These are exactly what they are… fantasies.
Some wag said: “Shoot for the stars… At least, you’ll land on top of a tree!!!”
Dreams are free, anyway. 😛
le style Rothschild:
le style Jansen:
Francois Germain:
Paul de Lamerie:
Johann Joachim Kaendler:
Colefax & Fowler:
le style Henri Samuel:
19th century Filipino style:
remembrance of things awry 
"BC" Aka Bambie Bartolome Abad Cabangbang Jr . said,
January 5, 2014 at 8:20 am
Hi Joe Rico, Do you have Facebook? How are you? I’ve been living in the USA since 1988. I hope you still remember me? Bambie or BC now lol!
toto gonzalez said,
May 14, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Auntie Cynthia!!!!!!!!
Luv ya!!!
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Cynthia Yaptinchay-Abad Bondoc said,
May 13, 2012 at 5:14 am
Joe Rico / Toto: Exquisite. Hope u can both contact me soon. A. Cita passed last year and I missed u fam members. Heart, A. Cynthia yA-B.
Julio Ledesma Arenas said,
July 8, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Toto may you facilitate a meeting with Sr.Don J. Ma. Ricardo- formidable’ ‘Joey’ Y- Abad-Panlilio. It is my desire to bring architectural
integration and make correct the flaw of the la Fortuna manor and perhaps more a victime of its being built at a time where art deco art nouveau met Moorish Antilla and well at least to me is unresolved either way. Its like being at intermission after the second act and then.. what. Id like to put a proper rear courtyard and verandah over hearth with loggias to the homes morning and merienda verandas that lead to walls instead of as they shouldve been loggias to courtyard to rear verandah or patio over what shouldve been hearth and carriage house. And perhaps because Prima Elen and I DID HAVE THE SAME CONCEPT- Id like to see what 8 la Miniaturas would do as Casitas; Itd be an interesting exercise to prove her and I right if by creating exact replicas of the main structure but in 1/3 scale as to proportionals ala the Aman
pulo,kila, and dari.
I just stumbled upon SAN JOSE BUILDERS and whatever else may be said of his activities the structures he Has assembled are at least better of now. Whats the point in having a derelict or again no aspersions intended- a ruin when in my case a home exists and I dont have to answer to COMMITTEE anylonger and am free to do AS I WISH SEEING AS I AM USING MY FUNDS.
La Fortunas natural beauty caused PKF consulting to determine that its highest and best use is as a Heritage and Wellness estate. And NOW finally I ANSWER TO NO ONE. 30 Years of stewardship. Whatever may be said – that is a fact undeniable. SO too is fact that Only I cared enough to put my money WHERE MY HEART IS. Lets have some fun and create correct Heritage sites while were at it.
Id also seek advise on our manila build- not a house; a flat albeit one that will be as relevant, uncompromised and befitting as its counterparts, at Park, 5th, Knightsbridge, the 1st & 7th arro., and closer to home ‘Shek-O and the Midlevels in Hk Island.
My father sage .02 is wait be patient and prepare- then get the best such that you only have to do but ONCE, as IS but PROPER.
La Fortuna
Otium cum Dignitate
Leisure with Dignity.
FYI- this is as is the estate formerly know as Gamboa Hermanos at the city’s other and including the new CBD, are CARP COMPLIED, are both the best rated at the modalities used;( ie SDO, VOS) and before the year ends, by CHOICE Julio & Ma. Assuntas Legacy- THE LEDESMA TRUST- a Deed of Legacy.Luke18:18. Weve already begun to do what will be my capstone of 30 yrs of serve. These two entities will in FACT AND BY Our DEED of Grant as Enabled and thus Self- Determining .
Jules Ledesma
‘esse quam videri
Frederick Agbayani said,
June 8, 2009 at 4:02 am
for Joey Panlilio… it has always been his “noblesse oblige”.
To see the fantasies of youth materialized into a grand reality is a life worth living.
Keep it up Joey.. I know where you are coming from…
Dr. Taddy Buyson Gonzales said,
May 20, 2009 at 1:12 pm
that is a museum, no less…
didn’t Villalon say that there never was such an enigmatic enormous house in that proportion and manner ever in our history…
Joey must be the luckiest person around. His fantastic vision was realized!
what a “blank cheque” can do…
issima said,
December 1, 2008 at 11:16 am
Caro Toto,
I have not come across a Filipino with a higher sense of style than you. Where have you been all these years? You must advise me on my houses.
You are the one fellow Filipino I can present to my friends in Paris, London, and Madrid.
larry leviste said,
October 24, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I do love the Balthus painting. It’s so erotic. Toto, how could I survive a day without your BLOG. I’d probably perish.
Jay said,
October 23, 2008 at 2:15 am
Is this Second Empire I see before me?! haha came upon your blog while blog-hopping. Wonderful nostalgic stuff.
toto gonzalez said,
September 24, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Obviously seen in the photographs above, I have an unapologetic predilection for the aristocratic, the ornate, and the magnificent.
