LIVING INTERIORS STORY : Stephanie Roy PHOTOGRAPHY : Nakarin Banjerdjin
Living room overlooking the city. Sofa “Oasi” by Armani/Casa, pictured in white leather. Curved back and armrests with seating for up to three. Standard collection upholstery fabric is removable and comes in leather. Dark brown oak feet.
Armani Mania “In order to create beauty, you must do only what is necessary and nothing more.” Words spoken by Giorgio Armani and echoed by State Tower resident Varute Tangsubkul as he welcomes us to his condominium. Relaxing at his decadent home perched high above the city inside lebua at State Tower Residences Bangkok, Varute explains that although he decorated the interior of his home with everything A-Z Armani, he never lost sight of the importance of simplicity when creating the vision and atmosphere for his space. With the help and expertise of a contractor, he was able to pay homage to the Italian designer in almost every aspect of the décor.
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Dining Room. “Trocadero” dining table in dark oat with black mat metal legs. “Otto” chairs in solid brown oak. Available in standard collection upholstery fabric or leather. Pictured in fabric. (All items by Armani/Casa)
Varute Tangsubkul
From the Ground Up Upon entering the all black and white living room area, you can’t help but to notice the glossy and almost unusual flooring. Varute removed the original concrete floor and replaced it with epoxy flooring. This is the exact same material found in several Armani/Casa showrooms across the globe. Varute assures us that although this is not a common option for home flooring, it wasn’t a very difficult look to achieve. The contractor simply poured the epoxy onto the surface and let it dry for two or three days. The end result is a look that could rival any furniture showroom within a 100-mile radius. From the all white sofa in the living room, to the black and white textile Armani linen in the bedroom, the slick flooring harmonizes it all for a complete look.
From Bangkok to Milan For a look this specific, Varute needed to do a bit of travelling. While he purchased and ordered the majority of his furniture from the Armani/Casa store at the Décor Mart Design Centre in Bangkok, he headed to one of the world’s most stylish cities for the finishing touches. Varute paid a visit to the Italian fashion capital of Milan to not only attend the The Armani/Casa Exclusive Textiles by Rubelli exhibition, but to also gain further inspiration for his own interior. Whilst in Milan, he even ordered all of his flatware and tableware from the latest Armani/Casa collection.
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The trip to Italy proved to be a lesson on styling as an Armani Casa stylist trained by Giorgio Armani treated Varute to a decorating session. After explaining to the stylist that he purchased the black oak Armani dining room table, she taught Varute how to match the flatware and placemats to create a look that blended well the table. The stylist also colour coordinated silver Armani tablecloths to compliment his dining chairs at the table. Varute explains “styling the tableware and dining area was the most difficult part of the house for me.”
Style Will Find You When it comes to his sense of style, Varute tells us that, “I don’t think there is a such thing as high-end taste or low-end taste.” He simply believes that sometimes, we don’t choose the style but sometimes it chooses us. “I didn’t choose Armani, it spoke to me and ultimately chose me.” After discovering Armani was his taste, it unlocked a passion within him for not only Giorgio Armani, but also what the designer has tried to accomplish with his designs and body of work.
Bedroom. Dimly lit by “Telemaco” black lacquered wood lantern with white silk shade. “Omega” bed with upholstered headboard and frame in brown oak. Headboard is detachable with removable cover in standard collection fabrics. Pictured in standard collection textile. (All items by Armani/Casa)