- A modern touch for function and style
Bathrooms need decorating as much as the rest of your house requires it. It needs to serve its true purpose, it also represents a retreat—a place to relax, be alone and enjoy time for yourself.
Kohler, a brand known for its mission of contributing to a higher level of gracious living, understands this. So forget the wall-to-wall white tiles; Kohler combines the best ideas for decorating your home by combining color, texture, convenience and style in terms of looks, finishes and features, and can easily be incorporated into your own projects.
Natural materials
A great way to give your bathroom a welcoming and tranquil feel is by adding natural materials that complement the fixtures and materials typically used in bathrooms. Natural stone or wood is a great way to set off marble floors or other cold slab countertops.
Relaxing and serene
A perfectly functional and luxe showerhead is easy enough to add, but the best way to transform a bathroom into a personal enclave for relaxation is to add a bathtub. Bathtubs inspire a sense of self-indulgence. On an aesthetic level, choosing the right bathtub offers a striking sculptural design and focal point.
An easy way to incorporate this ideal in modern bathrooms is by choosing the right tub. Kohler’s newest models of Lithocast baths for instance, features Lithocast solid surface material that is proprietary to Kohler.
Consider how choosing the right design can shape and pull the entire look of your space together. The gentle curves of a bath can stand in stark contrast to an angular theme, adding softness. On the flipside, geometric baths can go well with pastel hued spaces or beautifully complement a minimalist bathroom.
Add natural warmth and a splash of art
Make the most out of your bathroom’s natural lighting. Matching the look of your tub or fixtures to your lighting helps streamline the entire look of your bathroom.
Choose artwork that complements the overall theme of your space to keep the look cohesive.
The modern bathroom is consistently evolving. What was once simply a functional space is now being transformed into a quiet, welcoming retreat. Try adding these new elements into your bathroom and see how it helps create a functional but relaxing room that can whisk you away from the busy pace of everyday life.
“Kohler Co. has been improving the level of gracious living through design and innovation. Our company is known for paving the way for craftsmanship and service by offering numerous options and will continue to do so in an effort to live up to its vision,” ends Benjamin Chang, Kohler Marketing communication manager for Southeast Asia.
- Better nutrition, key to athletes’ success
With the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore, the Philippine team donned with pride and passion as they have proven once again that they can slug it out with the best athletes from neighboring countries.
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has new programs for the SEA Games representatives in order to realize their full potential and ensure that they are at their peak condition during this much-hyped event and other international sporting events in the future.
The Philippines’s foremost sportsmen successfully translated these programs into more wins after improving the country’s seventh-place standing during the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, to a sixth-place finish, bagging 30 more medals in this edition of the Games.
The POC enlisted the help of professionals in the fields of sports science, sports psychology, sports vision, sports rehabilitation, sports training, and nutrition in order to whip the athletes into shape and to achieve their optimal fitness level.
Before heading to Singapore, athletes from different sporting events went through rigorous training and special programs that rendered them more competitive than usual.
“Ngayon mas naging doble yung hirap na ginagawa namin compared sa ibang international competitions; mas mahirap talaga yung training for SEA Games. Parang gusto na naming sumuko minsan pero pinipilit namin kasi para ‘to sa country,” said Olympic Rowing representative Justine Vinas, who missed the podium after settling for fourth place.
Emmanuel Escote, who is the spiker of silver medalist sepak takraw team, said they trained intensely to top their successful performance in the recently concluded King’s Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship in Thailand. “Mas binubugbog namin ‘yung sarili namin ngayon! Siyempre kung ano ‘yung skills mo ngayon, kailangan mo pang higitan.”
While athletes have varying motivations for playing for the national team, they share one cause—to bring home a win and make their fellow Filipinos proud.
Athlete’s nutrition
Acknowledging the important role of good nutrition in an athlete’s performance, POC created a sports nutrition program to make meal plans for the athletes depending on their specific needs.
In the process, POC nutritionists learned that many of our national athletes are constipated and lack an understanding of proper nourishment in achieving optimum health.
To address this issue, the POC partnered with a leading supplement brand in the country, C-Lium Fibre. With the tie-up, fiber was incorporated in every athlete’s meal plan in order to reach the 25 to 30 grams of recommended daily fiber intake. Athletes were asked to take the fiber in husk form mixed with water, first thing in the morning.
After just a couple of weeks on the program, athletes readily reported experiencing regular bowel movement and no longer suffering from bloating or other signs of digestive disorder.
According to the National Fiber Council, the soluble fiber in psyllium absorbs water, turns it into gel, then attaches to food, sugars, cholesterol and fats in the stomach. It then helps to expel these from one’s digestive system. A high-fiber diet also helps lower the risk of developing life-threatening diseases, such as heart disease, certain forms of cancer, diabetes and stroke.
“I think it’s one of the most important supplements we need to take as individuals. Psyllium is actually a very good product and it’s very convenient, and so there’s no excuse for you not to be able to get the right amount of daily fiber because it’s so accessible,” Coach Jim Saret said.
Coach Toni Saret, who is coheading the POC’s program with her husband Jim, said nutrition also plays a big role in an athlete’s performance.
“You cannot work out with poor nutrition. Fitness and sports are always tied up with proper nutrition; you cannot have one without the other or else you cannot attain your optimal performance as an athlete,” the female coach said.
Because of partnerships like this, POC has high hopes that our representatives will perform better in different international sporting events like the Olympic Games and this will translate into medals for the country.