Learn how to play with form and creativity in your home design with interdisciplinary architect and designer PJ Almera
Related: Why Louis Vuitton’s Party Trunk Is The Ultimate Home Bar
How can you revamp a space while reflecting your personal sense of style? Do it well and you’ll end up with a comfortable and one-of-a-kind home. Do it poorly and you’ll end up with a hodge-podge of furniture, fabrics, and paint colors that look better in your mind than in reality. For a much greater chance of success in creating a style-driven space, PJ Almera, acclaimed trend forecaster and interdisciplinary architect and designer, advises to pay attention to what you want the room’s ambiance to be.
“Your home should serve as a space where you can be yourself,” he says. “Even if you’re having alone time or inviting guests over, the innate characteristics you bring into your home through its design and pieces you invest in resembles you, your status in life, and your DNA.”
He adds, “In sourcing pieces for a space, we make sure to curate them based on the user’s design aesthetic and experience in the space, as well as the concept we are going with.” Almera, who describes himself as an empathic designer, says that their designs in Studio Almera are “conceptually structured to infuse a variety of elements to come up with a unique identity, making it eccentric or eclectic in application.”
His creative process is distinguishable for its maximalist look, but one that does not allow any specific style to confine his or his client’s personal creativity. We ask: What’s his secret to finding a balance between combining raucous patterns, beautiful fabrics, vibrant colors, unconventional funky ceramics, and statement paintings all together? His answer is micro-planning, which is a room-by-room approach.
“I am personally not a big fan of one-style or themed homes,” he reveals, saying he’d rather prioritize art, decor, and staple pieces that will add value to a space. “Adding colors and patterns that juxtapose your current home can make a huge impact towards freshening up your space. Having tactile textures in your home can also give you an enhanced experience by adding rugs, tiles, and even objects and accessories that you touch like mugs, vases, and trays. Lighting can definitely affect your mood, especially at night. Having a good floor lamp while sipping coffee and reading a book on a lazy Sunday evening, or even having a portable light that you can bring to your balcony while drinking home-mixed Negroni with your partner will definitely give you a well-deserved self- care ritual.”
Most of his current client demands include creating home set-ups, home bars, and relaxing meditative spaces, which Almera explains is all part of creating a home that you are in tune with. “It’s really important to fulfill your emotional needs and desires in your home to keep your energy aligned,” he says, adding that it is important to treat your home with respect. “Treat it from time to time by giving it a fluff or adding some sensory indulgence, like candles, flowers, scents every now and then. You are your home.”
This feature on home design is also seen in MEGA’s June 2022 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio
