The thrilling events unfolding in Dreamscape Entertainment’s new crime/revenge drama series “Dirty Linen” have many people glued to their TV/laptop screens for a good week now. But aside from the gripping plot development, the intense performances of a powerhouse cast (Tessie Tomas, John Arcilla, Janice de Belen, Angel Aquino, Epy Quizon, Joel Torre, Zanjoe Marudo, Janine Gutierrez, Christian Bables, and Jennica Garcia), and the overall sure-footed direction of Onat Diaz and Andoy Ranay, it’s the Fiero residence that keeps us awake at night. Not just because we know it holds the family’s deepest, darkest secrets but because, well, it’s huge!

Every time the screen offers a glimpse of the Fiero estate, with that palatial abode and that Versailles-style garden, we couldn’t help but wonder, in a country with 7,100++ islands, where did the Dreamscape people find a house like that?!

So we asked Nancy Arcega who’s in charge of the television series’ production design. Industry insiders know her as the woman behind the interiors and overall look of the very first “Pinoy Big Brother” edition. She’s also the trusted production designer of Coco Martin for “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” and “Ang Panday.”

Arcega surprised us by saying the Fiero residence isn’t an actual family mansion. It’s the clubhouse of Summit Point, a popular golf and country club in Lipa City, Batangas—a project of the Sta. Lucia Land Inc.

Arcega, who’s been a production designer for over 30 years now, shares that finding a suitable location for the mystery thriller proved quite the challenge considering the production requirements. First, the house and the location where it stands have to be massive. “Mala-Hamptons estate in New York,” she recalls director Onat Diaz telling her.

There were more prerequisites—it has to have a private meeting room where all the immediate family members can gather, with a living room close by. It has to be laid out in such a way that the vengeful character of the maid Mila dela Cruz (Gutierrez) would be able to overhear private discussions of the ruthless family she’s working for.

Initially, Arcega and the location manager then, Jeff Recaplanza, were directed to check out the old ancestral houses in Iloilo. They went to Nelly’s Garden, the Molo Mansion, and the Camiña Balay nga Bato, among others. Unfortunately, the said venues didn’t fit their shooting requirements (they are more museums than homes now) and aren’t available for long-term use.

From Iloilo, Arcega’s team traveled to Rancho Bernardo in Bagac, Bataan. “Maganda sana ang lugar, pero wala siyang big meeting room,” the production designer recalls. They also checked out Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park in Rosario, Batangas, which has an expansive garden. The problem: there was no big house. (They ended up shooting Janine Gutierrez’s maze garden scene there, however.) Looking for massiveness and grandeur, they also considered Luneta Hotel, the Rizal Park Hotel, and Manila Hotel, but they all didn’t fit the bill.

Finally, Diaz suggested they look for an events place, or studio, that Arcega could, with a few tricks of the trade, transform to look like a stately mansion. And that’s when she remembered the clubhouse at Summit Point in Lipa City where the Malacañang scenes of “Ang Probinsyano” were shot.

Dreamscape Head Deo Endrinal greenlighted the idea but reminded the seasoned production designer she needs to make the interior look totally unlike that of the Coco Martin serye, since it was going to be the main set of “Dirty Linen.”

Arcega then tapped her nephew, the architect Vanessa Cabasag, to help her create the blueprint for the fictional mansion’s interior. And that’s when the idea to create arches came about. They were constructed for more deliberate and precise blocking purposes but also to help tell the story. Wall lamps were added to enhance the drama and create texture to the visuals. “May istorya ang mga walls na yan kaya ganoon ang pagkaka-setup niyan,” she offers. As we’ve seen from the early episodes, those walls have been witness to pretty terrible events.

Arcega admits to have borrowed a bit of inspiration from the Korean mystery thriller “Mine.” “In that series, may mga itinatago ding secrets ang family. But the look of the Fiero house is totally different—mostly dark colors, except for the room of Kiara (daughter of Carlos and Leona Fiero), which is pink,” she says.

The Summit Point clubhouse has two separate buildings—the foyer and veranda are located in one building, and the main house in the structure next to it. “We dressed up the ballroom and turned it into the main house,” offers Arcega.

Everything inside the mansion has to reflect the character of the cast members as well as the family dynamics—from the dark colors of the walls to the elaborate choices in furniture and home accents. “Kailangan magmukhang cold ang mansion kasi wala namang sweet at warm sa family ng Fiero,” says the teleserye veteran.

“Si Doña Cielo [Tomas] hindi naman siya old rich,” says Arcega. “She has taste, pero nag-struggle siya [before she got to her current stature].” So the PD thought furniture maker Jed Yabut’s Pabo accent chair befits the matriarch’s strong and arrogant character. “Si Doña Cielo yung tipong hindi basta uupo sa ordinary couch.”

The home is furnished with more stuff that communicates “luxury.” Some of the tufted sofas are from a sibling who has relocated abroad. The long dining table was custom-made from Iloilo, because she thought they’ll be shooting the series there. So the massive thing had to be shipped to Batangas. To add variation to the furniture pieces, more items from Jed Yabut were included.

Little details also speak of the family’s extravagant life—the Versace and Royal Albert dinnerware, the flashy gold sculptures by Herminio Tan, and the royalty-themed paintings by Angelo Roxas.

Much has been said about the series’s “mata-mata style of acting”—actors largely using their eyes to convey emotion—but surely one of the sharpest pair of eyes on the “Dirty Linen” set are Arcega’s who, like any TV veteran, knows which buttons to push, which chair to pull, what color to wash a room with to evoke the perfect dramatic atmosphere.

Dirty Linen airs weeknights at 9:30 PM on Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, TV5, iWantTFC, and Kapamilya Online Live.

Photos courtesy of Nancy Arcega

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