TRAVEL | Coming soon at Sitio de Amor Farm Resort

A new house rises from Sitio de Amor's sprawling grounds.

In a recent post I described how the owners of Sitio de Amor Farm Resort in San Pablo City, Laguna seemed to have recently developed a knack for buying old houses. Much like the case with Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan but in a far smaller scale, these houses are meticulously dismantled, transported, and then painstakingly reassembled on a new location.

After what they called the "Parañaque House" (which is still in progress), Sitio's owners have taken to building a much bigger house this time. Let's just call it the "Quezon House" because they got it from somewhere in Quezon province from former PCSO chair Manoling Morato (if I'm not mistaken) of the prominent Quezon clan.

It's a big two-storey house that boasts of a spacious balcony and several rooms. The roof has a complicated design that features a couple of spires. I was curious what they were for and George Bondad (half of the couple who owns Sitio) told me it was a hallmark of a family's social status at the time. Construction is in full swing, which they target to complete by December this year.

Bondad was more than gracious to show us around the house and gave us an informed tour. Here's the tour in photos:

The house's ground floor, which the Bondads are filling up with a variety of hardwood dining sets.

More hardwood.

That's going up the ceiling.

The balcony in the works. The balusters were all from the original house. Must be such work to remove them one by one without breaking them.

That's one huge slab of wood, isn't it?

Pieces are all numbered, including each wood plank from the floor. Bondad also had tiles manufactured according to the house's original design.

The door from the balcony leading up to the rooms.

Quite a spacious hallway and living room area.

Let's see these old furniture given new life soon.

All this wood is simply to be admired.

Ventanilla and planters. It's amazing that none of the iron pieces are welded at all.

Some handsome classic furniture. I didn't know what the leftmost one was before. I was later educated it's where pillows are stacked.

Catholic and tropical influences at play.

Why don't they make consoles like this anymore?

This room was supposedly where former president and fashionable man Manuel L. Quezon slept whenever we was in town.

A water tank whose history took a dark turn during the Japanese occupation where people were allegedly imprisoned. I don't know how true this is, though.

With George Bondad, owner of Sitio. Notice all the beautiful stained glass in the background.

The house will form part of Sitio's bed and breakfast but I was told that for cost efficiency reasons, it will be rented out as an entire house instead of per room. Nevertheless I can't wait to see it once it's finished.

Also check out my full review of Sitio de Amor for more about this bed and breakfast.