Chiang Mai Bound?

Perhaps...
There are some lovely little hotels to discover in this northern Thai city, it's only finding the time to do it all, that may be the problem. At Niman looks like a charming petite hotel that could be a real delight to stay in. Just nine rooms!

Giving Back with Some Design Style.....

Here is a clear vision of using nature's bounty to provide us with building materials. Rintala Eggertsson architects of Norway travelled with a group of architecture students  from home to the northern Thai/Myanmar border area. Here the group lead by Sami Rintala built a two story library building at the Safe Haven Orphanage in a very short two week period. The group built a pretty little building that quietly sits in the landscape while answering and providing a number of solutions in learning for the 42 Karon children housed at the orphanage.

Utilizing local materials of lava stone from the site, bamboo, concrete bricks and wood the structure was designed to take advantage of natural airflow for ventilation and over hanging eaves and full pole bamboo screens were developed to provide cooling shade.

The main level of the library is equipped with shelving and a computer area. The mezzanine level provides a cozy area for enjoying the books and lounging.

All pictures from rintalaeggertsson architects

Today's real 'Thai Style'

Personalizing  the exterior of your home "Thai style". This is a very typical little development here in Phuket. This one the way to The Oasis houses, like this range around 3 million THB. It does make me smile how people like to make their mark......it isn't  good design but I bet it is good for the soul. To watch how hard people work to personalize their exteriors is amazing.

This is the basic model:   (Somehow not quite like the chi chi houses on most design blogs)

The garage area filled in for extra interior space and the exterior painted a VERY sunny yellow.

Here they went for a more classic decorative motif added in paint to the entry and carport columns.

Next door a multihued canopy soft tangerines and rusty brown accents...where do these schemes evolve from?

This homeowner has worked particularly hard with his multi - coloured paint scheme, window sizes and additions. 'Tis all a bit crazy but this does make me smile as we head by. Of course in very Western style developing, The Oasis is planted so the houses disappear behind walls of vegetation however the original paint scheme of all white is not allowed to be tampered with unless the homeowners group all agree. It does maintain the design integrity but I sometimes wonder just a little bit what would happen if all the owners were to let loose!