"Rica knows what she wants, and she's not afraid to express it," says Joby Belmonte, the interior designer of Rica's house. "Kung ano ang gusto niya, 'yon ang gagawin niya, kasi doon siya masaya. And whatever you see in the house is a reflection of who she is and what she wants." (Makeup on Rica by Jigs Mayuga)

Rica Peralejo's dining table can seat 16 people at one time. The tall chair at the kabisera—where Rica always sits—was designed by her brother-in-law and was used in an interior-design exhibit. That this dining table is parked in what should have been the living room caused a little argument with her mom Alice in the beginning. "Ayaw nga ng mommy ko noong una, e," Rica recalls. "Sabi niya, ‘Ano ka ba? Anong klaseng bahay 'yang walang sala? Sabi ko, ‘Basta.' So ayan, nakuha ko naman 'yong gusto ko."

This is the walkway leading to the front porch. The door on the left leads to Rica's part of the duplex, while the one on the right leads to her older brother's part.

The silk scarves, used as curtains, were all gifts to Rica from actor Piolo Pascual, who bought them on a trip to China. On the long table, the Peralejos have big family dinners every Sunday, with Mommy Alice as cook.

Rica wanted a reading nook, so custom-made shelves were attached to the wall under the stairs to hold her books. The non-functional piano at the far end of the room belongs to Rica's mom, who used to play it when she was young. It is now used as a table to display knickknacks and photos.

The Peralejos have a number of candelabras in their house, and this is one of them. "'Buti na lang hindi ako mapagbenta ng gamit," says Mommy Alice. "Basta meron akong ayoko na, 'nilalagay ko sa bodega. Binuksan ni Rica ang bodega naming at pinagkukuha lahat ng gamit."

The grandfather clock is 75 years old and was inherited from Rica's grandparents.

The stairs leading to the second floor originally had railings, but they were removed—"kasi it looked traditional na may bilog-bilog na kahoy," says Joby. The multi-colored candles on each step of the stairs are part of Rica's collection.

In front of the bookshelves is an old rocking chair bought in California and air­freighted to the Philippines. "I paid 135 dollars for that," says Mommy Alice. "I was told that it's about 200 years old." The colorful guitars are functional. Rica plays them once in a while.

Rica's coffee-mug collection started when she bought one with an unusual design. "I just realized na I like pala funky mugs, hanggang eventually lumaki na ang collection ko." Many of the pieces here are gifts from friends.

On top of the antique oven is Rica's beloved coffeemaker, bought in the U.S. for $800. She's an avid coffee drinker who can gulp down as many as 10 cups a day. She picked up the habit when she had to keep herself awake during long hours of shooting and taping."Naging dependent na ako, hanggang sa parang hindi na ako mabubuhay nang walang kape, kaya bumili na ako ng machine." The kitchen area, which has terra cotta tile flooring, is hardly used because Rica doesn't cook. The food is usually prepared by her mom in the main house and then brought over to Rica's house.

The peach-orange steps lead to the attic, but since the attic has been attached to Rica's brother's part of the duplex, the steps actually lead to nowhere. So Rica used them to display her bric-a-brac.

The settee that holds the reclining Rica is in the kitchen area. The custom-made grills on the window behind her were meticulously measured and designed by Joby Belmonte to make sure no space would be big enough for a person to get in.

This is the second-floor entertainment lounge, where Rica's friends converge when they come over. It has a minibar, a small refrigerator, a water dispenser, and a clothes rack. Says Joby: "Magulo din itong room na ito minsan, kasi 'pag galing siya sa abroad, diyan 'tinatambak ang mga maleta niya."

The bathroom centerpiece is a huge white ceramic bathtub, a cherished possession that came with a high price tag. Says Rica: "Noong una, when I was buying it, parang, ‘Oh no, it's very mahal!' But I really fell in love with it." She adds that she loves taking baths: "'Yong mga scrub, mga scented bubble bath, gusto ko 'yon." And why is the toilet bowl pink? "I don't even like pink. Ang favorite color ko talaga is purple. But I wanted 'yong medyo may character, so 'yon lang ang reason why I got a pink toilet bowl."

The design around the mirror was inspired by a photo Rica saw in the book Havana Style. "Puwede ba sa banyo ko 'yan?" she asked Joby. So he had somebody hand-paint the design. The whole counter, including the sink, is poured concrete, with no finishing. "That's how Rica wants it," says Joby.

The mirror frame attached to the green dresser used to be the headboard of an old bed. If you look closely, you will notice that Rica's toenails have been painted with nail polish of various colors-red, orange, purple, green, and natural.

Rica spends most of her time in her bedroom when she's home. On the old dresser beside her bed stand figurines of four Disney princesses—Ariel of Little Mermaid, Belle of Beauty and the Beast, Tinkerbell of Peter Pan, and Cinderella. "I bought them when I went to Hong Kong Disneyland," says Rica. "I love them because they remind me that I am a princess, and that I should be treated like a princess."

The design on the bedroom's tricolored wall was inspired by the look of a TV screen when stations have signed off. "Gusto ko parang inaamag at natutuklap-tuklap," Rica told her interior designer. The whole room was acid-washed to make it look old, and whole process cost over P4,000.