House of the Month
Baan Prang Thong

It has been said many times, and will continue to be said, that a well-built, quality home in Phuket can be hard to find. Sure, there are many truly excellent artisans to be found all over Thailand, and Phuket has its fair share. But putting them all together in the various disciplines needed to complete a house or villa can be tricky. Having put a team together, keeping them together can sometimes be difficult, and supervision is paramount.

Evidently the owners of this large three-storey house in the Baan Prang Thong Estate park on Kwang Road, just outside Phuket Town on the way to Chalong, have managed to achieve all of the above. They did, however, have some considerable advantage, the owner's family is in the building trade and as such has clearly had access to not only fine materials, but also to excellent building talent. The house was completed six months ago, and took a full two years to build.

You'd be forgiven for thinking the house is only two storeys high. In fact it is. The third storey, or level, comes in the form of an enormous basement; larger than many of Phuket's finer apartments. A medium-sized business could easily be run from this basement level, but more of that later.

Entering the lavishly landscaped park grounds, this grandiose home is found tucked away in the north-east corner, well away from any main road and surrounded by mature trees and lawns, with very little else in sight. The first of many eye-catching details is the driveway and carport area. The whole area is laid to dark-grey slate crazy-paving set in a sandwash surround. The grey slate gives a nice cool feeling, assisted, no doubt, by the shade from the many surrounding trees. Three or more cars would easily fit on this ample driveway, and another two under the pillared, shrub-covered carport off to the left. To the left of the carport, in a garden of white and brown pebbles, is a charming circular lily pond; a shady area liberally scattered with additional pot plants. Apparently a Feng Shui Master was employed to assist in the layout of the house and gardens. Just looking at this first of many features, it seems he studied well.

From the rear of the carport, a slate path leads to a flight of steps taking you to one of several side entrances. The path continues along the rear of the house to the main garden.

From the driveway, there are two main entrances to the house. Each is impressive, to say the least. The first, or 'side entrance', lies atop a flight of polished granite steps. The decorative wooden doors are flanked by long windows, and lead into what may be termed the hallway. As large as many a living room, an impressive suite of solid wood, northern-style furniture adorns this area.

The entire ground floor area, with the exception of a large and very well-appointed separate kitchen and utility room, is open-plan and comprises the hallway, a dining area, central reception area, TV/lounge and a pantry. Now a pantry doesn't sound very grand, but this is how the owner describes it. In fact it is a fully-functioning kitchen, decked out in grand style with wooden cupboards, cooking facilities and dining suite. A huge icemaker and fridge looks a little out of place amongst the feast of glimmering teak, but its obvious practicality suggests that this is perhaps the bar area. Flooring throughout this level is laid with polished granite tiles.

The entire ground floor is polished granite tiles. All furniture, windows and window frames are made of teak which has been protected by a urethane coating. Ceiling fans have been recessed, along with much of the sunken lighting, the large recesses being generously edged in teak. The many ground-floor windows have double curtain rails, in teak, supporting individual curtains. This very neat idea enables one to have complete day-time privacy from without, by drawing the thin, white, see-through inner set, or to draw both or just the outer set during the hours of darkness.
The second main entrance is approached from the right of the driveway, via a bridge spanning a small fishpond edged by a waterfall. This is a grand, Georgian-style affair, with huge, circular columns and sweeping granite steps culminating in enormous decorative, wooden, double doors leading into the main reception area. Looking through this palatial entrance at the outside world, I felt as if I was in one of England's grander stately homes. The only thing missing was a pack of hounds chasing after some mis-directed King Cobra.

Back inside, it was time to go either up or down. I chose down. The wide wooden stairway led into two vast areas separated by a full-length glass wall with sliding doors.

At the base of the stairs is a large open area with a hip-high room divider leading into what might be used as a library or a very up-market wall-to-wall filing cabinet - for that business I mentioned. The room through the glass doors, suitably furnished, would make an excellent boardroom. Though cool, with ample external ceiling vents providing natural ventilation, the absence of any air-conditioning might necessitate pleasantly short board meetings. A large wooden writing desk and wooden lounger suggest that here is a place to both work and rest. If this state-of-the-art dungeon were not needed as an office, it would make a great practice room for your son's rock band, or for your family karaoke nights. Little, if any, sound would permeate into the world above.

The broad, teak stairway leading to the upper floor is made all the more imposing by a vast, triple-paned, plate-glass window halfway up. This looks out onto the garden to the right-hand side of the carport, and a 30-foot-tall longbean or 'Rajapruek' tree, one of Thailand's nine auspicious trees, is the main feature here. If this house is reminiscent of an English stately home, then the stairway does it justice. 'Sturdy' would be the essential adjective here. From a central landing is a small glassed-in area, currently used for religous devotions, and a doorway out to a large semi-circular balcony which drops down to a substantial terrace. The view from here is parkland; very refreshing.

Flooring throughout the upper level is parquet. Together with the wardrobes and wealth of other wooden furniture, this level has a generally warmer feel to it than the ground floor. Each bedroom has a magnificent ensuite bathroom with slate floors, granite walls and plenty of gleaming wood - on cupboard doors, lighting pelmets and mirror surrounds. One feature of all seven, yes seven, bathrooms enables loving couples to fulfill their ablutionary commitments simultaneously; in addition to the mandatory toilet bowl, each special room contains a urinal for the boys. Yes, a lot of thought went into this place.

Space constraints for this article prevent me from elaborating at length on the individual bedrooms. Suffice to say that all three are big, have ample windows - some floor-to-ceiling with carved wooden barriers to prevent the occupants from falling into the abyss below, and some leading out onto individual balconies. The master bedroom is the size of a small music hall. Indeed, it contains a substantial music centre, and below it a cunningly camouflaged safe that would do justice to Fort Knox. If a thief can't break into it, he certainly isn't going to walk off with it.

This is a house of superlative quality and character. The only possible omission might be a private swimming pool. Take heart, however: There's room in the main garden area for a sizeable one. Just factor it into the asking price.

Tropical Living: Oct 2002, Volume 2 Issue 5

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