Lamont

One of the most exciting and upmarket shops in Bangkok, (they have several in a number of suitably upscale locations, such as The Sukhothai Hotel, and The Oriental Hotel), is the collection of contemporary furniture and interiors accessories created by Alex Lamont: http://www.lamont-design.com/main/index.html, which include these lacquered stools, suitable for sitting or as side tables. Alex's shops also include an Asian antique store with high quality pieces from around the region. I could fill my apartment with many of his creations, which are both original in design and executed with great attention to detail.

Yodelling

This picture entitled "Winter Near St Moritz" by Giovanni Giacometti has just sold at Sotheby's for CHF1,169,000 (approximately USD1,116,000). The Giacomettis were a talented family; Giovanni's son was Alberto, famed for his stick-like sculptures which are perhaps the more recognisable art form with this name association. Obviously the father was no artistic slouch either. (Photograph: Henri Cartier-Bresson; Picture: Sotheby's)

Satsuma

Despite the belief in China, (and therefore no doubt in Japan, where this comes from), caged crickets were kept in homes to bring good luck to the house, as they epitomised intelligence and good fortune. As with bird cages, I am not in favour of the practice of caging anything that should be free, but one does marvel and the art that derived from it. This reticulated Satsuma cricket cage is 5 inches high and 3 1/2 inches wide, and is up for auction at an estimate of USD400.

Biedermeier

Another period which brought simplicity in furniture is of course Biedermeier, emphasised in this sparsely decorated dressing room adjoining the bedroom in this house in London, with its chaise in white-covered fabric. Unfortunately in Britain at least, stronger influences subsequently prevailed in the heavy Victorian furniture that followed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biedermeier

As classically simple as Georgian

Surely the ultimate beauty of Georgian furniture (this late C18th day bed in ebony and cane) is the same that we see in today's modern and simple lines. The two go perfectly together, as demonstrated by the modern hour glass stool.

Another Gandy

Joseph Michael Gandy (1771-1843): Architectural Visions of early fancy, in the gay morning of youth and dreams in the evening of life - watercolour by Gandy, showing Soane's unbuilt works in an imaginary landscape. (Sir John Soane's Museum, London)

Treetops

These two pictures from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew show the Palm House (1844-1848) and below, Kew Palace (1691), (and are from postcards sold at Kew). A new addition to these magnificent pieces of architecture is the Xstrata Treetops Walkway, which allows visitors a 60 foot high walkway through some of the most magnificent trees in the gardens: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/tiptoe-through-the-treetops-on-kews-leafy-walkway-832839.html. A truly breathtaking experience, which I will try the next time I'm in London. The only drawback to this visual beauty is the constant roar of aircraft taking off and landing at the very nearby Heathrow airport.

Coals to Newcastle

During my recent trip to Hong Kong I again bought Shanghai Tang's ginger flower room spray and scented candle. "Coals to Newcastle" in two senses - firstly that the Shanghai Tang shop here sells them, and secondly that the plants are grown here in Thailand and the flowers are frequently used for the garlands that are placed at shrines and spirit houses, (and which taxi drivers sometimes place around their rear view mirrors, dangerously obscuring the view of the road).

Lutyens chair

This Edwin Napoleon chair is a reproduction of the original created by the great English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, (more famously known in the East for his Raj architecture in New Delhi - the Viceroy's House http://www.wychwoodbooks.com/categories.php?subject=67, although the term "house" does seem a little modest when you see the scale of it). This and other pieces are manufactured by his granddaughter's company http://www.lutyens-furniture.com/. I appreciate the cleverness of its dual purpose application, combined with its visual quirkiness.

Hong Kong street theatre (2)

Hong Kong street theatre

Gilded cage

This is a Thai version of the bird cage, although like all of these, in whatever design, I would never inflict this imprisonment on a creature destined to fly. At a number of shrines in Thailand you can buy caged birds and "make merit" by setting them free. Unfortunately they are so "domesticated" that they immediately return to their captors, and the cycle repeats itself.

Hiatus in Hong Kong

My good intentions to write this whilst I was up in Hong Kong came to nought, as I didn't have access to a computer. However, having now returned to the Land of Smiles, and basking in the energy of my old home in Southern China, this is an appropriate image, from the Design Centre's group of shops in Central.

Buddha decorations

I expressed some views recently under my posting "Crosses to bear" about the use of religious icons, and included a mention of the use of Buddha images. This collection is from an apartment in Bangkok, but I can only assume that the owner is not Buddhist. It does repeat the same mistake of using too many, but I have to concede that the back-lit shelving makes for a dramatic display, however inappropriate it would be considered by true believers.

A few simple lines

I must confess I know not much about this picture, one of my tear-outs from long ago, but the simplicity of the design still appeals to me a great deal, not least the mirroring of the striped fabric with the slats of the cabinet, and the border of the rug. All very Japanese. I think the daybed has more decorative than comfort factors in the design.

