Marcos-era design center resurrected under Marcos Jr.

The signature trade shows of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) include Manila FAME, which is centered on home, fashion, and lifestyle goods, and IFEX Philippines, which focuses on food and ingredients.

Both a flaw and feature of these shows are their limited weekend runs, creating excitement, scarcity, and three-day selling dates. But when the show is over, the magic is all gone. Now an old-new facility in Pasay City, finished just in time for the 2026 ASEAN Summit, might just change all that.

Originally opened in 1983 as the PhilTrade Center, the new Likhang Filipino Exhibition Halls displays some of the best that Philippine artisans can offer in a variety of sectors — home and lifestyle, fashion and accessories, traditional arts and crafts, food and beverages, and wellness.

The exhibition halls opened on Jan. 15 with much fanfare, attended by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife, first lady Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, and his mother, former first lady Imelda R. Marcos, amid a crowd of diplomats and other dignitaries. The senior Mrs. Marcos, now in a wheelchair, spearheaded the first PhilTrade Center in 1979, also meant to exhibit the same categories of artisanal goods during her husband Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr.’s dictatorship, which ended in 1986 with the EDSA Revolution.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Al Modesto Valenciano recalled in a press conference prior to the opening that after the Marcos Sr. era, the PhilTrade Center had been used by antique shops, and most recently — prior to the younger Mr. Marcos’ Executive Order No. 75 — had been occupied by restaurants catering to Philippine offshore gambling operators (POGOs).

Executive Order No. 75, “Strengthening the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions,” says, “For this purpose, within six months from the effectivity of this Order, the CITEM, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and such other relevant agencies, shall come up with a roadmap that will detail the strategic plans and programs to further strengthen the mandates of CITEM, including among others, the establishment of an exhibition facility and/or permanent showrooms and outlets designed to host trade shows, exhibitions, conferences, and other similar events, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.” The new facility is part of the fulfillment of this order.

“Three days might not be enough for both the buyers and the exhibitors,” said CITEM Executive Director Leah Pulido Ocampo about the trade shows they currently conduct and their limited scope.

According to her, all of the exhibitors at the refurbished area (numbering about 200, spread out over several galleries with different categories), are from CITEM shows like FAME and IFEX. “It’s an extension of the three-day events. So now, we have a 365-a-year, seven days a week, 10 hours a day exhibition center,” she said.

“The reason why the First Lady Liza Marcos was very urgent in giving us a short period of time [to set up the center]… because this is basically one of the major destinations of the ASEAN delegates for the ASEAN summit,” she said. Mr. Valenciano said that the project began in July 2025 and was finished in December (in contrast, the senior Mrs. Marcos finished the site in the 1970s in 12 days, according to a press release).

Brands represented in the facility include: Calfurn, Contemporaneo, Filipino Creazione, Finali Furniture, JB Woodcraft, and Prizmic & Brill for furniture; Albertina Import and Export, Inc., Allanae Printshop & Paper Products Corp. (APPP.Co), Creativly Studio for gifts and holiday decor; and Carl Jan Cruz, Arnel Papa, Bitagcol, and Jor-el Espina for fashion.

The CITEM trade shows sometimes feature limited supplies due to the nature of their usually artisanal make, but since a year-round supply of goods is needed for the exhibition halls, Ms. Pulido Ocampo noted that “Supply is actually relative as far as CITEM is concerned. What we’re trying to do is to teach our exhibitors to look for their specific niche. You do not entertain buyers if you know that you cannot supply.”

The goods are also available to buyers on a retail basis.

Meanwhile, the Design Center of the Philippines, along with its library and product development facilities, will be moving to the exhibition halls. “[The] Design Center will be moving our offices here; our full operations would come [in] March,” said Rhea Matute, executive director of the Design Center. “The idea is really it’s a one-stop complex for the creative industries.”

Mr. Marcos said in a speech: “This space was conceived and inaugurated in 1979 — Mommy, talaga you are always ahead of your time — under your stewardship, the First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. It was founded on a simple belief: that Filipino design and craftsmanship deserved a place on the world stage. So today, we proudly carry that vision of yours, Mom, we carry it forward to the year 2026.

“There is nothing but immense pride that comes from recognizing our own, from seeing materials shaped by Filipino hands, ideas rooted in Filipino culture, and designs that feel both familiar and exceptional,” he said.

The Likhang Filipino Exhibition Halls is located at the International Trade Center Complex (formerly PhilTrade), Roxas Blvd., Pasay City. It will be open for free to the public starting on Jan. 20. Likhang Filipino’s hours are from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For details, visit its official website https://likhangfilipino.com.ph. For questions, e-mail info@citem.com.ph.

Source: Business World

Smart home AI renovation

Smart home AI renovation leverages artificial intelligence to automate and simplify home design, allowing users to get design plans, inspiration, and realistic visualizations by uploading room photos or floor plans.

AI tools can instantly generate interior design concepts, swap furniture, suggest color palettes, and even preview new flooring or walls, helping homeowners, renters, and designers quickly visualize and plan renovations. 

How Smart Home AI Renovation Works

1. Upload a Photo or Floor Plan: Start by providing a photo of your existing room or a digital floor plan.

2. Select Design Preferences: Choose from a range of styles, like modern, farmhouse, or Scandinavian, to guide the AI.

3. AI Generates Designs: The AI algorithm processes your input and generates realistic 2D, 3D, or VR renderings of your space, featuring personalized furniture placement, color schemes, and decor suggestions.

