Decor trends inspired by Bangkok’s coolest new bars, restaurants and shops
Tips for how to recreate your favorite vibes at home.
8 years ago
See also: Where to buy the furniture from Bangkok's coolest coffee shops
Lantern Lust
If you don’t fancy the whole Brooklyn thing anymore, then take a look at the latest Hollywood-influenced Oriental designs. Imagine rooms dimly lit with red lanterns hanging above spirit shelves. That’s the vibe at Junker & Bar’s new next-door extension, though it pales in comparison to the latest effort from designer Ashley Sutton: Sing Sing. Strong geometric motifs, ornate metal latticework and wood carvings add up to a movie-set vision of 1930s Shanghai. We wouldn’t want to live there, but sometime all you need is a little moody lighting to set the right scene.
Amazing Thailand
Inspired by: Bamboo Bar and Tep Bar
One of the biggest trends in local product design over the past year has seen designers working with Thai craftspeople to create contemporary home decor pieces using traditional methods. Now, interior designers and bar owners are embracing the same approach. At Tep Bar, everything from the old shop-house setting and the menu of Thai spirits to the Thai orchestra and selection of furniture has a local focus. We love the low tables on the second floor matched with triangular pillow back rests, as well as the bamboo and banana leaf tableware. The renovated Bamboo Bar at the Mandarin Oriental, though less overtly Thai, also plays on local materials like woven rattan and water hyacinth chairs. The resulting gentleman-on-safari style goes to show how local design can contribute to international looks.
Man Caves
Inspired by: Q&A, Black Amber Thonglor Social Club
1920s speakeasy-themed bars have been getting a whole lot younger-looking than the businessman-focused cigar lounges that started arriving in Bangkok a couple of years ago. Black Amber Thonglor Social Club takes the sultry whiskey bar theme but combines it with a chill-out atmosphere and eclectic influences ranging from Victorian colonial curios to Louis 14th furniture. The new Q&A takes a more contemporary approach while maintaining the same whimsy, serving personalized cocktails from a bar designed to look like a classic railway dining car, all caramel leather bar stools and chunky polished wood.
Marble Modern
Marble and moonstone replace wooden tableware and porcelain this year, with Vogue Lounge a definite standout thanks to its stunning black and white marble bar matched with luxurious plum leather and brass bar stools. Likewise, the House on Sathorn has chosen a marble bar for its elegant remake of a heritage building. Even one of Bangkok’s earliest industrial-rustic adopters, Onion, has gone for a more refined look as its new store, Onion Store x Aree, where street style matches with the sleekness of a cool marble counter. Same deal at the new multi-label store on Thonglor, Statement.
Essentials
Letrature. available at Crystal Design Center (CDC), Phase 1 Zone C, 02-102-2145. www.letrature.com
Mobella. 249 Ratchadaphisek Rd., 02 652 1786. www.mobella.co.th
Casa Pagoda. Sukhumvit 45, 02-258-1917
Baxter available at Season of Living, Sukhumvit Soi 63, 02-715-0845
Have a Nice Meal. Order online at www.facebook.com/haveanicemeal
Chic Republic. (Opposite to The Crystal Park), 90 Soi Yothinpatana, 02-514-7123
Next Living. www.nexliving.com
Zara Home. 1/F, Siam Paragon, Rama 1 Rd., 02-610-9977. BTS Siam
Ease available at Flo Showroom, Naradhiwas Soi 26, 86-383-4604. www.fb.com/ease.emb
Exact Intertrade order at www.exactintertrade.co.th
Jaak Lamp available at www.fb.com/tima
Saint Louis. 3/F, Siam Paragon, Ram a Rd., 02-124-4577
Light Loft. 2 Ekkamai Soi 6, 02-714-0555
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