New World Charm
For Bangkok based Ira and Chintana Blumenthal, taking an old Thai style home and revamping it into a completely new and modern space was a project that, despite the couple’s fine sense of taste, proved too challenging to do on their own. Following their successful design of Ira’s Law office, he once again enlisted the help of interior designer Simon Drogemuller of Orbit Design Studio.
Drogemuller’s brief was to translate the same sense of modern aesthetics that he orchestrated in the law firm to the Blumenthal’s home; and given the designer’s background – he’s the man behind the stylish Q Bar and uber futuristic Bed Supperclub – the homeowner’s had nothing to worry about.
Drogemuller’s main task was to modernise the 5300sq ft house while still retaining certain elements of the home’s traditional Thai features. After four months intensive renovations, the three-bedroom house shed much of it’s former skin. “Efficient spatial planning and colour were key areas given strong consideration”, notes Drogemuller.
One of the biggest transformations made was the increase in the amount of natural light. Like many traditional Thai homes, this one was built with small windows to deliberately keep the sunlight and therefore the heat, at bay. With a brief to bring the outside in, the first step was to remove any superfluous walls, thereby opening up the entire internal space, which allowed for natural sunlight to penetrate and bathe the interior. As a result, the living room blends seamlessly with the dining are and open-plan, European style kitchen, which looks onto the the tree-lined vista through romantic floor-to-ceiling French doors.
But perhaps the most challenging work was the restructuring of the ceiling and roof, which were originally very low and therefore visually reduced the space and trapped a lot heat. Taking advantage of the large space that existed between the ceiling and roof, the ceiling was literally lifted, serving to maximise internal airflow and to give the home a sense of colonial grandeur.
Incorporating other unique design elements, the home strikes a balance of natural elegance and contemporary styling while still retaining it’s sense of old-world charm. For example, a water pond with a stone-floored bridge flows into the entryway while materials used include handsome mahogany and luxurious cream marble. The colour scheme is of soothing neutral tones of grey and is accented by modern touches such as lit glass counters and polished metal. As Drogemuller explains, “This project was a good example of how simple contemporary Western residential design techniques can be applied to existing Thai buildings to realise the full potential of a living environment”.
Albert Lo
