room such as getting more ornate and high maintenance pieces for more formal setups and more functional, easy to clean and hardy pieces for rooms that will se everyday use, especially by children.

Crate & Barrel Dining Room
Crate & Barrel Dining Room

Light up the space.

As an area for socializing, you want this room to appear bright and ambient. It is often advisable to layer various light sources such as using a chandelier or pendant lights above the dining table supplemented by lamps, sconces and the occasional candles to illumine the space at eye level.

If you are also using the dining room as work/study space, make sure that adequate task lighting is also available.

Crate & Barrel Dining Room
Crate & Barrel Dining Room

Get your flooring right.

The dining room gets a lot of foot traffic and is also the site of many spills and splashes. The floor should not only look good, but it should also be easy to clean and able to stand up to wear-and-tear.

Hard flooring may be best for dining rooms that see a lot of use, particularly for entertaining. Softening touches may be applied to amp up the comfort and coziness through area rugs that add texture and color.

Crate & Barrel Dining Room
Crate & Barrel Dining Room

If you’re shopping for your dining room furniture, fixtures and accessories, check out and get inspired by the awesome selections at Crate & Barrel.

This US-based retail chain specializing in upmarket and artisanal housewares, indoor and outdoor furniture and home accessories has presence in forty-two countries across the globe.

In the Philippines, its stores are located at:

  • Level 3, SM Aura Premier, 26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Landline: +63 2 88934255| Mobile: +63 917 8895667
  • Ground Level, Annex Building, SM Makati, Courtyard Drive, San Lorenzo Village, Makati City. Landline: +63 2 88342780 | Mobile: +63 917 5833573
  • 4th Level, SM Megamall Fashion Hall Building D, Wack-Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong City. Landline: +63 2 89420761 | Mobile: +63 917 8704796

Shop online for Crate & Barrel products through its website and stay updated on its products and offers by following it on Facebook and Instagram.

Photos taken during a store visit at Crate & Barrel’s SM Megamall branch.

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5 things to fix in your bedroom for a blissful slumber

With our very busy lives, we deserve our restful sleep as well.

After all, getting enough sleep has a myriad of health benefits that we simply can’t ignore. These include heightened immunity, prevention of weight gain, as well as improved mood, memory, productivity and heart health.

As a place to rest and restore ourselves, our bedroom needs to be set up and decorated accordingly.

So scan through your bedroom and take note of what you can improve to give yourself a well-deserved blissful slumber.

All Home Libis Store Tour
All Home Libis Store Tour
All Home Libis Store Tour
All Home Libis Store Tour

Bed.

The primary furniture in the room determines much of your comfort as you slumber. The quality of your mattress, pillows and beddings will greatly factor into your sleeping conditions.

Gadgets.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the use of electronic devices at night tend to delay the time that we fall asleep, reducing the total sleep duration. These devices also affect our brains, stimulating our minds and making it harder for us to doze off. The blue light they emit also disrupts our body’s production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep.

Now, it would be highly unlikely for us to ban all our technology from the bedroom but we can pare down our use of them once we enter our sanctuary. We can avoid using them an hour before we go to sleep, place them in drawers to keep them out of sight and resist the urge to reach for them when we wake up at night.

AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom

Lighting.

Light is the key player when it comes to regulating our circadian rhythm, with the darkest possible room cited as the most conducive to sleep. Darkness also reduces potential visual distractions and disruptions to sleep.

To help make your bedroom as dark as possible, consider equipping the room with blackout curtains and a small, low-power lamp. If you still have considerable light in the space which disrupts your sleep, you may want to purchase a comfy yet close-fitting eye mask.

Ventilation and Temperature.

As we enter the hot summer months, proper ventilation and room temperature become even more crucial to catching our Zzzs. Aside from air-conditioning, you can also help cool your room down by using electric fans to circulate air, and creating cross-ventilation within the home by opening or closing doors and windows.

AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom

Scents.

Don’t underestimate the power of your nose. Some fragrances can help promote relaxation which, in turn, makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up the following morning feeling well-rested.

Clean-smelling sheets have been observed to help in promoting comfortable sleep, as well as the use of aromatherapy in the form of essential oils applied to pillows or placed in diffusers. Lavender, rose, roman chamomile, jasmine and ylang-ylang are among those that have been seen to contribute to restful slumber.

Clutter.

In the same way that messy surroundings impede your ability to work at optimum levels, clutter in your bedroom could also prevent you from getting the sleep you need.

Clear out items that do not help you relax by regularly tidying up your bedroom and storing your electronic gadgets and small items in your drawers. Vacuum your bedroom rugs and mattress regularly to get rid of dustmites that trigger allergies.

Ready to set up your room to give you the best kind of sleep?

Shop for bedroom essentials that will help you get to Sleep Town at AllHome.

AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom
AllHome Bedroom

AllHome is the Pinoy’s one-stop shop for all home needs. It offers an extensive range of top-quality home-improvement products such as construction supplies, hardware, appliances, indoor and outdoor furniture, homeware, décor, and even electronic gadgets all under one roof.

Its Metro Manila branches include:

  • Vista Place (Wil Tower), Eugenio Lopez Drive, Brgy. South Triangle, Quezon City
  • E. Rodriguez Jr. Brgy. Bagumbayan, Quezon City
  • Starmall EDSA-Shaw, Ground, Epifanio de los Santos Ave, Mandaluyong
  • Worldwide Corporate Center, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong
  • Vista Mall Taguig, Levi Mariano Ave., Taguig City
  • Vista Mall C5 Extension Road, Quirino Ave. Pulang Lupa Uno, Las Piñas City
  • Vista Mall Las Pinas, CV Starr Ave., Philam Village, Pamplona, Las Pinas

You may also shop conveniently online at allhome.com.ph to take advantage of AllHome’s wide array of original and top-quality items, easy payment methods and fast delivery timelines.

In-store photos taken at AllHome WCC and Libis. Used with permission.

Home accents from AllHome to liven up your spaces

Do you sometimes feel reluctant to bring visitors to your home, thinking that they’ll find your place too blah?

When you leaf through lifestyle magazines, do you find yourself wishing your home is as full of pizzazz as those featured in those pages?

While large furniture pieces may be hard to get rid of or replace, you can easily add a home accessory to your space that will totally change its look.

AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor

Why accessorize your home?

Similar to how, in fashion, the right accessories add personality to a whole outfit, the right home accents can imbue your spaces with your own style and uniqueness.

Accent pieces can impart a seasonal feel to your decor. By choosing accessories that embody the time of the year, you can bring the changing seasons to your home.

AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor

Are you ready to accessorize your home? Here are some sensible rules of thumb to guide your selections:

  • Go for quality over quantity. You don’t need to fill your spaces with as many bric-a-bracs as you can get your hands on. Just go for a few choice pieces that will impart style and uniqueness to your area.
  • Go for pops of color and interesting changes in texture. Accent pieces should add visual interest to the room by providing contrast from large and neutral-colored pieces of furniture.
  • Consider how the pieces fit into the room and with each other. Consider the proportion and scale of the pieces against the space: miniscule figurines in large mantel may just appear like clutter and a large piece of artwork will crowd a small room. To get a feel of how to arrange your accessories, start with the one or two larger pieces (use such items sparingly), then add small ones to fill in the space or achieve balance.

Top Picks from AllHome

The good news is that you won’t have to travel far to get good selections of home accessories: simply drop by your nearest AllHome outlet or shop online at allhome.com.ph.

Check out some of my top picks and see which ones can be worked in to your home.

Plants. Greenery adds freshness to a space, hence the proliferation of indoor plants painstakingly cared for by the resident plantito or plantita in many homes However, if you don’t have the time to care for a real plant, getting artificial plants or preserved flower arrangements is the next best thing.

AllHome Accessories
ATHOME Imogen Decorative Artificial Plant
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
Capiz Vase with Preserved Dried Flowers Frances
Buy Now

Storage items. Tidy up your clutter while injecting some style to the area with chic decorative items that also serve as storage.

AllHome
Y1915 Round Woven Basket with Handle
Buy Now
AllHome
EZ SPACES Triped Storage Basket
Buy Now

Tabletop decor. Add style to the various areas in the house through small but interesting pieces that can be placed on top of surfaces like tables, shelves, racks or mantels.

AllHome Accessories
White Ceramic Vase Face
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
Asahi Digital Clock
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
Candle Bucket Scent Vanilla Tea Lights
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
ELM M-125 LANTERN
Buy Now

Wall decor. Break the monotony of the walls of your room through eye-catching wall-mounted decor or functional items such as clocks or memo boards.

