I’ve mentioned how I wanted to build my hubby chef his own modern kitchen and I’ve been looking for some design inspirations.

I initially imagined granite counter tops all over, sleek fixtures like Moen kitchen faucets, high tech LG stoves and giant refs.

Here are a couple of kitchen design ideas I found:

The Grace Kitchen Centre by Schulte Design. This is a really smart design since the stove top is in the center and you’ve got ample space to have your ingredients and condiments on either side. This would also look perfect for our dream cooking show.  ;)

This one’s a chic minimal design I found via Freshome. It  follows the typical style of having the preparation table in the center of the kitchen. I like how its compact structure makes the ref, the stove top and the cabinets fit together.

This is my favorite among the bunch: the Ducale by Arrital Cucine. I love, love the country feel and how the peach walls and white furnishings blend together.

What’s your dream kitchen?

Hubby cooked his special pesto pasta this morning. He read my previous post about getting bored with our usual dinner routine so he whipped up a masterpiece for breakfast.

I love having a personal chef.

Kernie’s such a great cook, he can make up a dish just by estimating ingredients and tasting them. And they end up tasting good too.  One time when I tried to cook, I actually used a recipe and followed the measurements and instructions almost to the letter. It turned out fairly okay and edible.

I guess, just like in gardening, some people naturally have the “tasty thumb” for cooking. And I think if he did pursue it, my Kernie would make a great chef. We’d talk about how he’ll have his own resto some day serving all of his original recipes.

When all my plans push through, I’ll build him a kick ass kitchen with all clad copper core cookware and all those high tech stoves and ovens that chefs use. He’ll make magic in the kitchen everyday cooking sumptuous dishes that will make you forget your name.

Of course, the girls and I will be the happy taste testers and eaters. I imagine we’ll have a blast for every meal of the day.

The only downside to having a hubby who can cook is you can’t ever diet. That’s why I’ve committed to running for life so I can eat and still stay fit.

Hubby always says his dishes are special because of one secret ingredient:

L-O-V-E.

And that, my friends, is an ending full of cheese.

Happy Friday!

I’ve been feeling under the weather lately. I don’t know if it’s my body complaining adjusting to the sudden surge of physical activity or Kernan’s impending trip or the restlessness that comes with having too many things on your to do list. Maybe it’s all of them.

Most nights, I just want to clear my head and relax my body. What I’m visualizing right now: a warm, bubbly, scented soak in a luxurious tub. Chocolate bubbles sound nice. So do soothing instrumentals playing in the background. Heaven.

Of course, I’ve clipped some pics to help me visualize. There are plain walk in bathtubs, there’s ordinary bath tubs and then there’s THE bath tub. For me, it’s the Viaggi Freestanding bath tub from the Maax Collection. It’s sleek and pretty chic.

The design inspirations on their site are really beautiful too. I like the earthy feel of this bathroom. The modern fixtures mixed with the wooden furniture look good together.

This one’s really cool. A bath tub with a view of the ocean looks like the perfect spot to relax and reflect at the same time.

But this one’s my most favorite set – up. I love the whole zen theme plus the pink and purple elements.

Okay, I feel much better already.

When our Holiday – inspired dream house gets built, I will definitely have a tub.

Now off to soak in … work.

Happy Thursday everyone!

I’ve just noticed how the exterior of our apartment looks so sad and bare. We have this little space at the side of our home which I think used to be a garden since there are some potted plants left there by the previous tenant. Now it’s just a garage for the kids’ bike.

I’m thinking a couple of flowers and outdoor décor would brighten up the space and add some color to our surroundings just like these blooming boxes. It’s cool because the flower boxes have a built – in irrigation system so they’re self-watering. See I don’t have a green thumb so that would make the flower-caring part kind of automatic.

I’d love to have some  beautiful pink and red flowers. Orchids also look nice but I heard they’re so high maintenance. I wonder which flowers are pretty but also easy to keep.

Any suggestions?

Isn’t this cute? Once these little balls retire from the ping pong tables, at least they’ve got somewhere else stylish to go.

This is the hanging lamp from Studio Kleefstra. It’s made of 315 celluloid balls held together by a metal frame. The site says the lamp gives off a dotted pattern on its surroundings.

Remember the ping pong dining table? This looks like a good lamp to put over it.

Not to mention, it could be an emergency repository for ping pong balls when the one you’re playing with gets smashed.

I like seeing samples of simple creativity to stimulate my brain. I’m preparing for a bit of a mental challenge this week and I need to get the creative juices flowing.

What do you do to boost your creativity?

The Portabello estate is one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen. I first saw it featured on Oprah in 2006. Back then it was selling for $75 million!

What’s so fascinating about this estate is that everything is curved and rounded. Realtor John McMonigle told Oprah that there is no straight line in the whole house. From the walls to the furniture, everything was made to suit the house’s inspiration: the ocean. The cool part is, this house is being sold as is and fully furnished so whoever buys it can move just right in.

The whole estate is 30,000 square feet. Imagine having your own movie theater with a popcorn stand, a bowling alley with a bar, a dairy cafe, a small diner and even a jeweler’s boutique where you can display family heirlooms.

