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Following the strict rules governing the placement of rooms, the open porch in front of the bedroom shows the unusually high steps rising up to the room, as befits the rank of its royal occupant. In the old days, these steps were removed at night to provide greater security for the princess inside. A collection of mother-of-pearl offering containers is displayed on top of an early 19th-century bed that originally belonged to Rama II. Behind is a black-and-gold lacquer manuscript cabinet. Khun Prasart's team of artists painted the scene in gold leaf on the shutters.
A small concrete-and-marble temple building was designed by the owner. The body is designed in the Ratanakosin style, while the gable is of carved wood and covered with glass mosaic, in the Ayutthaya style.
Detail of the painted door in the Red Palace depicts a decorative scene of theppanom, or celestial beings, in attitudes of worship, gathering together to pray to the Lord Buddha.
Inside the temple, a 14th-century late Sukhothai period Buddha rests on top of a lotus pedestal and altar carved from teak and covered in gold leaf. Both pedestal and altar were designed by Khun Prasart and crafted by his team of artisans in 1980. The decorative panel hanging from the ceiling shows a classic Thai pattern painted on golden teak. The frame hanging down is made of carved wood covered in gold leaf.
View of the house from the lawn overlooking the beach.
Hua Hin Beach House
Though the Thai-style beach house of M.R. Saisanidh Rangsit is visible to strollers on Hua Hin Beach as an elegant old house set back on an expansive lawn stretching down to the sea, the house originally started out in a much humbler guise, on a different location at the rear of the property. Built 30 years ago by the current owner's father, H.S.H. Prince Sanidh Rangsit, it was originally servants' quarters located behind the main house. The house follows the strict social hierarchy that governs Thai architecture as it is constructed of mai teng, or Malaysian hardwood, and mai yang or rubber wood. These are fairly common woods and suitable for such edifices (the most precious and rare woods are reserved for royalty and the nobility).
By the time M.R. Saisanidh took over the estate, the old servants' quarters were beginning to subside. He had the option to either let them fall down, or dismantle the various parts to salvage what he could, and reassemble the house. Choosing the latter option, he also decided to relocate the house to another site, and found a spot on the property beside a canal that offered a view of the sea.
"When my father saw the new location he was so pleased," said M.R. Saisanidh, "he said it was the same spot he himself had originally thought to put the house 30 years ago!"
M.R. Saisanidh sketched the new design and layout for what was to become the reassembled house and employed la local craftsman to build it. The craftsman lived on site during the six months it took to complete the job, setting up a little camp complete with his family and chickens. "It doesn't take an architect to build a Thai house, if you have a good craftsman," explains M.R. Saisanidh. "Thai houses are built according to very strict rules of proportion. It's all about getting these right and a good craftsman can do that."
The open-fronted porch in front of the master bedroom is comfortably appointed with triangular pillows, a wooden daybed in the foreground and a bamboo bed at the far end, all forms of typical Thai furnishings.
The rooms are placed side by side on an elongated chan-ban verandah facing the beachfront, providing ample sea breezes and a full view of the sunrise.
The main sitting and dining area is an open-air section in the front of the chan-ban verandah, overlooking the vast lawn spreading down to the beach. A reed floor mat and rattan low-level khantoke trays used for serving food are classic country-style furnishings.
The new configuration consists of two rooms placed side by side on top of a long, rectangular chan-ban verandah, with the entire house facing the sea. Facing the house towards the waterway is true to Thai tradition, and in this case it fulfills the aesthetic of a beach house as well. For practical purposes, however, the entrance staircase is placed off to the side of the building rather than the front as is customary (in the past one would have arrived at such houses by boat).
The upper rooms are used as bedrooms, with a section of the chan-ban verandah roofed and used as the open-air sitting and dining area of the house. The ground section of the house is used as the kitchen quarters.
The master bedroom is dominated by a four-poster bed in the Chinese style that was popular during the reign of Rama II. Silk cushions provide luxurious seating on the floor.
A Country Guest House
Though classic Thai houses have become rare in metropolitan Bangkok, the countryside only a few hours' drive from the city offers a landscape of coconut palms, temple spires, gabled houses and a laid-back lifestyle. This country estate belonging to a Bangkok publishing magnate is located on a sprawling riverside property near the old capital of Ayutthaya.
Although the country location of this house would have made it easy to assemble from the numerous old rural houses in the neighbourhood, the owners erected an entirely new house custom built by local craftsmen. This Thai house in fact serves as a guest house, while the family prefers to stay in a large contemporary structure next door.
The Thai house is a large cluster house consisting of three large upper units, each divided into two bedrooms with an open-fronted sitting area in front of each unit. Though the chan-ban verandah is extraordinarily large, ample shade comes from a large tree growing through the central skylight. An open-air sala that serves as the dining and social area is located to the side of the front entrance door. Kitchen and dining quarters are located on the ground floor. Typically in a Thai dwelling, a small chamber or antechamber in the house is set aside as a Buddha room, but here there is a large single unit house acting as such to the side of the cluster house.
A large open-air sala on the river's edge, used for entertaining and dining, is perfectly situated to take advantage of the river breeze and the charming view of an old chedi and a Chinese pagoda rising from the opposite bank.
Exterior view of the house as seen from the lawn facing the waterfront.
The gabled entrance door is typical of large houses of the well-to-do. In such houses, the chan-ban verandah is often enclosed within wooden walls or a surrounding balustrade, to provide security for the inhabitants.
