By JOANNE RAE RAMIREZ
In the fiercely competitive world of television, where she goes before and behind the cameras, juggling three TV shows and a radio program everyday on weekdays, Karen Davila needs her own daily head start. And she gets it from her home.
(A solid mahogany block serves as a divider between the living and dining rooms, and is a repository of coffee table books)
An oasis of modern art and furniture in a high-rise that has splendid views of Laguna Bay on one side and the Makati skyline (and the biggest banks of the land) on the other, it gives the popular talk show host and news anchor the edge that jumpstarts her day and softly punctuates her night.
“I wanted the feeling of light, creative energy, positivity and space. Our apartment has a hallway and while most apartments put a table on the foyer, I wanted it to feel like you were entering an art gallery. There’s a lot of artworks in it that I’ve collected through the years, all from young artists, which were fairly reasonably priced back then, and it opens to a continuing open space. Our apartment feels very relaxed, airy and lived in. During the weekends, none of us want to go out. We are blessed with an amazing view and the floor -to-ceiling windows give you a relaxing view, especially at night,” says Karen of the house she shares with husband DJ Sta. Ana and sons David, 14, and Lucas, 8.
Where Karen’s home isn’t paneled by windows, it is draped with paintings.
“I love figurative expressionists like Elmer Borlongan, but I honestly prefer abstract art like that of Bernie Pacquing or Fernando Zobel, who was the expert in light and shadow. The masters (like a couple of Romulo Galicanos, an Ang Kiukok and a Malang) we have in our home come from my husband’s family. Most of what DJ and I have purchased are works from young artists today,” she begins as she tours us around her spacious, though not sprawling, apartment.
The dining room table is the first piece of furniture one sees after experiencing , not just traversing, the painting-studded foyer. The “Arc Table” was designed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners for Molteni Milan. The sculptural base is a single sweeping form anchored by three legs. Between each extension, the material curves upwards to balance the table top. The top is a tempered glass disc and three thin stainless steel plates are UV-bonded to the glass and allow the base to be safely and discreetly secured using just three small screws. Norman Foster designed many prominent buildings like the Hearst Tower in New York City and the Beijing and Hong Kong airports.
“When we moved to our new apartment in 2013, I didn’t hire an interior designer, but asked the advice of a family friend, Ana Rocha, on how to best make use of the space with the least cost. I used our old furniture and mixed it with new modern pieces but I wanted to keep it white and beige with a lot of stainless steel, marble and wood. I am attracted to furniture that tells a story, whether it is a dining table with interesting legs, retro chairs that have a lot of history in them or pieces that are beautifully made from recycled material. I wanted our apartment to really be true to myself, I didn’t want it to feel like someone else did it for me,” she elaborates.
Between the dining and living rooms is a long wooden table from Kaye Tinga’s W17. Serving as a virtual divider, it is a full block of mahogany, with uncut, unfinished edges set on glass-covered boxes. On top of it are coffee table books, and bric-a-brac from DJ and Karen’s trips abroad. There are also numerous photo albums, as Karen doesn’t want memories only in their digital form.
(An “Arc Table” by the designer of the Hong Kong Airport dominates the dining room while a Bernie Pacquing completed by the artist while it was already hanging on the wall is a focal point)
In the living room is the pièce d’ résistance, the Fernando Zobel abstract, a modern painting by the Philippine-born master of light and shadow.
Drawn to abstract art, Karen says she is amazed “at how the late Fernando Zobel moved from being a semi-figurative, highly expressionist artist with bold and bright colors to a muted abstract artist using a syringe, perfecting light and shadow.” The Zobel, bought from a private sale at Salcedo auctions, faces the sectional brown sofa. Behind the sofa is another abstract by London-based artist Nicole Coson (daughter of Tessie Sy-Coson).
Commanding attention on the wall behind the couch is an edgy Bernie Pacquing with his signature white on white, staples, and a skull, “not disturbing enough to give you sleepless nights.”
Bold but muted
The thematic artworks are tempered by their muted tones. “I have always been attracted to muted, monochromatic colors that are easy on the eye. I have always wanted to live in a modern but warm home, one that didn’t feel contrived or designed for me by someone else,” points out the Bandila news anchor.
Indeed, except for a few pieces (like the specially commissioned painting of street children by Elmer Borlongan, with his signature big heads and protruding eyes, that dominates one wall in the dining room), most of the larger art works in Karen’s home are of muted and monochromatic hues.
A foil to neutrals on the walls is the deep brown hue of the shiny narra floors that flow like a lake from the foyer to every nook and cranny of the living areas. This gives warmth to the home despite its modern look and white wall colors.
One marvels at how Karen’s boys, who were only 11 and five when the family moved to the high-rise, and her pieces of sculpture co-exist.
“Well, one, keeping the space open makes things much easier for kids to move around. We don’t have big expensive antique vases that will make you cry when they’re broken. Instead, we collect a lot of modern toy art sculptures (like a Ronald Ventura of the crucified Christ) from Secret Fresh Gallery that are made from resin or wood. We have consciously chosen the boys to stay in one room to keep them close — I did with my sister when we were growing up — and we use the third room as a family TV and play room that can double as a guest room,” she points out.
