Stability and marriage story: Inside the house of Iloilo’s mayor
How a house is arranged can say a lot about the stability of the owners’ marriage. Mayor Jerry and Rosalie Treñas of Iloilo City are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. The traditional décor of their residence, replete with antiques and paintings collected together through the decades and the pleasing arrangement echo the strength of their partnership.
The Treñases have been living in the same abode since they tied the knot in 1984. Over time, suppliers would visit their offices to flog antique furniture, excavated jars and celadon plates and religious icons. Their living room has become a gallery for their extensive collection of paintings by Filipino contemporary artists and objets d’art. In decorating their place, interior designer Leo Almeria applies what his mentor Edith Oliveros imparted. “Make use of what’s there so you can come up with a personalized interior. That’s the client’s house. If people say the setting complements the owners, then it’s a win,” he said.
Almeria has done the gamut of interiors for residential, retail and hospitality spaces. He also teaches residential and commercial design at the Philippine School of Interior Design and exhibition design for the graduate program at the University of Sto. Tomas. He is often called by the Treñases to give their place a quick makeover and to rotate the different paintings.
Notable artists
The list is impressive—Oscar Zalameda, Mark Justiniani, Manuel Garibay, Manuel Ocampo, Orly Ypon, Michael Cacnio, National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino, National Artists for Visual Arts Vicente Manansala, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, to name a few. Aside from the cornucopia of works by notable artists, couple has invested in quality pieces. Narra tables with slats, a pedestal and easels—all produced by the late furniture maker Osmundo Esguerra; period furniture bought from the Consing mansion, an antique kamagong console and a carved cabinet by Chinese furniture maker Ah Tay are just some of their quietly elegant statement pieces.
Almeria’s method is to establish a foreground and a background for visual depth. He anchors the living room with the big pieces. At the back, the antique cabinet by Ah Tay is flanked by his stone floor lamps. The middle setting consists of a coffee table situated between two sofas and a butaka chair. The foreground is a pair of ottomans.
Despite the surfeit of objects, the living room is far from cluttered. Almeria creates balance—the even distribution of elements throughout a space. “The composition pulls diverse elements together,” he says. The designer favors symmetry, a formal balance, in which vignettes on two opposite sides mirror portions of each other. Paintings on easels and groupings of icons juxtaposed with modern art in one part of the room are also seen on the other end.
More symmetry: An antique marble top table is framed by two birthing chairs. Two sets of Jim Thompson silk throw pillows, a gift from the mayor to his wife, are arranged on sofas like mirror images of each other. The balance of visual weight gives the room a sense of calm.
In curating and displaying paintings, Almeria will cluster paintings with similar themes to create a narrative. He explained to his clients why Lao Lian Ben’s meditative textured monochrome abstractions serve as a visual foil to the tongue-in-cheek social realism of Garibay across the living room.
Zest and contrast
Amid the warmth of woods, yellow silk pillow cases and bright contemporary works by Jerry Tan and Ocampo add zest and contrast.
Composing religious icons on a table, he placed the tallest image of winged San Miguel to dominate the smaller pieces, the Holy Family by Lladro and an antique of San Roque. “I use a tall object to lead the eye upward,” he says.
As a tropical touch, the living room becomes more alive with living palmeras.
When landscape consultant Shirley Sanders did the gardens, she also helped in the lanai extension. Unlike the solid flooring of the living room, the extension is laden with patterned tiles and decorated with vintage chairs from the Consing mansion, Bohol mesa altar, religious icons and a contemporary painting by Lydia Velasco as a point of contrast.
“This house keeps evolving,” says Almeria. “I tell my clients, ‘Choose what you like. I will find a spot for them and let’s create a story.’”
