UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

Manila Bedroom Before and After

May 23, 2020

One of the things I always forget to do is to take before and after shots of our home whenever we move to a new space. We usually move countries every 3-4 years.

I’m usually too focused on getting the space decorated and organized so that we can feel at home immediately and start enjoying our space. I realize now though that it’s nice to see transformations, to look back and celebrate the hard work that we do to transform our homes into relaxing spaces for our family. I also hope that it inspires you to do the same!

EMPTY CANVAS: Our Berlin Home before our shipment arrived

Our home in Berlin was honestly my favorite, but I barely took pictures of it for the blog. I wish I did so I could look back at it. I did posts some pics on my Instagram, which you can find if you check out the hashtag #diplohome. You’ll see various versions of my homes in Jakarta, Berlin and Manila. You’ll need to go back a little but it’s all there. My beloved berlin diplohome.

I hope you enjoy looking through the transformation of our Master’s Bedroom here in Manila from when we started renting it – nothing other than the window treatment – to how it looks now.

I also included TIPS FOR RENTERS so that you know what you can negotiate for. You can negotiate with your landlord for certain things, if you offer to pay for rent 1 year up front.

Creating a relaxing space in our bedrooms is important so that we feel immediately relaxed when we enter and it promotes relaxation and rest.

– Ayessa, UnDiplomaticWife

BEFORE

When we saw this place, I was so happy it had crown moulding, because it reminded me of our flat in Berlin. I did not like the peachy beige color, but I planned to paint it white to make it feel like our Berlin flat.

DIPLOTIP 1: Always ask your landlord for window treatments as part of your rental. Ask for roller blinds in white or light gray because this is the easiest to maintina. It’s not standard to have window treatments in rentals, but it’s one of the most expensive things in a home here in Manila.

DIPLOTIP 2: Ask your landlor to paint the unit in basecoat white – no mixing for shades. This will update the dated look because two-tone mouldings makes it look old. We totally forgot to do this so I had to paint the living room myself and hire painters for crown moulding of the rooms because they were too high for me to paint myself.

DIPLOTIP 3: Ask that all Airconditioning units be replaced with Inverter ACs. This will save you a lot of money! But avoid the brand Condura. We had so many problems with their AC units and they are also the most expensive brand. For AC I usually prefer Samsung. They have a 24/7 Customer Service hotline.

AFTER

Don’t you just love the white crown moulding? We had it painted in BASE COAT WHITE in SATIN so that it would have a different finish from the walls which are matte. One secret to having an all-white home that doesn’t feel too clinical or boring is to have different finishes and textures of white.

White beddings are the easiest to maintain for me because you can easily bleach or use stain remover without worrying about fading. Usually when you try to remove stains on colored fabric, the area can come out lighter than the rest and this would really bother me. To keep things simple and not worry about matching sets of linens, we just use all white. because it gives us

Can you see which items give my bedroom different textures of white?

The carved birdcage art was purchased in Vinoti Living in Jakarta, while the winter forest wood art was purchased here in HabitatMNL. The A&G glitter letters were handmade by myself for our wedding reception in Germany. He had the tiniest wedding with only 16 people including my husband and myself, but it was such a wonderful time with friends so these letters bring those lovely memories back.

The Jeff Koons inspired lamp was from a museum store in Hamburg. I really loved it when I first saw it. The second time we went to Hamburg I went back and bought it. Thankfully it was our anniversary so I told TD it was his anniversary gift to me LOL! He was happy he didn’t have to look for a gift.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CADDrAwHAW5/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

The photos with DiploBaby were done by The Stork Studio. You can schedule family portraits with them or, like us, take advantage of special promos to get cheaper rates. This was part of a 3 generation photo shoot. We all dressed it white and it’s perfect for our black and white TV photowall.

The white lamp below with the old timey string to pull down from HabitatMNL is another favorite of mine and TD did not want to buy it at first but I really think it makes this one of my favorite corners in our home. Especially with my lounge chair

I always try to recreate a version of this black and white themed photowall wherever we go so that the TV is part of the photowall and it creates a less visually cluttered space. The TV is usually a bit of an eyesore, especially for an all white space like ours. So combining black and white art and photos with pops of brass/gold creates a soothing visually uncluttered space for the eyes.

I don’t have a place or wall to put these on so I just placed them leaning on our windows and they are the first thing we see when we open the blinds in the morning!

TD has a little desk and ergonomic chair, called the TACIT chair. It’s a Japanese design and I found it preloved but in great condition from Ken Mishuku, the admin of Manila Furniture Art and Collectibles group. You can also see the designer Mid Century Modern pieces at Midcentury Manila.

Another thing I always try to remember LOL! Below is DiploDog’s bed and toy.

Bad decisions make good stories.

– unknown

The best way to organize jewelry for me is still a cork board. I love using corkboards with white trim because it’s pretty and blends with my space. This way I can see everything i have. I did not drill any holes to attach this to my wall. Here is a trick to attaching things to your wall without drilling any holes.

When renting, pick and choose your battles when it comes to drilling wholes. For things like this I don’t, but for big paintings or the hooks for clothing (see clip hooks in the photo on the left) we do drill holes. It’s just safer.

I designed a full length mirror that does not need to be drilled to the wall. It’s easier and safer because it’s a heavy piece.

NEEDS WORK

I just want to show you that my home is not perfect all the time. So showing you this corner in my There are messy wires and stuff I haven’t tidied (because life happens. When I do end up tidying the section below, I’ll show you how it looks after pictures!

The stuff on the left are our winter stuff from our trip to Japan, some of the stuff we bought during that trip and shoes that I’m airing out.

When shoes are kept in their shoeboxes or plastic containers in our warm climate, they become brittle & the glue comes apart so it’s good to regularly air them out.

– Ayessa, UnDiplomatic Wife & DeclutterMNL founder

Do you have questions about decorating or organizing your home or bedroom? Let me know in the comments below or follow me on my Instagram and feel free to message me there too!

2 Comments · Diplo Home

Comments

  1. twinmama_sarah says

    June 2, 2020 at 6:24 PM

    Very Minimalistic for me,So good to stay at this beautiful home of yours very neat and clean and very organized.love it!+

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      June 2, 2020 at 10:39 PM

      Thank you so much dear! It really helps with my mental health to have a neat and organized space. I’m still a it stressed witht he corner hehe. Hope I will be in the mood to fix it soon.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.