he's one of Tinseltown's most-sought after character actresses. As suffering mother or cutthroat villain, she has touched or angered televiewers for years. In particular, her Cruella de Ville role in ABS-CBN's primetime soap, Mga Anghel Na Walang Langit, has earned her the undying hatred of young audience.

In real life, however, far from being a child abuser, Sylvia Sanchez is a loving, hands-on mom to four kids—three of who are adolescents—as well as an A-list homemaker.

Four years ago, while pregnant with youngest child Gela , Sylvia discovered another passion—designing her own home, personally choosing all its furniture, accessories, and appliances. “Pawis at luha, yon, in-invest ko lahat diyan,” she says of her two-story, seven-room house in Pasig City .

Sylvia is so deeply in love with this house that she wouldn't leave it for anything—not even for a bigger hone in Quezon City 's most fashionable White Plains , a house that her husband, businessman Art Atayde, has been seriously thinking of buying.

Says Sylvia: “Masakit ang loob ko na lumipat, kasi ang dami kong ininvest dito.”

For her living room, Sylvia chose off-white Roman window shades, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere. The shades complement the eight-foot-tall green-and-silver-themed Christmas tree, which she got from a factory in Bulacan for less than P3,000. “Noong sabihan akong magki-Christmas pictorial, namili kami sa Bulacan, kasi may factory doon. Yung luma namin kasi, bali-bali na ang sanga.”

Sylvia bought the bowl-shaped candle and its wooden holder in Punta Fuego, Batangas. The two items came separately. Her original idea was to put “kung ano-anong abubot” on the wooden holder. But she realized as soon as she came back to Quezon City that the candle was just right for the wooden holder: “Bagay siya, maganda siya, kasya.”

She got the heavier candle holders earlier, while abroad: “Binitbit ko pa yan galing sa Las Vegas —yong mga ganyan, candelaria ko, na ang bibigat.”

A sensible and skillful buyer, Sylvia spent only around P35,000 for the new Christmas décor in the entire house. She says she would have spent more if she had done her shopping at the malls.

“Siya ang tagabayag,” Sylvia says of Art Atayde. “Sa per dito sa bahay, 99 percent pera ng asawa ko, 1 percent sa akin. Pero lahat ng effort, akin.”

The other half of the living room is adorned with scented candles of various shapes. “Mahlig ako sa kandila,” Sylvia reveals. Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Pilar Atayde, loves to give makeovers to Sylvia's home by bringing in unique pieces such as the Buddha lampshade shown here. “Dalawa kaming manugag niya na binibigyan niya ng gamit. Ang suwerte naming actually sa mother-in-law namin.”

The staircase leading to the bedrooms on the second floor is decked with “boughs of holly.” Installed on the wall is stained glass showing multicolored birds. A part of the ceiling has a framed, glowing image of Christ, also made of glass. Santa, who stands at the bottom of the stairs, has Gela for a fan.

On another console table in the dining room are these yellow glassworks, with Sylvia and Art got as a wedding gift. “Dinagdagan ko na lang ng mga Christmas anik diyan para sa pictorial n'yo,” she jokes.

The dining table is a traditional eight-seater long table. Slyvia had its chairs custom-made by friends who are furniture-makers, after she spotted a design she liked from a high-end furniture store. “Nagustuhan ko ang design na yan, so pinagaya ko lang.” Such chairs would normally cost more than P500,000. Sylvia spent less than P100,00 for her custom-made ones.

The china cabinet holds glass and crystal tableware that was either given by Sylvia's mother-in-law or by her wedding sponsors and guests.

The door (left) leads to her only son's blue-and-brown room, which has its own comfort room.

The dining table also features scented candles and an exotic-looking fruit holder filled with ripe mangoes.

This giant Ethan Allen bed in the master bedroom can hold four people. Sylvia admits she spent a whopping P160,000 for this because “gusto ng asawa ko ng malaking bed.”

Taking pride of place in the master's bedroom is a Phillips 59-inch projection TV in a gigantic TV case with built-in cabinets. Inside one of the cabinets is the couple's photo with the late Fernando Poe Jr., taken a few weeks before Da King died. Sylvia cooked for FPJ the day he visited their home. She recalls how the late actor advised Art to start preparing his will so his kids would be okay in case anything happened to Art. FPJ also mentioned that he had already worked on his will, so he wasn't worried any more. “Parang premonition nap ala yon,” says Sylvia.

The master bedroom boasts a stylish walk-in closet that leads to a bathroom.

This console table holds photos and school memorabilia of the Atayde kids. On its left side is a corridor and the backstairs that led to the balcony and the entertainment den.

Adjacent to the guest room is this miniature sala, with clean-line sofas and a curtain-covered glass-panel door. The sliding door opens to an all-concrete lanai, which also serves as a garage.

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