All these varied experiences came into play in Sangkavatana’s most personal project—his home. He knows every square inch of the house having grown up in it and, in a way, both he and his mother had their whole lives to think about what to do to their abode before embarking on its transformation. “My mother [originally] wanted a U-shaped house with a pool, inspired by her time in California. When she came home from the US, my father had already built the house, so she had to live with this frame for a long time.”

When the family decided it was finally time for a change, they consulted an architect to propose ideas on how to modernise the home. A design was finally agreed upon, which entailed knocking down the original structure and erecting a completely modern building.

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The untimely passing of his father, however, crystallised the next chapter. Instead of starting from scratch, both Sangkavatana and his mother decided to retain what his father had built and preserve its soul while refreshing it with new ideas. “It was too much change at one time, so we thought a renovation was more suitable.” Sangkavatana undertook all aspects of the renovation—the architecture, interior design, styling and even the art curation.

The house is located in Ari, a neighbourhood that is equal parts hip and posh. “Ari is a bit like South Kensington in London. There are lots of politicians and aristocrats who live here, but at the same time it’s become gentrified so it also has sort of a Daikanyama feel,” he shares. Its proximity to the palace also ensures that no building can be over eight stories high, preserving the verdant and relaxed ambience of the area.

This explains why the home has always felt like a hidden gem in the concrete jungle. Sangkavatana emphasised the importance of the garden, treating it like an extended living space by adding a fish pond that wraps around the home; much like a moat around a castle. This has become his favourite place, where he enjoys il dolce far niente—what the Italians call the “sweetness of doing nothing”. “It’s very calm and quiet here. I love sitting by the pond and looking out at the big trees in the garden at sunset.”

In terms of interiors, Sangkavatana went for a pared-back approach to get that Bauhaus-inspired look his mother had desired all those years ago. He placed glass windows in targeted areas to bring in more natural light, and opened up the spaces to create a better flow inside. His improvements seamlessly blend with the original building such that it doesn’t look like much was changed at all. “It took m two years to slowly get everything together. I wanted it to be authentic to how we live and keep the stories within the walls,” he says.

The reinvigorated, minimalist shell makes for an ideal canvas for a thoughtful assemblage of furniture, art and heirlooms. The old dining table and rattan chairs from his childhood are juxtaposed with new lighting and art. An intricate piece featuring a mother-of-pearl inlay from his grandparents and an orange vase from his father also take pride of place in the house. This mix of old and new gives the space an effortless, lived-in look while representing Sangkavatana’s personal taste through the art.

It’s no surprise that Sangkavatana is using his home as a platform for emerging artists and designers. “When I first came back from Europe, I noticed that most creatives in Bangkok stuck to the same closed group. At Townhouse, I want to create connections,” he says. Apart from exhibiting the work of new local talents, he is also helping them break into the international scene, and recently staged a show in Korea.

Another parallel between Townhouse Space and his own home is that they’re both old houses given a new lease of life. A point of difference, however, is that his home remains quite private—although perhaps not for long. A casual lunch with the director of Art Basel Hong Kong at his home sparked an idea: to create a small museum in the garden. He’s calling it House Museum, and he says this initiative will complement his work at Rom Design and Townhouse Space once it launches later this year. “The more people I bring here, the more I learn about space, which is strange because I’ve lived in this house my whole life. It made me realise that places of character like this should be shared, so I’m slowly opening its doors.”

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