Blog : Sook Architects

A Clean Crisp White House for the Couple Who Love to Cook

A Clean Crisp White House for the Couple Who Love to Cook

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul, Nantiya Bussabong, and Spaceshift Studio /

This modern cube house design inspires great admiration. It has a crisp elegance of cool-toned whites. From the outside, the building looks like three boxes stacked one on top of the other. Inside, it has everything this chef couple could want.

white box house
Photographs: Spaceshift Studio

On first stepping into this white box house, you don’t see the expected living room complete with a sofa and TV console. Rather, it has a dining table long enough to seat 8-10 people. The owner couple, Nanthaphon Lilainukul and Thirayuth Khongdee, have a Facebook page called The Dish Whisperer for cooking aficionados.

white box house
Photographs: Spaceshift Studio

white box house

They told us that when their daughter was born, at the time condo living didn’t lend itself to cooking, so they started looking around for a new home.

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood since I was three. My mother lives just three doors down, which is why we came back to this area. Outside the village, there’s that confused urban hustle and bustle, but here it’s quiet and peaceful,” said Nanthaphon.

white box house

Thirayuth said that the three-story design made good use of vertical space. It has all the necessary features neatly fitted into a small piece of land.

To prevent flooding, the plinth level that makes the first floor is built one meter above the ground. There is a cellar that’s used for storing preserved organic vegetables that Nanthaphon made herself.

The first floor contains a studio featuring that long table which – besides dining – is used for receiving guests and holding cooking workshops: Nanthaphon is a certified chef with a specialty in French pastries, while Thirayuth is a master of Thai food. Between the kitchen and the studio is a stairway to the second floor and a storage room for Nanthaphon’s ceramic dinnerware.

white box house

Sharing her piece of paradise, Nanthapon said: “Actually I graduated in engineering, but cooking has always been my thing.

“Each time I went to Japan, I got more hooked on its food culture. Eventually I decided to follow my passion and do what I loved — cooking and collecting beautiful dinnerware sets. I’ve found some really beautiful ceramic stuff in second-hand stores, but some I bought from abroad,”

white box house

The second floor holds a multipurpose family room made comfortable by a cool breeze that enters and circulates all day. Meanwhile, rough wood texture on the doors and windows adds rustic charm to the warm and intimate interior.

From the minimalist façade, outswing windows open to reach towards Nanthaphon’s mother’s house, conjuring up the image of social and family life in former times.

For more privacy, the bedroom is tucked away behind the multifunctional area. Their little girl still sleeps in the same room as Mom and Dad at least for now, but a separate room has been set aside for her future use on the third floor.

By design, this white box house is more than a place of residence: Nanthaphon’s cooking workshops are held here, too. Her focus here is less on preparation of dishes than on understanding how raw ingredients can be used in various culinary purposes.

Her food creations are straightforward and easy to follow, and they inspire visitors to try them at home.

white box house
Photographs: Spaceshift Studio

Architect: Sook Architects Co.,Ltd.


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House Around a Tree: A House amid Fresh Air of Pak Chong

House Around a Tree: A House amid Fresh Air of Pak Chong

/ Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand /

/ Story: Wutthikon Sutthiapha / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul /

Not many places make us feel comfortable every time we visit. It’s wonderful when a person’s own home is like this “House around a tree” at Baan Rai Thaw Si in the fresh mountain air of Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima.

1
An airy, open view from outside. Glass exterior and angled second floor make the house appear lighter.

Pui, the owner, became attached to Baan Rai Thaw Si when her mother used to come for meditation at nearby Baan Boon with the monk Shaun Jayasaro.

“She brought me here and I liked it,” said the owner.

“She wanted a country house, so here we are!”

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The large tree stands in the center, a natural connection for people going from one part of the house to another.

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Pui’s mother adds, “We built here for a lot of reasons. As Bangkok people, we feel safe living in a project, where neighbors watch out for each other, and this is a peaceful, comfortable atmosphere.”

This was certainly clear to our team. Most households are also involved with meditation, adding to the pleasant ambience.

4
Nature and house are imaginatively connected with the tree in the center, walkways inside and outside woven into a single path as in a classic Japanese style.
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Multifunction walkway connecting the generations — Pui’s mother does walking meditation, but at other times grandkids run and play all around it

“We wanted a house where we could retire when we got old,” continued Pui.

“And Mother is making plans now. Rutjanamphon Ketkasemsuk – also known as Tang – is a university designer and architect whose designs we liked, and he created this open, airy house.”

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The tree in the center leads into the reception parlor and gives the house a feeling of natural warmth.
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The kitchen connects the dining area with the guest rooms, illustrating an “open plan” that facilitates family and group activities.

Tang’s design includes rooms for overnight guests, access to natural surroundings, and easy maintenance.

From the front, we get a wide view of the house, which blends right in with the natural environment. The first floor has floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, and a walkway surrounds it and also serves as a porch.

The second-storey angled roof panels make the house look lighter, and the color combination of white and gray adds to a proper, orderly look, making the tall tree in the center stand out, echoing the beautiful natural surroundings.

7
Young Poon and Pan’s bedroom, bright furniture colors against simple white walls and gray drapes. The bed has drawers for storing toys.

Interior décor is simple, partly because this is a vacation home, but also because the owners prefer it that way.

Furniture is movable, though there’s a built-in kitchen.

Floor and ceiling are dark-colored artificial wood, creating dimensional contrast with the glass frames, reflecting the natural world outside and creating a warm indoor atmosphere, especially in the evening when sun shining in through the trees creates breezy patterns on the white inside walls.

9
Easygoing décor in Pui and Nu’s room: white, with an angled ceiling slanting down to Pui’s pleasure-reading armchair.

The two wings of the house stand separated by a tall tree in the center.

One wing is like a small hostel, with eight guest beds; the other is the family wing, with Pui’s mother downstairs and bedrooms for Pui and her husband, with their kids on the second storey.

This “house around a tree” reflects the living arrangement and the comfort and happiness of living close to nature while coming together as a family.

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Children behind the house, where sunflowers, okra, and other plants grow – beginnings of a kitchen vegetable garden where a greenhouse may someday be built.

Architect: Sook Architects


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