Local design contestants think big for small spaces
Leading local furniture-maker Index Living Mall, in cooperation with LivingEtc, a homes magazine in the UK, last Friday held the final round of the "Living Big in a Small Space" home-furnishings design contest, which reflected next year's expected trend: houses and condominiums of limited living space.
"The trend in furniture and home furnishings, especially for condominiums, will be for modern designs that conform to the lifestyles of urban residents," said Index Living Mall managing director Kijja Pattamasattayasonthi. "Designs for furniture and home-furnishing products will be more function-oriented, with white the coming colour for next year. Home-owners will reduce their budgets for room decoration." Kijja said residential units of compact size and inexpensively priced at Bt2 million to Bt3 million would be next year's trend. As a result, consumers will have quite limited space for interior decoration. Round two of the final was held in the Fashion Hall at Siam Paragon. The focus was on maximising space utility and multiple functions of home furnishings in a limited room area of only 45 square metres and with a budget limited to Bt350,000. "The contest was not only a big battlefield for young designers to have a chance to show off their craftsmanship. It also sparked the imagination of general home-owners who demand an attractive living area with maximum use of space and on a suitable budget," said Kijja. "The theme met the current living lifestyles of urban residents, who desire freedom and a modern way of living. They have a different and interesting lifestyle." The contest began in July and invited students and general participants aged 18-28 to apply their creative skills. Sketches of furniture lay-outs in the home had to be attractive and practical. The final competition was in two rounds, with round one held in October. Contestants were divided into 10 teams, which then submitted their entries to the judges. The final four teams were selected to be finalists. The winner of the final round last Friday was Prapaporn Tensit, an independent interior designer, while the first runner-up was Jaturong Peansakunrad from the Faculty of Architecture, Rajamangala University of Technology, Thanyaburi campus in Pathum Thani. Pusit Chamnankijmongkol from Silpakorn University's Faculty of Decorative Arts and Alisa Krisanayanyong, Ittidej Lirapirom and Schwin Yindepit, seniors in Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Architecture, all tied for second runner-up.
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Nation
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