The career trajectory of JJ Acuña reads like a global odyssey—one that stretches from a quiet Texas suburb to the skylines of Hong Kong and, most recently, Manila. Across each locale, he honed an approach he calls “spatial DNA”. It’s a bespoke methodology that weaves client aspirations, cultural context, and intuitive materiality into environments that […]
A New SM Home Pop-up Experience Lets You Explore Your Personal Style with Spaces of Love
Love, in its myriad forms, fuels our desire to create something special. It inspires us to build homes filled with warmth, to curate spaces that reflect our deepest selves, and to craft environments where shared experiences are made. It’s this very emotion that ignites expressions of personal style. And the newest pop-up store at SM Home, SM Store Aura invites you to show your unique aesthetic with warmth and affection.
Featuring pieces from Jonathan Adler, Sambonet, Polspotten, and Thomas, the experiential limited-time retail space empowers you to cultivate your personal love signature within your home. To further demonstrate how personalized design can also be a language of love, the store held “Spaces of Love” on February 12th, showcasing vignettes from acclaimed tastemakers Pinky Tobiano and Cat Arambulo-Antonio. Beyond providing inspiration, these curated spaces make it easier to discover the perfect home accents and bring thoughtful design into your daily life within convenient reach.
Spaces of Love: An Emotional Landscape
Occupying the Lower Ground Floor of the SM Store, the Spaces of Love is meticulously arranged to draw the eye inward. The central area exhibits the living and dining area vignettes, allowing the visitors to fully immerse themselves in these curated narratives from the moment they step into the space. Surrounding these central displays is a carefully orchestrated perimeter that showcases the diverse offerings of featured brands. Having that intimate spatial design guides the discerning shoppers to seamlessly transition from the vignettes’ emotional resonance to the retail displays that brought those visions to life.
Whimsical Living Areas
Arambulo-Antonio, who designed the living space display, spotlights the eclectic forms and colors of Polspotten and the bold aesthetic of Jonathan Adler. It features Todd and Peggy Chairs complemented by a Tip Tap stool, Zig Zag stools and coffee table, all of which act as a functional foundation for the entire vignette.
This is further elevated with additional decorative elements such as Brass Hand Ring Holder, US Lips Smolder Needlepoint Throw Pillows, Muse Blanc Diffuser and Votive Candle, Eden Cuff and Rectangular Tray, Dealer’s Choice Square Tray, and Atlas Split, Gilded Muse Misia, and Orbit Capsule Vases.
With that blast of playful elegance, the multifaceted creative reveals that knowing the right pieces that speak to your individual style is the key to achieve balance and harmony.
“I think what’s very important when you choose pieces from Jonathan Adler and Polspotten is you need to have a certain sense of purpose,” Arambulo-Antonio advises. “It’s just a matter of finding your vibe to be able to put something together. Because if not, it will look like one big hodgepodge. So, I think it’s very important to know whether you want something more colorful, well definitely not subtle, or you just want some pops of color and a lot of gold.”
Romantic Dining
For the dining table vignette, Tobiano intended her tablescaping to represent the feeling of falling in love. Exuding a passionate and celebratory atmosphere, the table setting overflows with red roses and custom embroidered velvet ribbons. These personalized accents are partnered with tableware from Thomas, Sambonet, and Polspotten and minimal Jonathan Adler pieces.
Trend Color Night Deep Blue Plates and Bowls and S. H. Triennale Flatware sit on Tweed Placemats, creating a warm, sophisticated, and layered foundation for the dining experience. Nob Wineglasses and Tumblers, with their tactile dots design, add a touch of sparkle and whimsy to the table. And with the Eve Accent Bowl and Gilded Muse Misia and Yourtube Gold Vases, Tobiano completes the set’s functionality with her signature artistic flair.
The Queen of Tablescaping shares how her design is rooted in the emotional connection we forge in our surroundings and the people we interact with. She believes that each of these carefully chosen pieces can be a portrayal of a chapter in one’s love story.
“Actually these featured pieces are all expressions of love. They’re expressions of your feelings. So, each piece symbolizes a phase or a season in their life when you fell in love,” Tobiano explains. “It’s like the four seasons; it’s happy, emotional, [and] quite through a lot.”
