Fire and spice and everything nice—that's Kris Aquino in real time.
Uploaded: January 14, 2009
Kris Aquino's place—before she married cager James Yap—is Penthouse No. 5 of one of Makati's newest high-rise condominiums. There are only two units on her floor. What immediately catches your attention when you enter her living room—besides the vastness of the place—are the vibrant colors. "I love it!" says Kris. "It's a reflection of me."
Kris's bedroom is the biggest sleeping room in this penthouse unit. Her queen-size bed has nine pillows on it. Above the bed hang three more Malangs. "Almost all my art work is Malang ‘cause he's my favorite talaga," she says of the artist. "It's because of the colors that he uses. And I really like him ‘cause he's so nice."
Just before this photo shoot, Kris attended Joshua's school program. That was 7 a.m. And she had packed up from her taping of "Hiram" (ABS-CBN's TV series aired in 2004) at 4 a.m., only three hours earlier! "Kasi talagang he made sure na a-attend ako," she giggles. "Nanggising siya. ‘Mama, wake up, ‘Tapos nagbukas na ng curtains. Kasi I think it's really important for him to be able show his classmates that this is my mom, di ba?' It's that factor talaga na showing off my mama. Kanina I was so proud kasi he was introducing me to all his classmates. Sabi niya, ‘Mama, ito si kuya Kiko, ito si kuya Hans...'"
Kris, beaming goes on: "His school is really good. Kasi now he's really conversant na." Joshua has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and goes to a school that employs the Kumon method of teaching, which is said to be "tailored to suit each individual's need and abilities."
This huge window panels look like live canvases, with the "paintings" changing every day, depending on such variables as time of day and weather. The visuals could be a clear blue sky, cotton-candy clouds, the lighted Makati skyline at night, or, simply, the miniature world in the distance.
Her interior designers, Ivy and Cynthia Almario, helped her achieve this look, which Kris calls the Shanghai Tang look. "Basta sabi ko, I want my place too look like Shanghai Tang, ýong stores in Hong Kong. Di ba, that's the perfect description? And those are the colors that I want. I really like chartreuse [a bright yellowish-green color,] orange, and fuschia pink." The sofa has nine pillows on them, plus two stuffed toy frogs. "Ýong maliit is a gift from Joshua," says Kris, making sure we take note. Joshua's frog came with a handwritten note that said: "Mama, I love you, Joshua."
This Chinese-style day bed, known as an opium bed, was made in Pampanga. "Eto, and cute ng story," Kris volunteers, giggling. "Kasi lahat ng wood piece dito, Kapampangan lahat ng mga gumawa dito. Noong time na dine-deliver nila from ano—Floridablanca ba o Guagua?—sabi nila, ‘Iboboto namin si Gov.'"
The reference was to Pampanga's governor, Mark Lapid, who was Kris's boyfriend for one brief moment. (Mark is currently vying for the same position.) Kris shot back: "Thank you. O, bigyan nýo na lang ako ng discount, joke!" The bed is flanked by two etageres (furniture made up of open shelves, used to hold small objects). The one near the kitchen has 20 Buddha figurines in porcelain, wood or jade, all gifts from friends. The one near the foyer is stacked with 17 frog figurines and three figurines of old Chinese men.