4. Customize and Refine: You can then adjust the AI-generated designs, swapping furniture, changing colors, or trying different materials using a drag-and-drop editor.

5. Visualize the Results: The platform provides high-resolution mockups, helping you visualize the final look before making any physical changes. 

Benefits of Using AI for Renovation

• Personalized Designs: AI tailors designs to your specific room dimensions, style preferences, and functional needs.

• Time and Cost Efficiency: Generate multiple design ideas quickly, saving time on manual planning and potentially reducing costs associated with professional designers for initial concepts.

• Realistic Visualization: See photorealistic images of your space with actual furniture and decor before you buy anything or hire contractors.

• Creative Inspiration: Explore a wide variety of design themes and get unique ideas for furniture, colors, and decor that you might not have considered otherwise. 

Popular AI Tools for Renovation

• Ideal House: Offers AI tools for home decor and interior design, providing design plans and inspiration.

• AI Home: Smart Interior Design: Allows users to upload a photo and get instant room makeovers with design concepts, furniture, and color suggestions.

• DecAI: Helps users visualize new furniture, colors, and textures in their own spaces, making room makeovers easy.

• Planner 5D: Provides a platform to create floor plans, move walls, and test different materials, with AI generating functional and aesthetic layouts.

• Remodel AI: A tool that helps with inspiration and visualizing different design concepts, including colors and textures. 

Source: Ziggurat Real Estate

Carpets make a warm comeback

For the past decade or so it has been ripped up and tossed out but now carpet is making a comeback. People are keen to cover their cold and draughty floorboards and sink their feet back in something with a bit more comfort, warmth and depth. From cut pile to shag, block color to swirly pattern, wall-to-wall carpeting is once again smothering wooden floors.

As for renters , a great rug renaissance is in full swing.

“While wall-to-wall carpets used to be passé, they are definitely having a bit of a moment now,” says Elizabeth Metcalfe, the author of New English Interiors: At Home with Today’s Creatives. “There is a nostalgic charm, but I think they also bring coziness and warmth to a space – a hugely appealing prospect when we’re faced with rising energy bills.”

Liza Laserow Berglund, the co-founder of the Stockholm-based rug company Nordic Knots, which has gained an almost cult-like following for its simple but striking designs, describes a rug in a room as “the fourth wall”.

“It frames a room,” she says. “People think about curtains but the floor really needs texture and warmth as well.”

One of Donald Trump’s first memos to staff was an instruction to change the Oval Office’s floor covering. As the Bidens were still packing up, the Democratic blue rug was being swapped out for a pale beige circular version, originally designed by Nancy Reagan for her husband’s time in office. Trump previously had installed it during his first term. According to White House aides, this time around pieces of the Resolute Desk had to be disassembled so the rug could be placed underneath it.

Lorna Haigh, the creative director for Alternative Flooring, a UK-based company that sells everything from sisal to chunky wool carpets, says this year carpet is going to “take preference over hard flooring”. Ruggable, which makes machine washable rugs in tufted and shaggy styles, reports a 67% surge in website traffic. Its most popular size is a generous 185cm by 275cm.

Even luxury fashion designers are championing the trend. At the recent menswear shows in Milan and Paris, the typical stripped-back catwalks were covered in plush overlay. At Prada, a giant scaffolding set jarred sharply with a tactile blue art deco-inspired carpet. It was sourced from Catherine Martin, a homeware brand owner and costume designer who has collaborated with her husband, Baz Luhrmann, on several films including Elvis (a carpet devotee who covered Graceland in a thick pile).

Prada’s co-creative director, Raf Simons, described the carpet as “alive” and “a reaction to what a set usually is”. Meanwhile, at Brioni models plodded along a burnt orange shag-pile rug while at Amiri, a brand best known for its streetwear-inspired pieces, there was an 80s-esque plush fawn-colored version.

After years of greige interiors where every listing on Rightmove has begun to blur into one, a maximalist backlash has begun. Social media is peppered with posts of floors in bold prints and saturated colours. At Ruggable it is colour-blocking designs, nature-inspired motifs and “AI-generated visuals” that “blur the lines between reality and fantasy” that are most popular. Metcalfe mentions rug combing, where rugs are overlapped or laid side by side to create a layered look as an emerging style.

Elsewhere, the designer Henry Holland has swapped out his beige stairs for a custom-made swirly brown and white patterned runner inspired by 90s rave culture. The Standard Hotel in London embraces the electric blue carpet while in Claridge’s newly revamped suites, the designer Bryan O’Sullivan has used floral art deco rugs. On Instagram, Alexa Chung described feeling “sick about how much I like this carpet” alongside a photo of a floral Heartsease patterned carpet at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire.

Martin credits the periodic nature of fashion as fueling the trend. “Everything in life is cyclical … naturally, the fashion or the desire for a different decorating style is swinging back towards carpet.”

Berglund, who has a rich honeyed color “Leo” rug in her bedroom with a matching headboard and curtains, describes it as very soothing. “Your home is your most intimate space. It’s your safe haven. With how the world is today it’s even more important to create something that you love coming home to.”

Source: The Guardian