AROUND HOME : Thai Style

LIKE ITS PREDECESSORS in the Style series, “Thai Style” offers a pictorial look at the art and architecture of a particular country, as depicted mostly by its residential architecture. According to the author: “In its purest forms, it (Thai style) survives through the fanciful temples and the more subdued, yet elegant classic houses, both of which continue to be built. It can be found as well in many structures that remain from the later 19th and early 20th centuries . . . outwardly so foreign in appearance, yet still responding to landscape, climate and social demands in a peculiarly Thai way.” One of the intriguing qualities of Thai homes is the melding of indoor and outdoor living in an open, airy plan well-suited to the hot, humid climate of Thailand. The book discusses indigenous design solutions (prefab houses that can easily be moved, the use of paneling, steep roofs); its 350 color photographs illustrate the precise attention to detail that delineates Thai houses: carving, flowers, roof finials and exquisite materials such as a variety of woods and mother-of-pearl. ($35)