How a badminton court became a vacation house

By any measure, it began as a modest vacation place. The idea was to have a farm in Liliw, Laguna, the town Chit Salud grew up in, in the province she and her husband, lawyer Faustino "Pong" Salud, began their business. Apart from Chit’s ancestral house in the heart of town, the couple wanted a place on the outskirts, somewhere Pong could plant fruit-bearing trees like the ones he had on his family’s farm in Cavite where he grew up.

They bought two hectares of land, built a two-bedroom house and put up a badminton net for their children and grandchildren.

But first, a bit of background on why the badminton court plays so prominently in this story. Back when the electronics market was dominated by a few Japanese brands, Pong Salud became the exclusive distributor of JVC electronics in the Philippines and helped propel the brand to the top position it holds today. And as far back as that, he was into badminton and taught his six children – Gina, Irene, Ollie, Jack, George and Dennis – to play it.

George Salud, owner of the stores Merger and Tie Line, says, "The problem with playing badminton on a farm was that it was too windy. We couldn’t play as well as we could have."

So they decided to build an indoor court. And since they were building a badminton court, they might as well add a living and dining room, and a kitchen since the family so loves to eat. And since they were building that, they might as well add a master’s bedroom for Chit and Pong to stay. And since they were building a master’s bedroom, they might as well add six more bedrooms for each of the kids and their spouses, and an attic for the 10 grandchildren, and a game room in the basement. And since it was clearly becoming a big house, they might as well add wet and dry saunas, a Jacuzzi pool, and, oh, hell, why not outdoor swimming pools and three holes for a short game of golf?

Well, you get the idea.

The farm, which was originally two hectares, is now seven after neighbors sold the idle properties surrounding theirs. And the "farmhouse," designed by architect Jay Ruiz with interior design by Eric Paras, is a wonderful structure with the look of vacation houses in exotic, expensive islands or mountain resorts.

But still, the badminton court is the centerpiece, located right smack in the middle of the house, taking up the most space. And indeed the house was designed around the court – not as an afterthought but as the original thought.

"We built this so we could play badminton," says Chit Salud. This is a woman who, at first meeting, exudes so much warmth, such down-to-earth charm it’s easy to see why she is so well loved. "My husband and children and grandchildren play badminton; I play golf – my legs are not that strong for badminton."

JVC has been, from the start, one of the biggest promoters of the sport before it became a fad. Under Pong Salud as chairman, JVC Philippines puts a lot of its resources behind its annual inter-collegiate badminton tournament.

George says, "My sister Ollie is based in San Pablo and they operate a badminton club there. My dad was the one who was really into it, way back when we were kids; my brother Dennis used to join tournaments at the Polo Club."

When the architect and Pong were working on the plans, "one thing just led to another," says George. "The house came in stages. As one work was being done, my dad would think of the next thing to do – like the spa. That’s my dad. The space was originally all fruit trees and then he changed his mind.

The swimming pool wasn’t even part of the original plan, but then the neighbors sold their properties and suddenly there was space for it. When it was leading towards its becoming a house, Eric came into the picture."

It seemed like a daunting task to design the interiors of a house that was to accommodate the parents, five of their kids and their spouses, and a bachelor son, but Eric Paras knows the family well. He’s designed three homes for them – Gina, Dennis and George’s – and so he knew their taste, which was simple, elegant, and, being a vacation house, easy to maintain. What made it easier, too, was that the Salud children wanted their bedrooms to have the look and feel of a hotel room. Or as Eric says, "no imprint of their personalities."

There was no lobbying for who would get the bigger floor area or the best views either as Pong called up his children and asked only what they required and if they wanted a double bed or two twin beds. They ended up with the same floor areas (it was first-come, first-served, says George), except for the painter Jack Salud who requested a small studio in the bedroom where he could paint.

Since George was put in charge of dealing with the nitty-gritty of the construction and the finishing touches of the interiors with Eric, he had the advantage of knowing which bedroom to choose. "I got the one on the far end because in the other rooms, you could hear the noise from people going up and down the stairs and playing badminton," he says with a chuckle.

Apart from the badminton court, there was another thing the family required of the design: to have rooms big enough to accommodate all of them. Hence Eric designed two large family rooms – with their own dining spaces and kitchens – on both the ground and second floors. These are the rooms where the family gathers to watch TV (huge JVC flat-screens, of course), to eat and sometimes they bring a masseuse from Manila for relaxing foot massages to complete their weekend getaway.

The interior designer was given carte blanche on the interiors. His choice of style – clean lines; a mix of wooden furniture, metal and glass accessories; low-maintenance linens (one type of bed covers so as not to confuse the help on which one goes to which room); uniform headboards, desks, daybeds and chairs in the bedrooms; and colors around gray, brown and sandstone.

"We chose the fabrics carefully," Eric Paras says. "A big consideration was that this is a big family that loves to eat, the upholstery had to be dark enough so they wouldn’t worry about stains, and easy to clean and maintain. The last thing you want in a vacation house is to be harassed on how to clean it."

On any given month of the year, you can pick fruits from the farm and serve them to guests (last week it was balimbing season). You can also pick plants and put them in tall, sleek glass or metal vases as accessories as Eric did for the pictorial.

Having all that farm space would’ve been a waste with other homeowners, but not so for the Saluds. Chit and Pong both have a green thumb, both love plants and trees, and for a time in the past she even had a bonsai nursery.

"My husband likes planting fruit trees, he grew up in Cavite where they had lots of sampaloc that were so sweet. Here, we have sampaloc but not as sweet, rambutan, lanzones, lemons and so many others."

While the house hosts family cookouts and monthly weekend getaways, it is not the only place where the family gathers. It is, however, a very special one. When the tough matriarch was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago, it was her family’s support and bonding that helped her deal with it. (Her cancer has been in remission for the past five years.)