On one wall in the family room is a painting by Malang, a gift to her late father-in-law, journalist Gus Sta. Ana. Directly below it is another precious work of art — a painting by DJ and Karen’s firstborn, David, proof of how Karen blends old and new, acquisitions and personal mementos, in her home.
Her discerning eye for pieces that would one day command a fortune under the hammer, she credits to her friendship with two of her colleagues, Kim Atienza and Julius Babao, who appears with her and Ces Drilon in Bandila.
“I have always loved art but two friends of mine helped develop my artistic eye. First, Kim, who has been my close friend since college in UP, is an early collector, way before it was even hip to buy art. He lived in Malate and hung around all the fabulous artists we have today. He also collected European retro chairs from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. He was quite eclectic.” Karen also admired Kim for his appreciation of art that was “troublesome angst art” and art that “was not beautiful” in the conventional sense.
Then, she was also guided by Julius, who she started doing TV Patrol with in 2004. “Julius has always been very active in the art scene. He also taught me to see lines, strokes, touches of young artists, and how to spot those who had bright futures ahead. I’ve never really collected art to sell them, but I tried to always be true to what and who I liked,” Karen continues.
(The living room of Karen Davila’s home is flooded with sunshine and art pieces, including a rare Fernando Zobel painting (FAR RIGHT), a Kenneth Cobonpue Yoda Chair (RIGHT) and a Frank Gehry Wiggle Chair (LEFT) )
There are several modern pieces of sculpture perched on the hardwood floors, including another Elmer Borlongan art toy sculpture from Secret Fresh Gallery that was actually designed to look like a speaker but not function like one! It’s a collaboration called Hari Sonik, channeling Filipinos’ love for music. The head is classic Emong — big skull and eyes. “It’s freaky and the kids were scared in the beginning, but now they’re used to it. It’s a great conversation piece when guests come over for dinner; it rouses their curiosity.” It’s a piece of art that reflects Karen’s style as an interviewer in Headstart, where she rouses viewers from sleep with rousing questions pricking, sometimes piercing, her guests. Like the art in Karen’s house, Karen’s questions are those of a curious, probing mind.
Thriving
“I have always been an artist, even as a child I dreamt of becoming a fashion designer,” she reveals. But her father discouraged her from pursuing fashion design, and Karen is grateful that he did. Fashion design’s loss was the broadcast industry’s gain because Karen’s mark on it is all but muted.
In a nutshell, this is how her typical day unfolds: “I start my day at 6 a.m., slowly getting out of bed and seeing my kids to school, then go to my morning show Headstart, from 8 to 9 a.m. After that, I either have breakfast meetings or a coverage shoot for my weekly magazine show, My Puhunan, where we feature ordinary Filipinos who have made it big by starting a small business. By 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., I have to be in DZMM for my afternoon radio show in Filipino, Pasada 630. I go back home to Makati to have dinner with my kids and help them with their homework. I squeeze in a nap from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and then go back to ABS-CBN for our late night newscast Bandila. It finishes quite late, so I have to be prepared for the interview for whoever the newsmaker or politician may be for the next day. I get around five to six hours of sleep every night, so I have to rest on some days and take cat naps in the middle of the day.”
But Karen isn’t complaining. She’s thriving with the overload. “I have been very blessed with a fulfilling career and I don’t take it for granted. Some days are easier than others. I work very hard and people around me know it. I consider it a privilege to be doing the work I am doing in ABS-CBN. I have been in ABS-CBN for almost 16 years now, a total of 23 years in the TV industry starting with my early years in GMA 7. And I owe everything to the Lord, seriously.”
So how does she make her art gallery of a house a home as well?
“It’s really about love. I know this sounds like a cliché but I am a big kisser, hugger and am extremely affectionate. And our home is that. It feels relaxed with home-cooked or take out food, a bottle of champagne and loud music — whether it’s acoustic, praise or classical. What’s important for me is to create an environment where my family feels safe, happy and authentic. That’s a home.”
But happiness for Karen isn’t just the view from the top that her home and her career afford her. “I don’t think I have it all, really. You have to make a decision on what’s important to you. Family and kids come first, of course. Health, I have realized more and more, is important. That’s why I make an effort to work out, exercise, at least three times a week. But professionally, I would say happiness is fulfillment and relevance. Yes, the schedule is tough but I am grateful each and every day for what I do and the trust that ABS-CBN has given me. I love the Lopezes and how they treat their people. The secret to having it all is to accept that you can’t have it all and appreciate what you do have, but striving hard to keep on growing.”
Karen ends by saying, “I love this quote from Maya Angelou: Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.”
(Photography by MAU AGUASIN | Styling by ERIC PE BENITO | Makeup ny ERWIN ONING | Hair by MACKY HLARIO | All clothes from JOSEPH)
This article was first published in PeopleAsia‘s special issue Enclaves. The home and architecture issue is now available in your favorite bookstores and newsstands. For reservations. call Bong Ducut at (02) 892 1854, or text (0922) 877 6556.