AllHome Accessories
Decorative Wall Décor Metal Flower
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
Wall Art Canvass PR-Flowers 36X24
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
ATHOME Beny Traz Beny Memo Holder
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
ATHOME Ess Kitchen Pan Steak Wall Clock
Buy Now

Mirrors. Want to make a room look bigger or bring in more light to a space? You can do both with strategically placed mirrors.

AllHome Accessories
Rattan Loop Sunburst Decorative Mirror
Buy Now
AllHome Accessories
Mirror Cabinet Organizer with side lock
Buy Now

So when you feel like your home is looking a bit drab or dull, you know that you can always jazz it up with a few well-chosen accents!

About AllHome

AllHome is the Pinoy’s one-stop shop for all home needs. It offers an extensive range of top-quality home-improvement products such as construction supplies, hardware, appliances, indoor and outdoor furniture, homeware, décor, and even electronic gadgets all under one roof.

AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor
AllHome Decor

Its Metro Manila branches include:

  • Vista Place (Wil Tower), Eugenio Lopez Drive, Brgy. South Triangle, Quezon City
  • E. Rodriguez Jr. Brgy. Bagumbayan, Quezon City
  • Starmall EDSA-Shaw, Ground, Epifanio de los Santos Ave, Mandaluyong
  • Worldwide Corporate Center, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong
  • Vista Mall Taguig, Levi Mariano Ave., Taguig City
  • Vista Mall C5 Extension Road, Quirino Ave. Pulang Lupa Uno, Las Piñas City
  • Vista Mall Las Pinas, CV Starr Ave., Philam Village, Pamplona, Las Pinas

You may also conveniently shop online at allhome.com.ph to take advantage of AllHome’s wide array of original and top-quality items, easy payment methods and fast delivery timelines without leaving your home.

In-store photos taken at AllHome WCC and product images taken from allhome.com.ph. Used with permission.

Guidebooks for DIY room glowups from Sophia Calima

With all the time we have been spending at home lately, we have probably noted some areas for improvement already.

To give us a feeling of control over our environment, many of us are likely to have been tempted to makeover some of the rooms we frequent in the house.

As luck would have it, doing so by ourselves may not be too hard, especially with the guidance of interior designer Sophia Calima.

Having completed her Interior Design degree from the renowned Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan, Italy, Manila-born Sophia set about finding synergy between modern, western and eastern sensibilities. After honing her talents with stints with with Susan Fredman Design Group Chicago, Droulers Architecture Milan, Lor Calma and Partners Manila, The I.D. Dept Singapore, and Kenneth Cobonpue Cebu, she gained design chops that earned her the moniker “Home Designers That Should be on Your Radar” from Mega Publishing.

She recently launched a book series which is comprised of handy digital guidebooks targeting homeowners who want to make their design goals a reality.

Sophia Calima e-books

Sophia Calima e-books

Sophia Calima e-books

These e-books showcase tips on measuring spaces properly, layout planning for good flow, choosing pleasing color schemes and putting all elements together to transform existing home spaces towards their real purpose such as:

Making the Living Room an inviting place to gather together with loved ones and share meaningful moments

Arranging the Bedroom as a place of respite where people can rest and recharge

And for those who have shifted to working from home, setting up the Home Office to be a place for focus and creativity.

To get your copies of these highly informative e-books, download from SophiaCalima.com at Php350 per book.

Sophia also offers eDesign, an affordable alternative to end-to-end design services wherein consultations, custom design, tips and shopping lists are all provided online with no need for the interior design team to step into the house. This service is ideal for DIYers or clients on a budget as well as those who want to limit physical access to their household spaces in accordance to quarantine restrictions.

For more details on eDesign, click here.

Being stuck at home has afforded us the great opportunity to make it the place we truly want to spend time in. Let’s take advantage of this chance and the excellent resources available to accomplish our home design goals.

Disclosure: Complimentary copies of the e-books were provided to facilitate this feature story.

Header photo Credit: Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

Examples of room design taken from Sophia Calima’s Instagram.

Tell your tales with Stories and Blossoms’ preserved flower arrangements

Have you ever heard the phrase “say it with flowers?”

This saying is attributed to Boston adman Major Patrick O’Keefe who came up with the slogan during a discussion with former President of the Society of American Florists. While brainstorming on possible slogans for the organization, Penn was said to have remarked “There is nothing you can’t say with flowers – when you send flowers, it says everything,” to which O’Keefe exclaimed “That’s it!”

Stories & Blossoms

For ages, meaning have been attributed to flowers. From the Ottoman Empire’s obsession with tulips to the Victorian era’s interest in floriography, up to the present day’s penchant for using blossoms in home decor, flowers have been used to send messages to their recipients.

Stories & Blossoms

Imagine what you can say with preserved flowers instead. If you haven’t yet considered preserved flowers to beautify your home or to give as gifts, here are ways they trump fresh-cut flowers.

1. They last longer.

The thing with flowers is they tend not to last that long. While fresh-cut flowers can generally last for a week or two, preserved flowers can stay around for up to three years. You won’t have to worry about your home accent or present wilting away too soon.

Stories & Blossoms

2. They cost less.

Fresh cut flower arrangements for delivery usually start at Php700 but preserved flower arrangements can cost as low as half this amount.

Stories & Blossoms

3. They require little maintenance.

Since the preserved flowers are dried, they do not require water to maintain them. Given our climate, you would just need to keep them from dust and moisture so you can enjoy them for a long time.

Stories & Blossoms

4. They don’t trigger pollen-based allergies.

If you’ve always loved the beauty of floral arrangements but get a case of the sniffles every time you’re near them, preserved flowers is the solution to your problem. Preserved flowers no longer have pollen so those who suffer from allergies to this substance can enjoy them safely.

More and more, it seems that preserved flowers are well-suited to today’s minimalist trends in gift-giving and home decor.

Stories & Blossoms

Online flower shop Stories & Blossoms captures not just the needs of times but also the stories behind every emotion, celebration and milestone that call for its tasteful preserved flower arrangements.

Through the artful combinations of colors, textures and sizes of different blooms, it helps evoke feelings, memories and thoughts.

Take this Stories & Blossoms creation – called “Little Black Dress” – a 26-inch tall arrangement that incorporates the Pantone colors of 2021 – Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Grey – as well as my favorite color, Black. This imbued a combined sense of brightness, serenity and hope to my home. It also became an eye-catching and elegant centerpiece for my dining table.

Stories & Blossoms

You too can capture and tell your tales with preserved flowers. Just shop online at Stories & Blossoms’ website. Arrangements are priced starting at Php299. To know more about its newest arrangement creations and offers, like and follow Stories & Blossoms on Facebook or call +63 967 5099050.

Disclosure: A product sample was provided to facilitate this feature article.

New to being a plantita? Keep these tips in mind

Are you a plantita yet?

During quarantine, it seems that people all started cultivating houseplants. This is hardly surprising because plants do contribute to beautifying a space by providing spots of color or unique touches to the area. Since most of us are spending practically all our time at home, we are seized with the urge to improve the visual appeal of our abode with the use of houseplants.

Plantita Tips

Aside from their aesthetic contributions to our homes, houseplants also help in maintaining our health.

Some houseplants have known medicinal benefits. Aloe vera, for example, has been used to treat burns and skin, while the root of the ginger plant is used to help with digestion and nausea.

Plantita Tips

Aside from these, houseplants also help in maintaining our mental well-being. They give off a calming vibe that eases our stresses. Plants help to bring the outdoors into the home by reminding us of nature and wide open spaces. Also, since plants give off oxygen while taking in carbon dioxide, they help in improving air quality in our home.

Plantita Tips

If you’re a newbie plantita (or plant-parent), you might want to keep these tips in mind to make sure you get to enjoy your plant-babies, and their health benefits, for a long time.

1) Have the basics on-hand.

Plants basically need three things to grow and thrive: soil, sunlight and water. The availability of these requirements in your home should determine which plants you will choose and what gardening method you will employ.

Plantita Tips

If you have a large outdoor space for a garden, for example, you have the leeway to opt for larger plants that need lots of sunlight and soil. If you live in a condo, on the other hand, a smaller potted plant that does not require constant sunlight might be more appropriate.

2. Check your lifestyle.

Some people may have lots of time to devote to gardening and can take on plants with exacting care requirements.

Plantita Tips

Other may not have time in abundance, plants that are low maintenance may be the order of the day.

