The luminous Manila family home of designer JJ Acuña and his sister Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine reflects their cultural heritage and the soulful energy that bonds their members together
As you enter the home, through a warm, wood panelled foyer, you are welcomed by a towering art wall covered in a unique paper installation by artist Wataru Sakuma featuring a mesmerising sunburst pattern. When the delicate paper lattice catches the rays, it demurely shimmers, before returning to its more raw and organic state.
“My sister Geraldine’s married last name is Sunshine,” explains Hong Kong-based interior designer and creative director of JJ Bespoke, James “JJ” Acuña. “We wanted to have that element in the home. She also works energetically and breezes through rooms declaring ‘this needs to be golden’ and ‘that area needs gold’.” It is evident that the siblings have an excellent rapport, as they laugh and banter on their design process for their family home.
“I wanted the sun right there,” declares Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine. The lawyer specialises in alternative investments, is an Overseer on the Harvard University Governing Board, and runs a neuroscience foundation focused on brain research and movement disorders. “I loved that this piece looks like metal, but it is in fact paper. All throughout the house, you’ll find angles that look hard, but are in fact curved and soft.” Her brother immediately quips back with a laugh: “That’s my sister’s personality; she looks hard, but she’s really soft.”