Unboxing

CRL Designs decks out a decade-old home with more than a thousand art toys and sneakers.

- Virgil Villanueva

Track, strip, and back lights gently illumine the interiors upon our entry, revealing the art gallery that is Christian “Big Boy” Cheng’s residence. We keep our movements to a minimum for fear that a bit of excess might send irreplaceable pieces of his massive sneaker and art toy collection crashing to the floor. How big of a collection? Cheng does not audit. Estimates run to about 1,000 pairs of shoes and 900 art toys. Air conditioners and de-humidifiers run 24/7 to keep them in pristine condition.

“I’ve always loved design. I love to display items. I will enjoy this house for years to come. I’ll display my new stuff, roam around the house, and look at them,” the 40-year-old Cheng says as we settle in the dining area. Toys and doodads previously occupying the dining table were cleared to make way for his most recent purchase: a rare Voltes V toy. “Mamaya buksan natin. Amoyin natin,” he chuckles. He loves the collectible so much he plans to convert the guest room—containing Andy Warhol x Bathing Ape pillows, framed Joan Cornellà comic strips, among other art toys—into a gallery just for it. “I think this will eventually become Big Boy’s Voltes V room,” principal interior designer Cai Lim-Regala of CRL Designs later confirms.

Lim-Regala’s marching orders were to transform the 1,145-sqaure-meter home’s interiors into an art gallery, playful but functional at the same time. All the rooms and living spaces, save for the homeowner’s mini sports center at the back of the house, were to be renovated. The designer was quick to comprehend, having already worked with him on showrooms for his family’s foam and mattress business.