Plantita Tips

Luckily, there are products now available that help make plant care a lot easier such as self-watering systems and misters.

You might also want to consider if you have family members or pets that you may not always be able to control around houseplants. Pets may dig the soil from potted plants or chew on leaves, making themselves sick. Meanwhile, small children might pull off flowers or knock down potted plants.

Bearing in mind how much time and effort you can devote to the care of your houseplants, as well as the other living things that share the space with them, choose the ones that suit your lifestyle best.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

The plantita/plantito community in the country is growing and many of its members are more than happy to share best practices and useful advice to newbie plant owners. Search Facebook for groups on plants and gardening where you can post questions and ask for advice.

Your local plant nurseries are also good sources of information and equipment for plant care. Just ask the gardener about plant care tips.

You can also brush up on your plant care know-how by reading books or browsing plant care websites.

Being a plantita has its own unique rewards. Seeing your plant-baby grow and flourish will surely feel akin to a big accomplishment.

So with these tips in your plantita arsenal, you can face your plant ownership journey head on and enjoy the happiness it brings.

This post contains affiliate links.

Photos of plant nursery taken at D’Flora’s Garden along Katipunan Road, White Plains Subdivision, Quezon City.

4 reasons to update your home furniture over the holidays

The holiday season and the transition to a new year presents us with many reasons to makeover our homes.

Updating our home furniture is a great way to usher in some good vibes over the holidays and gear us up to face the new year.

If you find yourself vacillating on whether to replace your old furniture with new ones, here are reasons that should get you started:

1) You get to update your home’s style.

Your style preferences – may it be modern, minimalist, shabby chic or retro – may have changed over the past year and replacing your old furniture will allow your home to be more in line with your personal style.

Also, you wouldn’t want to present your holiday visitors with stained or run-down furniture, would you? Getting new pieces will help you come up with a more presentable home for hosting get-togethers.

2) You get ensure your family’s continued comfort.

Your little ones may have outgrown their old beds or the couch may be sagging in places. Updating your furniture will allow you and your family to enjoy that feeling of solace and relaxation again which is what being home for the holidays is all about.

3) You get to maximize your home’s available space.

Replacing your old pieces with dual-purpose or space-saving furniture may improve your home’s flow and use of space.

4) You get to take advantage of awesome sales.

If you’re worried that doing a home makeover will put a strain on your budget, well, fret not.

From December 13 to 15, Sogo Home and Office Center will hold an Installment Madness in its 15 branches where furniture shoppers can avail of 0% interest on installment for a minimum purchase of Php12,000 using any major credit card.

SOGO Installment Madness

With this promo, buyers can update the pieces in their living room…

SOGO Installment Madness

SOGO Installment Madness

… dining room…

SOGO Installment Madness

SOGO Installment Madness

… bedroom…

SOGO Installment Madness

SOGO Installment Madness

and more!

PLUS Buy Now Pay 2020 offer on all major credit cards will also be available.

SOGO Home and Office Center has been providing furniture at Everyday Low Prices since the early 1990’s. Today, it boasts of over 15 locations in Metro Manila and nearby provinces that offer everything you need for your home at incredibly low prices. From room packages, Buy 1 Take 1 Deals and great offers across furniture categories such as sofas, dining sets, beds & mattresses, decors and office furniture, SOGO Home and Office Center has everything you need for your home.

True to its tagline “Everyday Low Prices” SOGO Home and Office Center makes sure that it’s always affordable to furnish your home. Payment options through cash, card installment or even financing aim to help young professionals that are starting to build their dream houses, newly married couples that starting new family and even those families that are renovating their homes.

For more details, visit its website to check more of Sogo’s products or you visit any of its branches near you.

