Ray of Light

The luminous Manila home of architect JJ Acuña and his sister Geraldine reflects their cultural heritage and the soulful energy that bonds their family together

- Stephanie Zubiri

As you enter this Manila home through a warm, wood-panelled foyer, you are welcomed by a towering wall with a unique paper installation by artist Wataru Sakuma. It features 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; we wanted to have that element in the home," explains James 'JJ' Acuña, the Hong Kong-based interior designer and creative director of JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio. "She also works energetically and breezes through rooms declaring 'this needs to be golden' and 'that area needs gold"."

It is clear the siblings enjoy an excellent rapport, as they banter on about the design process for their family home. "I wanted the sun right there; I loved that this piece looks like metal, but it is in fact paper," declares Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine. The multihypenate is a lawyer who specialises in alternative investments, and an overseer on the Harvard University Governing Board; she also runs a neuroscience foundation focused on brain research and movement disorders. She adds: "All throughout the house, you'll find angles that look hard, but are in fact curved and soft." Her brother quips back with a laugh: "That's my sister's personality; she looks hard, but she's really soft."