Best thing of all, you get a view of the Pacific Ocean from all rooms in the home. Wow! If this was my home, I’d probably stay in the whole day and just invite family and friends over.

But for now, this is still my dream home:

It’s Amanda’s home from “The Holiday” movie. I love this house and I want our home to look like this. We still want to live in a safe and strategic community in Quezon City. So far, QC looks like a flood-resistant city. Otherwise, we’d have to build a waterproof dome around our home or get a hefty home insurance.

I’m looking forward to the day when this will really be our home. Soon!

What does your dream home look like?

I’m not too keen on having a basement for our home. There’s something about empty hollow spaces under the house that doesn’t sit well with me. Most of the time, basements end up like attics: storage area and potential dust, dirt, molds and critter gatherer.

But if your basement can be transformed from a bare ordinary space like this:

To a sleek and cool entertainment and workout area like this:

That’s got to be something. As it turns out, basements can be beautiful too.

Found these basement remodeling photos at HGTV. The beautiful basement renovations were done by fabulous interior designer Candice Olson of Divine Design.

Among other basement makeovers, she transformed this cluttered purply plain playroom basement:

Into a chic and comfy lounge:

The thing about windowless basements is it can get humid and it can look so claustrophobic. It maybe good to use a basement dehumidifier. But you can also liven up the room with warm colors to change the vibe. Just like how Candice made over this messy enclosed space:

Into this warm and oh so homey room:

If your basement looks as pretty as these, it might just become a favorite hangout in your home. I think I’ll reconsider having my own.

I remember our pediatrician would always recommend getting a humidifier especially when the kids got colds. The cheaper alternative would be to have a steaming pot of water in a corner of the room. Not such a safe option though for inquisitive toddlers. But if you can invest in a humidifier, Crane looks like your best bet.

Their adorable cool mist humidifiers save you energy because they’re built to be more efficient than your household lightbulb. You and your kids will benefit from the non-medicated cold and cough relief even while you sleep because Crane humidifiers run quietly. Most users mention that the device can be cleaned easily and you won’t even need humidifier filters. And did I mention, they are so, so cute?

Found this Crane Hello Kitty Cool Mist Humidifier at Amazon. It’s so adorable. It’s really cool too as far as boring humidifiers go. This would surely come in handy during the dry cold months. It can hold up to one gallon of water and it’s not only cute, it also does double duty because it’s got a night light built into it too.

If you’re not much of a Hello Kitty fan, try the Crane Nursery Ultrasonic Humidifier in pink. This little bear works well for big rooms (up to 500 sq feet) and it turns off automatically when the tank is empty. She has a blue brother and a yellow sister too.

Crane Nursery Ultrasonic Humidifier - Pink | Blue | Yellow

In case the bears get lonely, you can throw in this friendly little leopard and this smiling red dragon into the mix too.

Crane Cool Mist Humidifier – Leopard | Dragon

You can even have your very own little farm inside your home with well-behaved animals that just keep smiling at you like this cheery duck, charming frog, cool cow and cute pig.

Crane Cool Mist Humidifier Duck | Frog | Cow | Pig

And for little boys, Thomas the Train and Spongebob Squarepants can work as a tag team for some quick breathing relief.

Crane Thomas the Train Cool Mist Humidifier | Crane SpongeBob SquarePants Cool Mist Humidifier

If you’re looking for a cool mist humidifier that can hold more water content, you can opt for the not as cute but just as useful and sleek Crane 2.3 Gallon COOL Mist humidifier. This can work great for other parts of your home where you need a less kiddie – looking humidifier.

If you ask me, I’d still go for the Hello Kitty.

Since we all love to watch movies, one of my dream purchases will definitely be an LCD or HDTV. More than for purposes of viewing pleasure, I am thinking that would be a safer option for the kids since the TV would be mounted on the wall.

Jamaine and Kalia have been falling into the habit of watching too near the screen and I have to keep reminding them to stay away and just sit on the bed instead. I am hoping our kids would have better vision since Kernan and I both wear glasses.

I found these pretty cool TV frames that would make the LCD or plasma TV blend beautifully into any room. HD Envy has pre-made frames and also does customized TV frames like these:

So instead of just having a flat panel mount that makes your TV stick out like a sore thumb on the wall, the frames can actually match the room furniture so it all looks seamless.

I think I could combine this concept with the Creative Side System that I wrote about before.  Now that would be functional and fashionable.

What happens when you combine a toilet and a cabinet?

(Neorest toilet from Toto Toilets and Wooden cabinet from Wilkerson Furniture)

The result is this:

The Bench Toilet is part of the Julien Bathroom Suite by Troy Adams Design. It’s meant to be an attractive solution to cover the unattractive toilet while also adding functionality.

There’s also a cabinet fixed at the side of the toilet where you can place some toiletries like tissue, soap and towels.  When the toilet is in use, you can put down your magazine or any other stuff you may want to bring to the bathroom on the sliding cover.

Though the design is too “metallic” for my taste, this is a cool way to make the bathroom look more pleasant and organized.

Now the challenge with this bench toilet is how to keep reminding the hubby to close both covers.