Accessible Personalized Spaces for All
Gerry and Jinky Sy acknowledged how the pop-up store contributes in gradually opening the brand’s doors to more homeowners and design enthusiasts. Their partnership with SM Home, gives a strategic move to democratize access to their products. In this sense, the availability of these items allows a wider audience to create a home that is a true reflection of their individual style.
“We are catering to another market because of the brands that we brought here in SM [Home],” Jinky Tobiano Sy enthuses. “They also want to cater to the needs of the discerning homemakers and clienteles. So, they requested that we bring in some of our products to them so it would cater to their market as well.”
Sy also expressed her delight for Tobiano and Arambulo-Antonio’s artistic vision in materializing perfect examples of personalized spaces featuring the four international brands.
“We couldn’t go wrong with getting Pinky and Cat as part of this event because they really have the taste and style that represents the brands that we carry.”
Arambulo-Antonio additionally reveals how she used to endure the challenges of purchasing the featured pieces abroad—a struggle she willingly embraced due to their lasting quality. The renowned designer also prided her collections from 20 years ago that retain their impeccable appeal and condition. This underscores the highlighted brands’ lasting value and timeless appeal, making her current collaboration with the four international brands more gratifying.
“I would actually buy Jonathan Adler pieces in the [United] States and have it shipped in before. And having it so accessible here locally makes it so much easier. So for me, styling this vignette was so easy. I can do it with my eyes closed because I know the pieces. I love it. And I think that it just really adds so much character and personality to the space and the living room,” Arambulo-Antonio asserts.
The Future of Intentional Design and Thoughtful Living
Sy further assures that they remain committed to explore more brands that resonate with the distinct aesthetic and practical needs of Filipino homes. Given the challenge of bringing international home brands in the country, making Jonathan Adler, Sambonet, Polspotten, and Thomas within reach is a big milestone in fulfilling this initiative. So, they encourage every discerning homeowner to visit the pop-up store’s limited offer.
Tobiano expresses her support for this mission stating that she’s very excited that the Philippine home market is now ready to elevate. And for someone who is deeply invested in the craft of table decoration like her, it’s essential to select pieces that she knows very well with enduring value. This commitment to accessibility, combined with the pursuit of lasting investment, allows Filipinos to transform their dining experiences into uniquely individual masterpieces.
As Tobiano eloquently states, “These tablewares create impactful dinners. Like for me, a table is my canvas. And all these plates, these beautiful things are my accessories.” With them, she forms a beautiful experience, and makes every dinner a celebration of her personal style, too.
Visit this exclusive pop-up store at SM Home, SM Store Aura until March 31 only.
Photos provided by Opulence Design Concept
Read more: Opulence Design Concept Launches Jonathan Adler and Polspotten
A growing coalition of heritage conservationists and cultural advocates is calling for the urgent call to declare the Pasig River a National Cultural Treasure (NCT). They cite the river’s irreplaceable historical, cultural, and ecological significance. The move comes amid renewed concerns over the Pasig River Expressway (PAREX), a controversial 19.37 kilometer, 6-lane expressway that critics […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
For Unveiling Perspectives, Quezon City-based art gallery Kaida Contemporary assembled a group of artists to create different compositions that portray their daily lived experiences. It shows them in a way that illustrates their individuality as artists, with different materials that are important to them and their craft as a whole. “Art has a way of […]
Six years and a global pandemic later, I finally found my way back to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center for this year’s Art Basel Hong Kong — but this time, with my husband, litigation lawyer and business owner, Atty. Fred Young. Founded by gallerists in 1970, Art Basel is the leading global platform […]
Gloss with a Purpose combines the artworks of Filipino photographer Lee Morale and American artist Kia LaBeija. The exhibit highlights the artifice and performance that exists in queer communities—and its importance in the way we define our own identities as a whole. Hannah Jaugan curated Gloss with a Purpose as her senior thesis for AB […]
Download this month's BLUPRINT magazine digital copy from:
Subscribe via [email protected]