Contemporary Thai. Wongvipa Devahastin Na Ayudhya

      

      Contemporary

      Thai

      By Wongvipa Devahastin na Ayudhya

       with Jane Marsden Doughty

       Photography by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni

      Published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

      Text © 2000 Wongvipa Devahastin na Ayudhya

      Photos © 2000 Luca Invernizzi Tettoni

      All rights reserved

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-0688-8 (ebook)

      Distributed by:

       North America, Latin America and Europe

       Tuttle Publishing

       364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759.

       Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]

       Email: [email protected]

       www.tuttlepublishing.com

      Asia Pacific

      Berkeley Books Pte Ltd

       61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12 Singapore 534167.

       Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]

       Email: [email protected]

       www.periplus.com

      Japan

      Tuttle Publishing

       Yaekari Building, 3rd Floor 5-4-12 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032

       Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]

       Email: [email protected]

      Indonesia

       PT Java Books Indonesia

       Kawasan Industri Pulogadung, JL Rawa Gelam IV No. 9, Jakarta 13930

       Tel [phone]; Fax [phone]

       Email: [email protected]

      Printed in Singapore

      10 09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2 1

      Previous page: Illustrious Company. Enjoyed by royalty and heads of state, Khomapastr's pha geow phim tong fabric was used to upholster furniture supplied by Jim Thompson in the rarefied Thai suite of the Peninsula Hote, Bangkok.

      One night in Bangkok. Bai-sri and bencharong are a sophisticated combination at the Peninsula Hotel. The ancient floral decorative arts of bai-sri and phoum (by Sakul Intakul studio) complement this stylish dinner set from Naga House, Bangkok.

      Adding warmth to a contemporary home are this lamp base and vase in strong lines and earthy colours designed by Eakrit Praditsuwana of Earth & Fire, Bangkok.

      Contents

8	The New Thai Style
10	Contemporary Thai Interiors
30	The Art of Thai Accents
48	Dramatic Table Settings
68	Thai Fabrics Old and New
92	New Trends in Bamboo and Rattan
110	Earthenware and Ceramics
130	Romantic Thai Nights
142	Acknowledgments

      Traditional festival cloth lanterns enhance the rustic feel of Chairat Kamonorathep's open-air sala in Chiang Mai

      The New Thai Style

      One evening late in the 20th century, movie director Roman Polanski arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with his stunning young actress wife Emmanuelle Seigner. Her radiance was rivalled only by the single and singularly large luminescent pearl suspended like a sun-kissed dewdrop round her neck. Polanski was later to say that "the mixture of traditional handicraft and sophisticated elegance" of the Thai jewel was superb.

      Of the same Bangkok-based boutique which made the one-off piece for Polanski-Lotus Arts de Vivre-fashion designer Kenzo Takada has noted its "plainness modernity and discreet references to the past". One can imagine the admiration of guests at Kenzo's Phuket villa when champagne is presented in an ice-bucket made of car tyres and sterling silver or wine in a rattan holder once used to store hill-tribesmen's seeds.

      Thai style lies at the confluence of time-honoured handicrafts and contemporary tastes. It is the tension between Eastern ornateness and Western relevance; between palatial splendour and pared-down simplicity.

      One only has to gaze at the kaleidoscopic colours, glittering and gilded finials and myriad decorative devices at Bangkok's Grand Palace to realise that traditional Thai style is one of Asia's most flamboyant and also one most permeable to outside influences. This is probably just as well, because the current global emphasis on clarity and simplicity in interior design has required significant streamlining by artisans traditionally employed to present the most intricate and elaborate treasures to the temple or palace. Methods and materials once reserved for royalty such as gold-leaf stencilling, lacquerware and the finest silks and celadons are now being utilised with an eye for their modern form and function. Presentation counts but not at the expense of practicality. Thus, a heavily carved and gilded altar table inspires a clean-lined, versatile side console by Thai furniture designer Ou Baholyodhin, whose clients include Donna Karan and Madonna. Modern aesthetics also apply; hence the neutral colour palette for silk ordered from Jim Thompson by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for No. 10 Downing Street.

      Cold-leaf work on this maroon lacquered panel at the Lanna Spa, Regent Resort Chiang Mai, depicts the tree under which the Buddha was meditating when he attained enlightenment. The puppet is in Burmese style. Stencilling and spa designed by Lek Bunnag, Bangkok.

      It is also useful to remember that furniture was not customarily found in Thai homes apart from those of the upper classes. Indeed, while meticulously crafted, village objects had practical designs fashioned from local, sustainable materials. In a reverse take, the new Thai style elevates the simple to satisfy the sophisticated. Bamboo and rattan furniture, upholstered in the latest washable, rotatable natural fabrics, is now as presentable in the parlour as it was on the patio. Tribal kbit and yan lipao baskets, encouraged by mentors like Queen Sirikit's Support Foundation, are now