THE GUEST room is also a display area for Jed’s Superman collection.
Singer Jed Madela’s two-story home in Cainta, Rizal, was a casualty of Tropical Storm “Ondoy,” which ravaged Metro Manila exactly two years ago this month. He was away when surging floodwaters entered his 200-sq-m town house.
“The chest-deep waters damaged my couch, wooden cabinets, refrigerator and oven,” Jed related as he ushered Living Stars into his renovated, redecorated home. “I also had one of my cars repaired and sold after what happened.”
Jed used to live in a rented condominium unit in Mandaluyong City. “The condo became too small for me so I decided to transfer to an apartment in Greenhills, San Juan,” said Jed, a regular performer in “ASAP,” ABS-CBN’s Sunday noontime show. “After a while, I thought of buying a place of my own.” Four years ago, he moved to Cainta.
The Iloilo native said Cainta reminds him of the simplicity of small-town living. “You hear birds chirping in the morning. You don’t smell pollution from the cars. It’s very quiet here and far from the noise. Nasanay kasi ako sa probinsya. When I bought this, it was just the basic shell, all painted in white. That was okay with me because at least I got to decorate it myself.”
Frustrated architect
WHEN “Ondoy” struck, floodwaters reached up to the fifth step of this flight of stairs.
THE SINGER with Basti, his beagle
Jed, who describes himself as a frustrated architect, said he expresses his artistic self by fixing his house. “I’m not much of a party person,” he said. “I’m not the type who invites people over. This is therapy. If I’m not watching TV, I’m fixing the house.”
The World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) grand champion said he gets ideas from magazines and from what he sees in his travels abroad. “I know what works for me,” he added. “It depends on my mood. For a while, the entire house was all white, down to the couch, carpet and curtains. Then it became black and white, and shortly after, I included a few pieces in red. Lately, I wanted it to feel homey, so I incorporated earth colors.”
Jed would buy furniture pieces everywhere, like the sofa from a nearby department store, the lamps and chandelier from Dubai, a sculpture from the United States, the bathroom mosaic tiles from Turkey and the ceramic trinkets from Hawaii. “When I travel, I buy things that I know will be useful in the house, not stuff na magiging kalat lang,” said the Universal Records artist. “This is important because I don’t have a lot of space.”
THE BATHROOM design was copied from an Asian-motif spa.
His collection of unicorn figurines, all made from pewter silver, is from a fan from Ireland. “She sends a piece every month. I found out recently that they’re quite expensive. I placed them in a glass standee.”
He also has an extensive collection of Superman items, which include a life-sized statue of the superhero that he got from a friend. “I was surprised to wake up one day and… there it was,” he said of the supersized Superman. “A doctor friend who saw my concert and enjoyed it, found out that I love Superman, so he sent it. I also have an original script of ‘Smallville’ that actor Tom Welling signed while in Canada.”
Jed’s bedroom, which used to have chocolate-colored walls, is now painted white. His sheets, pillow cases and trinkets are all in white. Even his work station has white drawers and a work chair upholstered in white leather.
Gardening enthusiast
JED is saving up to remodel the kitchen and make it more spacious.
The design of Jed’s personal bathroom was copied from something he saw in a hotel in the United States. “It’s like an Asian-motif spa,” the singer explained. He placed pebbles on the floor, hung wooden blinds and mounted colorful tiles on the wall.
He built the garden all by himself. “My mom brought plants and seedlings from Iloilo; I bought some in Tagaytay. We both love gardening. I’m not very fond of flowering plants because they require more care. I like wild ferns. There are times when, on road trips, I stop the van to pick up some ferns. I bring them home in the hope that they’d grow here.”
Jed added: “I do everything here myself – cooking, gardening, carpentry, even electrical repairs. Just don’t let me handle the laundry. That’s why my family and friends keep telling me, ‘Asawa na lang ang kulang.’”
E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph