Actress Nadine Lustre and her boyfriend Christophe Bariou shared a glimpse of Maison Bukana, his eco-conscious resort home in Siargao in the latest vlog of broadcast journalist Karen Davila.
The private villa is located at Brgy. Malinao, General Luna in Siargao, Surigao del Norte.
YouTube/Karen Davila
According to Lustre, she considered the resort, which she described as Bariou's baby also as her home, where they spent most of their memorable moments like their birthdays.
"It's a really interesting story because the way my sister and I saw it, it's really like a fusion of both our cultures and identity. The French culture and the Filipino/Ilocano also. So we name it 'Maison' because maison is a sort of a heritage part, and this is what we wanted to bring here, heritage from France. And like, you know, the established maison in France, like maison of chocolate, maison of wine, maison champagne, they have this heritage. They want to like, you know, showcase it. And so that was the part of it, but it's also a home, of course. And 'Bukana' here means the place where the river and the ocean meets. I see it also as a crossroad of flows and influence. And here, this is why we try to take the best of, let's say, France, and the best of Philippines and combine it," Bariou told Davila.
Bariou said the resort, which is his family's project, is where he and Lustre first met.
"I met her here in the resort. She was the friend of my social media manager and it happened to be by luck that she was here on the beach on our day off and I was just there and my social manager and her friend messaged me 'Oh, I'm with some people, we want to hang out.' I was like, 'Yeah, sure, come. My first impression was, like, she actually sat exactly here. We said hi and I was like, 'Okay, cool.' She sat down and she started opening her laptop and working, and I was like, and all her group was like, we were having drinks, and I was like, looking at her, like, interesting. This girl was like, really working all the time," Bariou said.
"I thought he was cute. I did think he was cute but then that time I wasn't really... parang hindi ako naghahanap ng anything. I just found him really attractive, but I didn't think any of it," Lustre said.
YouTube/Karen Davila
YouTube/Karen DavilaThe vlog gave viewers a glimpse of various parts of the resort, including its sunken living room, swimming pool and garden room villa, complete with its own toilet, shower and storage room.
YouTube/Karen Davila
According to Lustre, the villa has four rooms, with much of its furniture crafted in Siargao. Some of the chairs, for example, were handwoven by local fishermen.
Bariou said the resort is also somehow boat-inspired. "It's a deck," Bariou said.
YouTube/Karen Davila
Lustre said she and Bariou have a house in Siargao's town, which is simpler than Maison Bukana.
In the vlog, Lustre and Bariou also talked about what they love about each other, the biggest challenge in their relationship, and their plant-based vegan restaurant.