When Bryan Guila, 25 years old, posted photos of his renovated bedroom on Instagram, a lot of his friends were impressed with the finished “product” – a bedroom that’s easy on the eyes, with white walls all around (except for an olive green wall, which serves as a backdrop for his WFH space), and strategically placed windows that let in generous daylight.

In overall vibe, his bedroom straddles Scandinavian and Japanese designs, the former due to the light walnut shade on the laminate flooring, dark gray bed board, and beige carpet and curtain (there’s also the presence of white appliances); the latter because of the minimalist look, particularly projected by a solitary indoor plant and a single plush sofa usually seen on tatami flooring.

What made this renovation more “personal” for Bryan is that he planned the design on his own, using pegs from Instagram and Pinterest and his skills as a multimedia artist.

The bedroom renovation project, he says, was a long-time plan.

“I wanted my old bedroom to be renovated years ago, but it always got backlogged with other house renovation plans. My old bedroom was a lot smaller than this one,” Bryan says. “At first, I did a few sketches to start renovating my existing bedroom, but it got backlogged when my dad renovated their bedroom, which luckily gave me a space for my extension.”

When the pandemic interrupted his work at the office, he found himself working at home for longer periods of time.

“Since I couldn’t go anywhere, I mostly worked downstairs in the living area with all the distractions and noise. I’m doing a lot of creative work that’s why I crave for peace and comfort,” he says. He realized he needed a spacious area to fit his work station.

“At first, I was hesitant about asking permission to use a part of the extended terrace as my room. I had lots of discussions with my parents about it, but they eventually agreed.”

Once he got the go signal, Bryan started to work on his design layout. “I had tons of layout revisions, to be honest. I think I ended up having almost 10 sketched layouts filled with revisions. It took months!”

After months of planning, months of execution followed. A section of his old bedroom was demolished to give way to a larger space. “I also had to adjust a part of my ceiling to fit our house.”

Once his design began taking shape, Bryan started to scout for furniture. The pandemic posed some limitations as furniture showrooms were not open, so he took the online route, finding pieces that would fit inside his bedroom. He also repurposed an old sewing machine table, transforming it into his new WFH desk.

“It was truly an ‘achievement unlocked’ for me!” beams Bryan. “Now I have a bedroom with a work area that reflects my personality and also makes a sort of ‘man cave’ that allows me to do creative work and relax at the same time.”