Spotlight
Mutya Laxa Buensuceso: Bliss in the Little Black House
Mutya Laxa Buensuceso creates little pockets at home for a growing menagerie of over 300 animals, two children engaged in distance learning, and a growing children’s wear brand, Sprinkie.
The Buensuceso home outside the city center is a design marvel. Conceived by Jinggoy and Mutya Buensuceso, it was done in the Brutalist style to contrast beautifully against that natural topography of its rural address. Beneath it’s imposing perimeter walls, however, a sense of warmth, harmony, and bliss dwell. Home has been their safe haven, especially amidst an era of outbreaks, lockdowns, and uncertainty.
Mutya shares, “We are thankful that we have a very big space that allows us to care for animals. So, we built our very own zoo. As of the latest count, our family and staff care for 378 animals.” Planting has also become part of the daily agenda in their home, where kids are just as involved and immersed. The beauty expert with decades of experience in managing multinational luxury brands explains, “The kids have also become used to growing their own food. This was also a time we turned to working out with online trainers and eating more mindfully.”
On workdays, home is abuzz with activity. “In a situation like ours today, it’s so easy for lines to blur and things to get out of hand. So we dedicated space for key activities and give people roles and responsibilities.” A master at management, Mutya applies organizational skills used in running her fashion retail business to keeping harmony at home. “We do reviews and meetings on a regular basis to ensure everyone’s on track and that there is venue for feedback and suggestions. Like any company, there are rules and work ethics to be observed in our home.”
While Mutya is occupied with new ideas for her children’s wear brand, Sprinkie, her daughter is a hop and skip away. “Mayumi, my daughter, has her own home classroom situated in my office. I enclosed her space with a rack full of our celebration dress sample so she doesn’t get distracted by our activities in the office,” explains Mutya. Her son, meanwhile, is closely monitored in a learning area in his bedroom. “He has a different learning style so we created a classroom that allows him to focus through space design, color, and texture.”
Despite running a busy household of large scale, Mutya is keen about looking and feeling good. “Taking care of how you look and feel is for you. I come to work everyday with my skincare—Shiseido Ulitmune, Future Solutions.” Barely-there makeup also helps in setting the tone for work-from-home days. Light floral fragrances, she says, have remained constants in her beauty routines.
Mutya notes that of all the changes from 2020, fitness was the most welcome. Her husband played a large role in helping her reframe her mindset from one of panic into productivity. “We turned our attention to fitness,” she cites adding to the list of activities at home like farming, caring for animals, and refreshing their living spaces. “We are committed to do this Mondays to Saturdays for the rest of our lives,” Mutya declared. A 14-pound decrease in her weight has also inspired a new wardrobe, ideal for a new way of living day by day. Cami dresses, linens, and lounge coordinates have taken precedence over corporate ensembles of the BC (before COVID) era.
A new mindset, routine, wardrobe, and way of living within the Buesuceso’s beautiful black house was also inspired by words of the Pope. Mutya reiterates, “I love what Pope Francis said about life at home during the pandemic—enjoy your time with family, make your home into a restaurant, a mall, a cinema, a gym, a school, and everything else you miss from the outside… We should promote good vibes at home with stewardship and celebrate wins and milestones.”
As seen on Modern Parenting: The 100 List Anniversary Print Issue available on OMG Newsstands on Lazada and Shopee. Digital copies are also available through Magzter, PressReader, Readly, and Zinio.
Enjoyed Mutya’s story? Here are more parenting stories!
The Road to Conscious Parenting: Transforming ourselves to empower our children
Cha Cruz Behag Talks About Normalizing Miscarriage Conversations and the Parenting Lessons She’s Learned
Cha Cruz Behag: How Working Out Helped Her Pregnancy
