Comfort zone

The signs are all around us. People working like slaves, juggling three or four jobs even. High-tech gadgets that are supposed to make our lives simpler and more efficient but are also preventing us from closely interacting with one another. Disposable stuff that this throw-away society has come to love because it’s so convenient, never mind if our garbage problem has reached gargantuan proportions (for all we know, the moon may be the next dump site if we don’t get to lick this problem). Stressful, huh, and to think that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

While tolerating the onslaught of this highly stressful lifestyle, people have started looking for ways to cope to preserve their sanity. Health stores have opened left and right, gym enrollment has tripled over the last few years, spas have mushroomed all around. Hey, even fastfood outlets have started offering greens. People are longing for a refuge, a safehouse if you will, from life’s daily stresses.

On the homefront, while living spaces differ, the desire to go back to the basics is evident all around the world. Unconsciously perhaps, people are tired of seeing drab, lifeless gray buildings and concrete. And so they’d rather see nature’s greens, yellows and reds, the sky’s blues and whites, and the earth’s browns and gold.

Well, people who trooped to the recently concluded Disenyo Manila: Philippine International Furniture Show at the World Trade Center organized by the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines certainly got a high when they saw the kinds of furniture that are currently in demand in the international scene. The organizers obviously had done their research well and were able to get the message across – that it’s high time for us to go back to simple, stress-free living, for our health’s sake.

For lifestyle designer PJ Arañador, who was responsible for setting up four clusters at the WTC and Philtrade lobbies, the whole thing is about wellness and well-being. It’s all about stylish simplicity combined with functionality.

According to Arañador, the outside world has become so chaotic that they thought of offering people an alternative lifestyle. "So we thought of creating the spa philosophy in the home," he offers. "People are trying to get away from technology and manmade subversion. We’re seeing what is called a cocooning lifestyle characterized by people trying to escape from the world temporarily."

And, indeed, what better place to do that than at home where a stressed out person can just chill and not care about the world at least for a few hours. And hey, it’s cheaper too.

This year’s furniture collection, says Aranador, is all about comfort. The pieces are built low, have wider seats, deeper backrests and use lots of cushion. "They give you a feeling of stability, of being grounded and therefore, more relaxed," he says, adding that the wider seats are intended for sharing between two people. Thus, more personal interaction and closeness that neither cell phones nor the Internet could ever offer. No virtual world here, just plain old reality.

The form veers away from the strictly masculine and linear but is graceful and flows around the soft edges, lending an almost Zen-like quality to the pieces. Gone are the bulky tendencies; instead, what you have is something light and breezy, and clean, uncomplicated lines. Arañador says they are offering four color bundles or palettes, divided into Rustic Classic, Effervescence, Harmony and Humility. The colors range from down-to-earth brown tones, to vibrant tropical hues of nature, among others.

The all-natural theme extends to the materials used. Cane, metal, leather, seagrass, abaca and wood all contribute to a contemporary yet Old World feel of the pieces. As Arañador explains, any natural material when combined with metal, becomes contemporary. But unlike other collection that tries hard to be contemporary, this one is tastefully done with mere touches of metal in the most unpretentious way.

The designs somehow take you back to those dreamy times growing up in your grandmother’s house. The white cloth mosquitero, now draped over a gazebo-type living room, somehow reminds you of those cool breezy mornings in your grandmother’s home. The dulang, a very low table used in Tagalog provinces in the old days, makes you think of a wooden Japanese table where traditional tea ceremonies are often held. And, in consideration for the so-called "gray market", furniture makers have added a cushioned rocking chair, inspired by our very own butaca, in the living room.

The art of recycling, fortunately, hasn’t been lost to these furniture designers and makers. In the Papelan booth, recycled paper and shell have been transformed into fascinating vases, corner lamps and decorative materials. According to the company’s Tristan Ampil, Papelan began as a handmade paper manufacturing company 13 years ago, and is now exporting to Europe.

Another company, Iloilo-based Passad uses the very common gemelina wood and carves it into décor and accent pieces. What’s interesting is that their design, which follows a theme on forms and lines, looks like microchips at first glance. According to designer Gary Custodio, they are also looking into recycling retaso, or shavings from wood, which they could carve into other pieces.

Arañador explains that the country’s history, exposure and openness to a variety of cultures make us highly skillful in interpreting western design. "But this doesn’t mean we have to rest on our laurels. There are around 4,000 Filipino designers now working in China and because of this, they are catching up," he says, adding that we are still the best when it comes to wicker design.

But as far as Arañador is concerned, it all boils down to simplification. The less complicated the design is, the better. But don’t be fooled. He says that the simplest is still the most difficult to design, for it will demand painstaking patience and skill, one that machines will never be able to duplicate. Again, it all boils down to quality over quantity. And taking it a bit further, quality means stopping for a while, taking a deep breath and living a healthy, stress-free lifestyle. Only then are you able to give your best to whatever task is at hand. Yeah, that includes living, as well as furniture-making. After all, everything in this life is interconnected, right?