Buyer's guide - Laguna Phuket

Guests have praised
the comfort and class
of the new Banyan
Tree DoublePool Villas,
cause for contentment
for a modest achiever in
resort interior design.
Dharmali Kusumadi
MODERN tropical interior design brings
the outside inside, and the inside outside.
While that sounds perhaps too simple,
carrying out the process successfully in-
volves blending aesthetic considerations
with practical needs in clever new ways.
Banyan Tree DoublePool Villas merge
the best of both worlds, outside and in,
and add flourishes that excite the senses
at every opportunity.
Paradoxically, as Banyan Tree opens
new resorts in places that are less traveled
and therefore more appealing, classic
contemporary style remains the quintes-
sential source of inspiration at the Ban-
yan Tree Phuket, where the group, now a
global concern, had its beginnings.
One of the leaders of the team behind
the innovative DoublePool Villa design
is Dharmali Kusumadi, 47, whose back-
ground in architecture in his native Indo-
nesia, then with Banyan Tree, led him to
interior design as well some 10 years ago.
An original in his own right, Dharmali
is generally acknowledged as being an
international pacesetter when it comes to
blending livability with grace and style.
The aim, he says, is to create a dwell-
ing where architecture and interior living
are “very connected” and where luxury
melds with functionality.
While earthy textures and traditional
Thai flourishes abound, water is the dom-
inant essence of the DoublePool Villas.
So it’s little wonder that the interiors flow
seamlessly to the exteriors, then float all
the way back again, often through sliding
glass panels.
Yet paradoxes are ever-present. Cen-
tral to the indoor-outdoor vision is the
bedroom, which becomes suspended
at night on a wading pool of light. This
huge bed is truly made for dreaming.
An outdoor-indoor sense of space also
uplifts what once would have been called
the bathroom. These days, a new word
should be invented to accurately describe
what is, in reality, a relaxation zone and
therapy centre.
Indoors goes outdoors
A large black marble tub and a choice
of showers offer many ways to explore
the tactile properties of water. Again, the
ebb and flow of elegant design brings
the outdoors inside, and vice versa.
Elsewhere, the sublime delights of
the stylish bedroom are carried outside
through a huge day bed setting. Open
yet intimate, the al fresco area marries
terrace, pool and garden with elegance
and practicality.
Transparency at the perimeters, Dhar-
mali says, is one of the secrets to open-
ing up an outdoor perspective from the
inside. The Banyan Tree DoublePool Villas
gently exploits this theory to the fullest.
Thai motifs and silk and cotton tex-
tures accentuate the understated splen-
dour of what remains a very practical and
relaxed place to stay or to live. Lighting
moods can be adapted throughout with
the turn of a switch.
For Dharmali, the task of the designer
is always to combine classic and contem-
porary lines and shapes with a cutting-
edge philosophy.
Judging from the reaction of those
who have stayed there, the Banyan Tree
DoublePool Villas have set a new stan-
dard for others to pursue.
PROPERTY INVESTMENT
Banyan Tree DoublePool Villas
Investors are welcome to view the Banyan Tree DoublePool Villas.
Call 076-324366, visit the Laguna Property Centre in Canal Village,
or email property@lagunaphuket.com. www.lagunaproperty.com
Outdoors comes in
Sumptuous spectacle