METRO MANILA BRANCHES:

4F 168 SHOPPING MALL, MANILA CITY
Tel# 8-708-4932 Cp# 09369912289

LGF ALIMALL CUBAO, QUEZON CITY
Tel# 8-912-6603 Cp# 09369912288

2F DOÑA CONCEPCION BLDG. ARNAIZ AVE., SAN LORENZO MAKATI CITY
Tel# 7-728-5760 Cp# 09369912295

2F AYALA MALLS MARIKINA CITY
Tel# 8-638-1004 Cp# 09266565721

LGF AYALA MALLS SOUTH PARK, ALABANG MUNTINLUPA CITY
Tel# 8-541-1270 Cp# 09055196370

2F CW HOME DEPOT COMMONWEALTH, QUEZON CITY
Tel# 8-277-6935 Cp# 09173465637

Level 3, AYALA MALLS CIRCUIT, MAKATI CITY
Tel# 8-425-2430 Cp# 09770971985

LGS RIVERGREEN RESIDENCES, STA. ANA, MANILA CITY [EXHIBIT]
Tel# 8-523-1449 Cp# 09770971987

4F ROBINSONS METRO EAST, PASIG CITY
Tel# 8-647-5901 Cp# 09369912290

2F ROBINSONS FORUM, MANDALUYONG CITY
Tel# 8-687-9816 Cp# 09369912291

2F ZABARTE TOWN CENTER, CALOOCAN CITY
Tel# 8-962-4186 Cp# 09369912292

PROVINCIAL BRANCHES:

3F ROBINSONS GALLERIA SOUTH, SAN PEDRO LAGUNA (NEW)
Tel# 8-353-6598 Cp# 09959609219

GF ROBINSONS PLACE DASMARIÑAS CAVITE
Tel# 8-425-0791 Cp# 09154080962

4F ROBINSONS PLACE IMUS CAVITE
Tel# 8-425-0783 Cp# 09266680727

2F CW HOME DEPOT IMUS CAVITE
Tel# 8-245-9497 Cp# 09055196332

Promo details provided by SOGO Home and Office Center in a recent press release.

Resikleta Project brings new life to old and broken bike parts

For many of us Gen X’ers, learning how to ride a bike was an integral part of childhood. Summers and sunny afternoons after school won’t be complete without taking our trusty old bikes for a spin around the village… or beyond (we just don’t let our moms know, right?).

While some bikes have been well-maintained, even getting passed on to the next generation of bikers, some bicycles are relegated to just rusting away in garages or sheds.

Sasha Garcia, co-founder of the Resikleta Project, seeks to breathe new life to scrap materials coming from old bikes and other discarded items.

According to Sasha, sourcing materials for her projects is not a problem.

“Here in the Philippines, we have an abundance in scraps,” she acknowledges. In fact, together with Resikleta’s co-founder, Kayumanggi Abutan, she scours vulcanizing shops for old or broken-down bike parts rendered unusable for their original purpose. The Resikleta Project team then creatively fashions new and more serviceable items from them.

You would be surprised at what can be forged from old bike parts. For example, seemingly warped disk brake rotors can be made into offbeat table lamps and clocks that would suit most spaces with a modern or steampunk aesthetic. Prices for these items start at Php600.

View this post on Instagram

Lamp by @resikleta. Photograph by @manong_chris.

A post shared by Sasha Garcia (@sashimakes) on

The bikes’ rubber interior wheels can be fashioned into cute keychains and mobile phone cord organizers. These are essentials that have room in many a girl’s purse. Prices for these tchotchkes start at Php50.

View this post on Instagram

🐶🐶

A post shared by Sasha Garcia (@sashimakes) on

The spokes from bike wheels can be made into bangles, bracelets and other fashion accessories, with prices starting at Php100.

Resikleta also took part in the design and creation of trophies for The Climate Reality Project PH’s Leadership Awards ceremony.

And given that most of Resikleta’s outputs are dependent on the availability of scrap materials, the resulting products are often one-of-a-kind.

Fashioning usable and beautiful items from bike scraps has some rewards. Since most of the materials can be obtained cheaply or even for free, very little capital is required.

There’s also the additional feeling of fulfillment at seeing your creations find new purpose.

However, for Sasha, the most rewarding aspect of the Resikleta Project is its contribution to zero waste initiatives.

“When you go looking for scraps, you grow to appreciate what the world has to offer and the need to care for and preserve the earth,” she further shares. “Rather than just throw away used or broken-down items, you have the awareness to try to think of creative ways to use them, to repurpose them and even earn from them.”

For orders, collaboration requests and inquiries, contact the Resikleta Project through the following touchpoints:

– Facebook
– Instagram
– email: resikleta@gmail.com
– mobile: +63 923 9079004

Photos lifted from the instagram accounts of the Resikleta Project, Sasha Garcia and Kayumanggi Abutan.