Perusing Pietro

Visiting all these beautiful homes and appreciating each homeowner’s style has given us joy in beholding such beauty and pleasure in sharing these with you dear readers. It was nice to see Mediterrenean, European, Asian and other interior designs done this way and that, with a bit of eclectic style thrown in for a touch of the owners’ personality.We found out home trends too: that this plant with various names (sefretse, sifritzi, chipritse... can someone tell us its real name?) is the indoor plant of the moment, or that the lowly banana tree makes a cool indoor shrub as well. And that there are other local (young) artists worth investing in apart from Malang, Anita Magsaysay Ho and Ang Kiu Kok and of course, the usual dead painters.

But then something happened. Slowly but surely, an awareness of our own home surroundings became apparent. Before, after a day out on our Metro’s dusty roads, and at sundown, we were quite content to head for la casa de familia to kick off our shoes and enjoy the comfort of our "hearth" and home. But one day, we were not that happy to be home anymore.Things started looking quite different at the "range." For instance, we started to worry about that downspout’s casing parked at the back of the house which has been there since January, two years ago. After September 11, it is still parked there waiting to be rescued and reinstalled in its rightful place way up on the roof. Suddenly, while looking around, the whole house seemed like ground zero (as in post 9/11 lower Manhattan, NYC) where there were debris and terrorized items lying all over the place. The dining room chairs’ upholstery started looking weird, and only do you realize that it was because the fabric was already in tatters (it was last upholstered 10 years ago). On the unpolished marble floors, the rugs’ intricate designs were no longer visible (never been shampooed since we moved in also 10 years ago). The garden plants looked like they were all rock stars with long unkempt hair and raggedy clothes, the screen doors had holes and... in short, it was bedlam, and a long lamentation ensued. When our heads cleared, we hit the phone book and started a phone brigade to every home improvement service and supplier available on the face of Metro Manila. We hired an upholsterer to re-upholster all the furniture in sight, a janitorial service to crystallize the floor, shampoo the carpets, clean the furniture, a landscape contractor to tame the rock stars in the garden, etc. (This "Linis-Repair-Ganda Bahay" campaign is still in progress as we write this piece and will likely never end, unless Bill Gates builds us a new house.)

Meanwhile, since our check- book has been confiscated and the ATM card hidden somewhere over the rainbow because of this home repair rampage, shopping for some home accessories is in order. So off we went in search of the coolest home décor shops around town. So far, we have cased two great home accessories and furniture stores and will write about these in two installments.

This week, let us visit The Pietro Col-lection, a shop for fine furnishings, antiques, lighting fixtures and home décor. Located on the sixth level of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall, it is an awesome place that caters to all budgets. (We got a handblown giant vase for long stemmed flowers for less than P3,000.) There’s something for everyone: from classic, modern, neo-classic, ethnic, country, funky and art deco. Although Pietro is known for its lighting fixtures, it has now made available Chinese furniture, both antique and reproduction heirlooms in its collection.

We asked the owners (uncle and niece tandem) Tito Pete Estayo and Winnie Rodrigo how they keep their inventory up to date and they revealed that they constantly attend trade shows all over the world to ensure the steady supply of merchandise as they become available on the market. Indeed, customers are surprised when they first enter the store as they are confronted by the many assorted merchandise on the floor. (To think that they even have a warehouse perhaps bigger than the shop with more items stored). The service is also a pleasant experience as both owners are omnipresent at the store to assist and advise customers as they shop.

Pietro also helps local artists by promoting these painters. They maintain a full-sized gallery within the store. Some of their featured talented young painters are Henri Cainglet, Gerardo Ingco and Jojo Lofranco. The gallery also sells framed prints – floral, architectural, abstract, botanical, maps, oriental, children’s, modern, still life and more. If they do not have it on display, just ask for your choice of print and it will most likely be in their warehouse waiting to be delivered.

When visiting this shop, be prepared to stay at least an hour or more. It is pretty much like dropping in on a museum where viewing each item takes at least 10 to 15 minutes minimum. Every piece has a story and if you are a smart shopper, you will want to know where it came from, when it was made, why and how, aside from how much its price tag is.

If you don’t buy anything, don’t worry... like we said, Pietro is like a museum, just perusing their merchandise will teach you a thing or two about history, about geography, or at least about a new design trend. Best time to drop by is after lunch, Tito Pete and Winnie would have had a hearty lunch by then and they will be full of stories to tell as you shop. Enjoy!

To support the economists’ and the government’s campaign for us to "Buy Filipino," next week we will feature a local manufacturer of world-class furniture.

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For comments, letters and suggestions, e-mail Vickie at migasora@yahoo.com.