Three years ago, when they were building the house, Chit was kept out of the process so as not to stress her out. According to George she was the only family member who didn’t see it during the construction. Her husband wanted it to be a surprise Holy Week getaway. With the deadline fast approaching, George spent four months with Eric choosing the furnishings, the color palette (though very fastidious in all other things, not one swatch went through Pong’s hands), and picking out accessories. With sawdust still swirling around, the children descended on Liliw with their own cleaning implements to clean the house while Chit was staying in the ancestral house in town.

Finally, she was brought to the farm, to the new house where she could rest, tend to her plants and trees, and watch her grandchildren play badminton, swim and run around the grounds that Pong equipped with playground swings.

The obvious closeness of the family is enviable but they didn’t really need a vacation house for that. In this family, everybody blocks off Wednesdays and Sundays for lunch get-togethers in their parents’ house in Makati.

"That’s when my mom makes palengke," says George. "You drop everything on Wednesday and Sunday even if you live in Laguna – like my sister Ollie and her family, and our cousins – you go to Makati for lunch. That’s how my mom is."

And that’s the way the Saluds’ eldest daughter is, too. "Gina takes the most after me, in business and personality," Chit says. "We’re the same. Gusto namin ang wallet namin palaging puno. At di kami makalakad ng walang alalay. Gusto laging may bisita na nakapaligid sa kanya. As far as cooking is concerned, all the boys cook, but it’s Ollie and Irene who cook really well."

Who among the children inherited the couple’s love of homes, never done with putting the final touches? "All of them, except Irene."

And who takes after her husband? Chit answers with a laugh, "George. Sa ugali, parehong kuripot, magaling sa pera – yung iba waldas like Dennis. Jackie also, magaling sa pera, matipid yung mag-asawang yon. His wife, all her shoes are from Liliw."

Well, there’s a story to that, too.

Liliw, Laguna is typical of a small Philippine town that grew to be big. From a dusty barrio it’s become a full-fledged town – with concrete roads and highways passing through it – that celebrates its cottage industries with festivals. The biggest of them, which an unsuspecting tourist will find amusing, is the Tsinelas Festival. Yup, tsinelas, slippers, flip-flops. Whatever you call them if they’re made locally, chances are, they were made in Liliw.

Chit spent her childhood here with her brother and she remembers the time when there was a true spirit of bayanihan. No, people weren’t moving houses on their shoulders, but neighbors were always willing to extend a helping hand, even if it was just for a party. "When there was a fiesta, the neighbors would come to your kitchen and they’d be peeling potatoes and help you cook," Chit says. "As a girl I’d stay under the table at inaabutan ako ng nanay ko ng patatas para magbalat."

Chit studied at the Philippine Women’s University where she took up education. "My parents were very strict, interna ako doon – meaning I stayed in a dorm in school."

When she was about to graduate, the school was going to hold a ball and she asked a professor to fix her up with a blind date but she had one requirement: he had to be a lawyer. The blind date turned out to be Pong Salud, and after one year they got married. They’ve been married for the past 46 years.

Through it all, the Saluds have had several houses – the first was a rented one in Sta. Mesa, near her husband’s office, the Del Rosario Brothers Appliances. "Sometimes when my mother-in-law would come to the apartment, she would open the refrigerator and all she’d see was water. So after a year, we decided to transfer to the province and become dealers in appliances. After so many years, we became the sole distributor of JVC in the Philippines, which is now in a joint venture with a Japanese company."

They stayed in Liliw for nine years, and then transferred to San Pablo where the children studied. "When Gina was of college-age, I transferred to Manila with her in a rented house and on weekends we’d go home to San Pablo."

With the children fast approaching college, too, the family bought a house in Makati, where Chit established her fast-food business called Home Joy at the site where SM Department Store in Ayala Center now stands.

Home Joy is also the brand that she created to distribute local pastries, delicacies, dried mangos, gourmet tuyo and sardines. "I’d go to the different provinces to look for products that I could market elsewhere." She also distributes imported chestnuts from China under the brand "Wowa" (that’s what her grandchildren call her.)

"When we were starting, I’d make the bagoong myself. Galit na galit yung asawa ko kasi amoy bagoong ako buong araw."

Chit admits that the business influence runs strong in their children, too, thanks in no small part to an upbringing that emphasized hard work. "During school breaks, I’d make them sell sago’t gulaman and tacos in front of the house. We had a restaurant on Pasay Road before called Isla Seafood and Gina and the kids were the waiters, sinasama ko sa palengke."

George adds, "Vacations were work for us. At the time it was hard to understand. You’re a kid, all your friends are vacationing and you have a different itinerary. We only understood and appreciated later why my parents didn’t want to hand us anything on a silver platter. To this day, it was an experience we won’t forget. The gave us an appreciation for the value of money. We all ended up taking up business courses, from Gina down to Dennis; even Jack took up marketing, it was only later that his love of art manifested itself."

Chit explains, "I was very strict with them. I didn’t grow up rich, it was just right except sometimes nagkukulang din yung kinikita ng parents ko. My dad was a dentist, and he and my mom started the slippers industry here which they inherited from my grandfather."

Today, the children have put up a store in the town proper of Liliw called Entrada, also designed by Eric Paras, selling slippers, shoes, and bags. The prices and quality are so good it’s no wonder whenever you tell anybody you’re going to Liliw they always ask you to buy them slippers!

And so Chit Salud is at home once again in the town where she grew up. "The other day," she says with a wide smile with just a hint of nostalgia, "I was telling my nurse how nice it was here. How I used to climb lanzones trees when I was a young girl."

You really can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. She will find her way back home.