Repurpose, recycle, renovate: Guest rooms inspired by presidents  

Finding new purpose for old structures, refurbishing them with recycled furniture, and yet making them elegant and beautiful. And more importantly, preserving Philippine heritage.

That seems to be a current passion of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos. Does she have the Ilocano vibe of President Bongbong Marcos by being frugal and making use of furnishings in the Palace’s storage bodegas?

Yes and yes. To date, the Goldenberg Mansion has been renovated to serve as a venue for art exhibits, cultural shows and fashion industry events. The Teus Mansion and the Bahay Ugnayan have likewise been redone.

The latest is the 95-year-old Laperal Mansion—formerly called Arlegui Guest House—where Presidents Cory Aquino and Fidel Ramos lived. With its beautiful neocolonial architecture, it has been repurposed to serve as the residence of visiting heads of states and dignitaries.

“This will not only save the government hotel expenses for our visiting dignitaries, but will also assure a pleasant, comfortable, safe and meaningful place for guests to stay in,” explains Malacañang Social Secretary Bianca Zobel. “After a tiring day, they would surely appreciate a place where they can de-stress. Thus we have converted a warehouse at the back into a spa.”

Deputy Sec. Dina Tantoco, says: “Think Blair House of the US, which is where the US government extends hospitality to their guests.”

But the Laperal Mansion, of course, is a modest version, with only 14 bedrooms, living rooms, a dining hall and two kitchens. The bedrooms were named after past presidents who inspired the interior designers/architects tasked to give character to the rooms. Their services were pro bono. 

“For love of country,” smiles architect Conrad Onglao, who says it feels good to be able to give back when you have been blessed. Indeed, Onglao is one of the top choices of A-listers who want quality for their residences. 

Onglao created the spa using the storage warehouse at the back of Laperal Mansion. “My inspiration was Indochine which is universally colonial. So I used machuca tiles, shutters and a black-and-white theme. There is a receiving area that can used for high tea, a gym, a massage room, sauna, swimming pool and baths, even an area for grooming and parlor needs.” It will be managed by The Farm in San Benito.

“The nice thing about the presidents’ rooms designed by different designers is that we worked individually, there was no sense of competition. We didn’t even see each other during the process,” says Onglao.

Since STAR Lifestyle already featured Laperal Mansion and its rooms two weeks ago, we decided to look into details not shown in the feature.

At the Diosdado Macapagal room designed by Lizzie Zobel, Junie Rodriguez and Mia Borromeo, the pineapple figures prominently amid rural paintings (Macapagal introduced land reform, hence the featured produce from the land); a poet as well, there are naturally many books among the photographs in the room.

The room named after his daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, also carries the pineapple motif. “The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality,” explains Anton Barretto who designed the room together with Tessa Alindogan and Arthur Tselishchev, who did artworks on Filipiniana dresses. Barretto, who has previously designed for GMA, says she loves entertaining. “I love it,” GMA told Barretto when shown the room design.

Some other vignettes: For Rodrigo Duterte’s room, Chat Fores installed sculpture and safari-themed beddings, as if to show masculinity and strength. In Noynoy Aquino’s room, Ivy and Cynthia Almario used CDs for closet knobs, as he was a music lover. In Ramon Magsaysay’s room, Tito Villanueva, a family friend, put in elements of the farm and fishing, things the late president loved. For Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s room, Jonathan Matti reupholstered a lot of Malacañang furniture, using banana fiber for wallpapers. For Elpidio Quirino’s room, Ram Bucoy took advantage of old paintings from Malacañang archives, used the saranggola motif for the headboard, and sourced all over—even from flea markets—for old repainted furniture.

The rooms inspired by former presidents all looked refreshing and interesting, with stories and details from their lives. The tour of Laperal Mansion was like a revisit to history. 

Next on the drawing board: The Mansion House in Baguio, built in 1908. A cool challenge.