The home of Maritess Tantoco Enriquez and her husband Renato is a wonderfully vibrant alcove that celebrates art, travel, and family.
When Maritess Tantoco-Enriquez and her husband Renato returned to the Philippines after living in Morocco for several years, they first stayed in an apartment, and then in a rented house. The original plan was to live there for two years at most before building something permanent in Manila—but it would take nearly a decade and a half more before that could happen.
Meantime, the couple dreamed up a spectacular weekend home in the countryside. Known to family and friends as Kasbah Habibi (The House of Love), the interiors recreated and celebrated their time and courtship in Morocco. It was during the creation of that home that they were introduced to the interior designer Andrew Laurel, who previously worked on the homes of her nephew Donnie Tantoco and his wife Crickette. “[Laurel] did such a wonderful job there, that I asked if I could meet him,” Maritess says. “Kasbah Habibi was our very first project together.”
After that, Maritess was sure that Laurel would be able to accomplish the same great things for their home in Manila when the time came—and timing was everything when it came to choosing a haven for the long haul.
Two weeks before the couple was due to sign with their contractor, Maritess heard that a ten-month-old house had become available in one of Makati’s exclusive communities. “We had everything ready, but the thought of going through three more years of stress frightened me,” she explains. “It was difficult living in a house that wasn’t ours.” Instead of building from scratch, the couple decided to buy the fully-built property instead.
There were many upsides to this decision, chief among which was the luxury of immediately being able to renovate and decorate. “My husband and I agreed that he would take care of construction and I would do the interiors,” Maritess shares. While Kasbah Habibi was heavily inspired by Moroccan art and culture, she wanted their Manila home to have a more eclectic atmosphere, combining the oldworld charm of European influences with a wide range of predominantly Filipino art pieces.