The currently fashionable Zen style, Minimalism, and Midcentury chic hold no fascination for me. Perhaps affordability is their only fascination: You don’t need much, although proponents claim that finishing a truly stylish minimal interior is expensive because there can be no flaws. I say there’s probably no money to put anything in it; how suitable for our Third World country. Bean bag chic. Being an adolescent in the opulent Reagan years, I was truly embarrassed by our seemingly deformed 1950s, 60s, and 70s furniture. I have absolutely no wish to relive that embarrassment!!!
On the other hand, a fabulous 1920s room in Paris filled with Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Jean-Michel Frank, and Armand Albert Rateau furniture with Pablo Picasso and Vasily Kandinsky paintings can be really delightful, IF one can afford it!!!
Be true to yourself in the midst of all this “contemporary design” which I fearlessly predict will end up unwanted in the Bangkal and the Kamuning thrift shops in exactly five years’ time… or sooner.
Cheers!!!
Toto Gonzalez
Abbie Chan said,
September 23, 2008 at 2:31 am
I can’t help but love affluent and ostentatious designs~ It’s like saying, “I’m glamour and luxury privy only to the chosen few….Want me.”
…That, or I just have a one-sided love affair with historical anythings haha! I can’t help but wonder what memories could be ingrained in the wood, in the marble, in the alabaster…’Fascinating’ is a gross understatement.
toto gonzalez said,
June 27, 2008 at 6:00 am
Myles G.:
Crammed as it is with splendors to the rafters, you haven’t seen late 1800s, aristocratic “Las Filipinas” until you’ve been to the magnificent “Museo De La Salle”!!!
As “Museo De La Salle’s” creator and curator Jose Ma. Ricardo “Joey” Yaptinchay-Abad Panlilio says: “But we’ve only just begun…” 😛
Toto Gonzalez
Myles Garcia said,
June 26, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Hmmm, it’s been awhile since I wandered into this section, Toto.
I think of all the styles you featured above, I would opt for a hybrid betwen the Colefax & Fowler ( pass on that strong mustard wall color ) and the restraint and color of the Henri Samuel style.
The “Museo De La Salle” recreations are grand but too cluttered. Or is that only a photographic illusion? I know it’s a museum setting but it seems like they crammed so much into those rooms. Anyway, T, next time I’m in Manila, you will have to give me a personalized, grand tour of said musee.
G.I.
toto gonzalez said,
June 21, 2008 at 12:31 am
Noni A.:
Funny you should say that… 🙂
I know for certain that the imposing “bahay na bato” mansions of Pablo Yaptinchay and Guido Yaptinchay in Binan, Laguna served as inspirations to Jose Ma. Ricardo “Joey” Yaptinchay-Abad Panlilio in the conceptualization, design, and construction of the splendid “Museo de La Salle” at the De La Salle University campus in Dasmarinas, Cavite. After all, Joey Panlilio, through his mother Lourdes “Babylin” Yaptinchay Abad-Panlilio, is a great-grandson of Pablo Yaptinchay and Leonila Yatco.
Toto Gonzalez
Noni Agulto said,
June 20, 2008 at 2:48 am
hi toto… grand dreams indeed! i’m surprised that the last 3 images are actually here… in la salle… and done by joey panlilio, of all people! i feel proud. i don’t think the Yaptinchays at the height of their wealth lived like this! LOLZ! but i’m sure the negros sugar barons would have lived up to this lifestyle…
this is a very well done ( to say the least ) representation of the philippines’ 19th century colonial homestyle and living. =)
bryna said,
March 28, 2008 at 5:04 am
I believe the style is a Queen Anne style of the 19th century. Very grand and historical.
toto gonzalez said,
January 7, 2008 at 7:29 am
Bonggoy:
The last three pixes are of the “sala” drawing room and “comedor” dining room of the magnificent “Museo De La Salle” at the De La Salle University Dasmarinas, Cavite Campus.
The splendid “Museo De La Salle” is a reconstruction of a palatial, 1800s Filipino colonial “bahay-na-bato.” It was singlehandedly created by the formidable collector and interior designer Jose Maria Ricardo “Joey” Yaptinchay-Abad Panlilio.
Toto Gonzalez
Bonggoy said,
January 6, 2008 at 6:02 pm
whose house is the filipino-style house? I like the “mariposa” muebles and the carrara-topped table.
toto gonzalez said,
December 6, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Gino G.:
Of course, Manila’s “SAR Duchesse de Windsor” !!! 😀
Toto Gonzalez
Gino Gonzales said,
December 6, 2007 at 9:05 am
Toto, fabulous indeed!
… and are the last images your fantasies or someone else’s? 🙂 Hahahaha!
toto gonzalez said,
December 4, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Gino G.:
Don’t I have fabulous dreams???!!!
Hahahahahah!!!
Toto Gonzalez 😀
Gino Gonzales said,
December 4, 2007 at 2:59 pm
LOL!!!!!!! 🙂