It was the 1980s. As economic crisis and political instability gripped the country, the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) had a new president, Rosario “Charo” Cancio Yujuico, eldest daughter of engineer Austin Cancio.

She was in her junior year at Ateneo Law School when she decided to quit.

“I was looking for something to do, so I asked my mom to let me take over PSID. ‘What do I need to do?’ ‘Okay, you invest— fix the roof.’ The roof was leaky, so that was my major investment,” Yujuico said, laughing.

The story of the birth of PSID, however, began when interior designer Edith Oliveros returned from studies in the United States. She was being tailed around by socialites, including jet-setter Minnie Osmeña, a granddaughter of the late President Sergio Osmeña, who developed a keen interest in interior design and architecture.

Oliveros, who joined the Cancio-Calma and Associates design firm in 1964, became part of a committee that developed an academic certificate program for PSID. Other committee members included architect Lor Calma, National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva and National Artist for Painting Arturo Luz.

In June 1967, PSID opened its doors, a trailblazer in interior design, providing a solid academic foundation and on-the-job training and drawing high society’s most fascinating personalities. The school grew on its first decade, establishing a reputation as one of the country’s leading schools of interior design.

Top 10

Today, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, PSID is known for consistently producing graduates who land in the Top 10 of the Interior Design Licensure Exam.

The 2017 graduating batch celebrates this milestone in an exhibit aptly called “GOLD—Glamorous, Opulent, and Luxurious Designs,” ongoing until Oct. 31 at Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City.

PSID’s 38th annual interior design graduation exhibit features the works of 72 graduates, including the first batch of the PSID-Ahlen Institute, PSID’s CHEd-accredited tertiary arm that offers a four-year BS Interior Design.

For the first time, the school’s students, alumni and faculty join forces and showcase their design ideas. The exhibit is divided into three galleries: The Student Gallery, The Faculty Gallery and The Alumni Gallery.

The students are grouped into design assignments from a mix of three motifs—traditional, modern, indigenous/cultural—and six templates: living room, dining room, bedroom, master toilet and bath, kitchen and den/lanai.

“Interior design is not just about the looks but also about the functionality. Our students have been exposed to beautiful things and are well-traveled. There’s diversity here, with students from different nationalities and different age groups,” Yujuico said.

PSID Dean Victor Luiz Pambid said he wanted a fresh perspective on the color gold, encouraging exhibitors to create textures, finishes and colors without going overboard.

Modern French Renaissance, for instance, elaborated on the comfort, warm lighting and massive space with high ceiling, with strong influences of 16th-century revivals. Pop Art, focused on the dining room template, mixed luxury with pop art, using bold color, consumer goods and mass media symbols to create a style reminiscent of pop culture.

Opulence and elegance

Balinese kitchen echoed distinct Balinese architecture, combining warm wood with glass, brass and onyx, while the Moroccan Oasis bedroom exuded opulence and elegance, blending deep blues and rich golds, replete with azulejo tiles and golden trims.

The Contemporary Egyptian toilet and bathroom had the bath for centerpiece. With Cleopatra as muse, the space was fit for royalty; patterns on the walls and ceilings were inspired by the steps of the Giza pyramid, with colors in black and gold filling the space.

It was the same in Cultural Aztec’s living room, where Aztec-inspired elements fused history, culture and elegance. It used the Aztec ziggurat pattern and triangular and geometric forms.

Among the alumni and staff that exhibited was 1995 board topnotcher Michael Pizarro, who married tradition with contemporary design in a bedroom. He incorporated Chinoiserie-like wallpaper with natural-finish wall in ash.

Gino and Karen Abrera used the kintsukuroi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum, to create a den that shuts out the chaos outside. Like kintsukuroi, the space is meant to repair one’s self.

Gel del Mundo’s luxe den with rough and untreated materials alongside polished and luxurious pieces highlighted concrete finish, repetitive patterns and massive and boxy furniture.

PSID has come a long way, from its Cancio-Calma Associates building in Makati in 1967 to a multistory building in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. This success, said Yujuico, is due to the four cornerstones of PSID: a strong curriculum, a faculty composed of practicing designers, an eclectic mix of students of different ages and backgrounds, and supportive administration and staff.

“I treat PSID like a family. I honestly don’t want it to get that big. I send food once a week; I’m not going there to work. It’s more like I’m going there to eat and bond over lunch,” Yujuico said.