The living room, which does away with glass walls, screens or railings, offers an unobstructed view of the bay

A tree ensconced in the basement by the dramatic staircase reaches out to the living room's skylight.

The nautilus shaped cottage of artist Joey Fullon blends Balinese architectural styles with Filipino elements

If you happen be driving by Twin Rocks Marine Sanctuary in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas, you won’t miss Planet Dive Resort.  PlanetDive, which overlooks the sanctuary, is more than just a resort. It’s a showcase of cantilevered structures contoured against the hilly slopes of the property.

One of the resort’s owners, Joey Fullon, has a nautilus-shaped cottage located on the highest area of the resort. Joey also happens to be an artist who works mostly in Singapore.  He designed his personal cottage so it’s not a surprise that the house has that unmistakable look of an artist’s home. It half sits on natural ground while the other half is suspended on very large posts tied to the base of the slope. The terrain played a role in designing the house.

The exteriors of the house, which features a mix of Balinese and Filipino architectural elements, uses spherical stones stacked together and embedded in the cement. The door has an angled awning that reminds this writer of Viking ships and their prows.

Inside, the place is a showcase of furniture and accessories and antique pieces and artworks. You find yourself in a small reception area furnished with carved wooden furniture and a glass topped center table which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be the likeness of a ship’s steering wheel with a small bronze propeller in the center. Displayed on a shelf nearby is an antique collection - an old iron that uses charcoal, a lighthouse lamp and another antique contraption made of iron.

The living room is circular with a high ceiling, interspersed with skylight, and a staircase with a tree growing beside it leading to a lower level that adds a touch of drama.

To the left side of the cottage is the kitchen area bounded by a slab of dark granite called galaxy black. Joey says he found this half buried in mud in a landscape store in Bauan, Batangas and got it for a song. A collection of empty wine bottles from the resort lining the shelf directly above the sink serve as accents.

At the center of the living area is a wrought iron dining set with a matching wrought iron chandelier overhead sourced from Europe by Joey’s sister. A door to the right leads to the bedroom with its own bathroom.

The living area is more like a deck with a couple of wooden lounge chairs, a bench and an open air view of the nearby bay. Joey did away with sliding doors, a screen or balcony railings in favour of a more rustic albeit daring approach for an unobstructed view of the bay.

Going down the stairs, you enter a rounded corridor which has a study table crammed with books, nude paintings and unfinished works.  A door near the center of the corridor opens to an outdoor balcony with a stone hedge and a compass made of assorted marble tiles embedded in the flooring.

Joey says Risa Hontiveros Baraquel is another co-owner of PlanetDive and she maintains her own cottage in the resort.  He was a close friend of Baraquel’s late husband.  “I had already learned diving and got him to take up diving as well,” he says. “I used to dive master for him and Risa together with a small group of military officers who took the class with them under Dennis Catienza, who happens to be the third resort owner/partner. We were diving so often and spending so much then we thought it would be cheaper just to acquire property in Anilao and purchase a compressor and some tanks.  Of course we needed to consult Dennis about such a purchase. This was when he brought up the idea of providing a regular checkout venue for his classes so as to subsidize the cost and operation of the compressor.”

That was their original concept for PlanetDive: They had meant to build a hut each for the three partners and a few rooms for the diving students of Dennis. As it happened,

the students would bring their diver friends who also referred their diver friends. So before long, they needed to build additional cottages.

Joey recalls that when the resort first opened, PlanetDive just had rooms and a dining area. Joey forecasts that just like previous changes, the evolution of Planet Dive Resort will be subtle amidst growth and change.