Get an eyeful. For interior design students and prospective patrons, there is the Malaga showroom in Alabang Home Depot.

FOR several generations, owners or builders of houses featuring Spanish or Mediterranean design sensibility had a very narrow choice of decorative cement tiles (baldozas) that can guarantee the desired look and atmosphere. Quite recently, a little known company materialized on the home design horizon.

Fittingly, the new sumptuous tiles bear the brand “Malaga.” Surf over to the Wikipedia site and you’ll be informed that Malaga is a port in the Andalusia, south of Spain, that rests on the Costa del Sol coast of the Mediterranean. By that, one could discern and expect all the passionate colors and Castillian design charm contained in every Malaga tile.

Insisting on the traditional handmade method in the production of these cement tiles, every piece possesses the charm synonymous to one-of-kind handcrafted objects. Thus, they are a wee bit pricier than most tiles. Yes, one will agree that imported manufactured glazed ceramic tiles are less costly, but by comparison they would be like—in fashion terms—pure silk and polyester. Malaga tiles have been ensconced in many a private home of the rich and famous not only around these parts of the world. The company has been busy fulfilling off-shore orders and the tiles are shipped to all parts. Their uncommonness and rarity can be attributed to the reality that the owners of the homes where they are artistically installed do not allow any intrusion from strangers, specifically interior decorators and press photographers.

So that students of interior design or prospective patrons can see them at close range and experience the uniqueness of Malaga tiles, the company has put up a well-curated and beautifully lighted showroom situated at the ground floor of the Alabang Home Depot, Alabang-Zapote Road, Westgate Alabang, Muntinlupa City.  Call for an appointment or pay them a visit during office hours and the store manager will assist you.

Appointment can be arranged at 771-2235 or (0915) 876-6912.

A house turned inside out

CARMEN ROGERS found her new home almost by accident a couple years ago while flipping through the pages of a magazine at the supermarket checkout line. There it was photographed on a steep hillside in Montecito, the home that architect Barton Myers built for himself and his wife in 1998.

Treasured Tiles

FOR several generations, owners or builders of houses featuring Spanish or Mediterranean design sensibility had a very narrow choice of decorative cement tiles (baldozas) that can guarantee the desired look and atmosphere. Quite recently, a little known company materialized on the home design horizon.

To make a long story short...

AS creator of L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues, Steven Bochco packed lots of drama into 60 minutes. Now he’s trying to entertain in closer to 60 seconds.

Reeling: Joey Gosiengfiao: A tribute...no, make that ‘hommage’

THE stage is dark. A spot in gelatinous blue is trained onto a figure coming out of a frame. All throughout piano music is neither here nor there, with no chord to hint us what the song is all about.