Bunag also maintains a studio just a stone’s throw away from their house where she shoots products and holds workshops. Surrounded by heritage homes with patina on the floors and walls that only time can create, she has learnt how to enhance this scenario with plants, to constantly make her family feel like they’re on vacation.

“Even in the middle of a busy city, you can create your own sanctuary. For example, for me to be motivated to work out, my home gym has to be cute. I also invested in a good mattress so I can rest well. The smallest details affect my mood so it’s hard to separate work and life because they influence each other.”

The line between work and home is something that Bunag mentions with the way she’s created a symbiosis between what one does for a living and what one naturally gravitates toward. “My favourite part of the house is my work desk. I put everything that I want to see here. Usually, you don’t want to see work stuff when you get home
but I really love what I do,” she confesses.

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Bunag has recently won Best Use of Colour at the Tatler Homes Design Awards 2023. Judge Nate Berkus said: “I really like the counterbalance of the bright and vibrant textiles used on modern frames in a moody layered space.”

The palette of Bunag’s house is currently driven by a technique that she often uses. “In any space I style, I pick two main colours as my canvas. In this case, it is black and white; I then infuse it with vibrant colours. The colours I used in my home are very personal to me. For example, this painting [orange] was given to me by my uncle who just recently passed away. He was my creative inspiration and harshest critic. The pink and blue painting of the faces of the Blessed Virgin was his wedding gift to us as well.”

Most of the items Bunag uses are Filipino-made. She loves supporting local and buying from young furniture and art makers.

“DIY’ng furniture is therapy for me. I have furniture projects all the time. Like now, I have some antique cabinets I inherited that I’m planning to wallpaper, and I just got an IKEA table with legs that I plan to wrap yarn around on.”

Nowadays she gravitates towards the colours orange and olive in the palette of forest or camp hues. “Things don’t have to be matchy-matchy. Earth colours are my constant. I’ve always loved fall colours especially the ones inspired by my previous trips to Tokyo.”

As with any home, the owners have favourite pieces that mean something special to them placed around the house. One of Bunag’s would be the Gabby Prado painting which was among her first art investments. It reminds her how a loved one has exemplified turning a life-threatening illness into a source of inspiration or joy. There is also the white Triboa Bay couch, a family favourite, that ties the multiple colours in the home together and that everyone loves to sink into.

“This orange painting by my uncle is also special to me as my books and lamps. This one from Solano [tall red shade one] is a fave; sometimes you just need one good lamp that can easily update the look of your space.”

For Bunag, home is more than a structure. Since she is often out or travelling to seek inspiration, the feeling of wanting to come home is ever-present. This has compelled her to reflect on the definition of home. “When you think about it, what are we looking for, really? It could be a familiar scent or taste, a long-forgotten thing you love to do. People are constantly in search of that coming-home feeling and each corner of this house needs to make everyone living here feel at home, to feel at peace with themselves and their surroundings.“

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