The Nativity Scene in Ningning and Benny de Ocampo's residence in Valle Verde (Photo by NOEL B.PABALATE)

MANILA, Philippines — When it comes to decorating for Christmas, Ningning de Ocampo always goes for traditional décor. Her home during the season is adorned with lots of red ribbons, garlands and poinsettias. The interiors of her home in Valle Verde is dark so using red is one way to cheer it up a little. “The house was constructed in 1980 and the ceilings tend to be low, which makes the living room look dark and cramped,” she says. “I wanted a high ceiling for the sala and dining room but our architect said it wasn’t possible because we were building two more levels and an attic above the sala.”

The multilevel house is big enough to accommodate the De Ocampos and their six children (two of her daughters have since moved out when they married). Thus, to make up for the dark interiors, Ningning brightens up the place with her Christmas decorations. It also helps that the look of the house is conducive to her vast collection of Asian antiques and furniture.  It’s as if the house was designed to be the ideal venue for these priceless pieces, which in their own way also help brighten up the place. “Actually, the house came first before the antiques,” she laughs. “The design concept of the house came from my husband Benny. He worked closely with our architect when he built this place. I took over when it was time to put in the furniture.”

Her Asian collection was first supplied by a local dealer.  But not long after, she decided to put up her own Asian antique shop after she and Benny traveled to Thailand and Indonesia. “We discovered the many stores that supplied the merchandise to our local dealer. The prices were so low; we realized our local dealer was making a very big profit from the high prices he was charging us.  So we started buying directly from the dealers in Thailand and Indonesia and we started selling Asian antiques in a shop I called Gallery Ysabel.”

At the same time, Ningning became an interior designer of sorts. She’s always had a knack for decorating. “When I was in high school, I liked to arrange the furniture in the house. My mother was never really interested in decorating, so that became my job,” she says.

She enjoyed decorating every house she’s ever lived in, most especially this house in Valle Verde. Friends who visit the De Ocampo residence are always impressed with the way she decorates her home. They thus often ask her do their own houses.  “It started out as a hobby. I’d just give suggestions and furnish the homes with the antiques from the store,” she says.

Yet it came to a point when she was already working like a professional interior designer. She employed a full staff of carpenters and foremen (“Just the same guys who constructed our house.”) and the projects were beginning to consume much of her time. She soon was experiencing the same problems interior designers usually face. The hobby wasn’t as fun as it used to be, she thought.  Also, the De Ocampos own and operate several other businesses. Among them, Quattro, the popular restaurant and watering hole located on Timog Avenue in Quezon City, and the men’s clothing label called Exclusively His. These entities also demand their full attention. Consequently, Ningning had to stop accepting projects and she closed her antique shop. Today, she just helps friends decorate their homes and directly supplies them with antiques.

Christmas, of course, is a big production for Ningning. She says her décor isn’t expensive. Most of them were bought at stores in Divisoria and various department stores in Metro Manila.  And she’s used the same décor for years. “I just change the locations,” she says. The tree, for instance, stands on a different spot and other items are placed on other tables. What was once on the commode in the dining room is now ensconced on the baby grand piano. In fact, the piano has also been moved to a different spot in the lanai. Visitors tend to think she replaced all her décor for this year.

She did add a few other items. There’s a grand Nativity Scene in the study and a stunning set of gold lanterns that hang from the ceiling of the foyer.  “They aren’t new,” she says. “They were passed on to me by a friend who says her townhouse is too small to accommodate such elaborate things. And she didn’t want to have too much Christmas decorations this year. Yet when she visited the house, she saw how pretty her things looked here. So she went to shop for new Christmas décor for her home!”

That just goes to show how catching is the sparkling Christmas spirit of Ningning.