Oh rats!

Rats destroyed half a million pounds worth of sketches by Stephen Spurrier of 1920s life in Britain. Vide: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1949094/Steven-Spurrier-art-rescued-from-rats.html

It's obviously important to remember to store these treasures in a safe and destruction-proof environment!

Lustrous ceramics

These classically-inspired, hand-painted ceramics are the speciality of Brenda Taylor. The classical feel derives from her interest in French Empire decoration, but the gold and platinum lustre gives them a contemporary feel.

Reflections

The third row of this triptych of architectural prints is very reminiscent of the Fornasetti cabinet that I showed previously. There is one important difference however....the columns; my picture has Corinthian. Naturally. The picture hangs at the end of a long corridor, and draws the eye in, creating an illusion of greater space. They are C18th English engravings, bought from Sotheran's in London.

A temple to style

This rather exotic confection is not a temple, but a hotel (Mandarin Oriental's Dhara Devi) in Chiang Mai, Thailand's "second" city in the north, and built in the Lanna style, with its obviously Burmese influences in the architecture. The substantial landscape is elaborately laid out in various styles, to create the impression of a temple, interspersed with rice paddies and private villas. It helps if you have deep pockets, to fully enjoy the facilities for a few days. But the hotel does provide a donkey and cart to take you round the grounds on a brief tour, and as a result this turned out to be one of the more interesting sites on our last visit.

More brackets, and less brackets

My own rather modest usage of two wall brackets in this bedroom scheme compares with a very extravagant usage in the top picture, in the style of a "china closet", which was fashionable in C18th Europe. The latter a bit more of a headache to clean of course.

Achitectural cabinet

This architectural cabinet by Fornasetti is another example of the use of achitectural prints with a modern twist. Fornasetti's designs are masterful, but for my own taste I would have preferred a different treatment with the legs, rather than this mid-century approach.

Another Liaigre fan

This picture demonstrates how new Liaigre furniture pieces fit so well into a classical Rococo interior. To my mind replicating the furniture of the same period as the interior is much the same as setting up a museum, and not something I would advocate for a home.

Lovin' Liaigre

Christian Liaigre's own apartment, showing his masterful understated style, with its sleek lines and subtle colour tones, which are Japanese in their simplicity. In Bangkok we are lucky to have a showroom, under the Chanintr Group, (which also includes Barbara Barry, Martha Stewart Signature, Thomasville, Baker and Habitat).

Monday blues

It's been a long week, and it's only Monday. And a public holiday too, for Coronation Day. Still, only three more days until the next one, on Friday, for Royal Ploughing Day. This quartet of silver Corinthian column candlesticks adorn my dining table. In the centre is a sauce tureen with dolphin handles. The shaded view suits this columnist very well today.

Powder room chatter (2)

Oh OK, maybe it's the formality that makes people hesitate to use the guest loo hand towels. D'ya think? A souvenir from my last stay? No, you can buy them at the shop at BP.

Sir John Soane's Museum

Continuing the current theme of the neo-classical, this photograph is of one of the (domed) galleries a the rear of Soane's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, in London, to display his extensive collection of classical statuary. To call it obsessive might be a bit harsh. But the brilliance of his architecture, (in my opinion), and neo-classical style make this wholly forgivable.

Robert Adam

The centrepiece of the elegant interior of Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, western Scotland, is this spectacular oval staircase designed by Robert Adam, and considered one of his finest architectural achievements. The traditional order of columns on the first and second floors has been reversed, with the use of Corinthian, the most decorative for the principal floor, and the shorter, slimmer Ionic for the second floor to emphasise the the perspective, and thus the height.

Edinburgh's New Town

This city became known as the "Athens of the North" because of its neo-classical architecture in the mid-eighteenth century, and its developments in science, medicine and learning through the Scottish Enlightenment. Gloriously wide well laid out streets are still a marvel today, and I well enjoyed living in the middle of the double crescent at the bottom right hand side of the picture, with its fantastic private gardens, for the use of residents. But the weather....well I'm not living there now. Photo Douglas Corrance

Classic neo-classical

By happy coincidence I chanced upon a programme on television last night "Buildings that shaped Britain" which described the development and building of Georgian squares and crescents in London, Bath and Edinburgh. This is of course The Royal Crescent in Bath, the magnificent neo-classical sweep of terraced houses, divided neatly by their Corinthian columns, and looking out over the valley that falls to the River Avon. This is a wonderful display of my prized elements of symmetry and order. The Georgian planners wanted to create classical order from the chaos that existed in the ancient cities of London and Edinburgh, and Bath's development relied on its waters, (that currently in-vogue spa), which had originally been developed by the Romans, from the natural springs many centuries before.
Photo: Colin Baxter