Along with all of her work here in Hong Kong, JENNY PERRY from Perry Contracting has been busy with a modern house design project on a coastal Thailand property. She shares some insights here about what it was like building a house in Hua Hin and what she loves about her dream holiday home.
Tell us about your new Thailand property.
The house is in Hua Hin, near Khao Tao Lake. It’s about 10km south of the Hua Hin town centre – a happy medium between Pranburi and Central Hua Hin. South Hua Hin and Khao Tao have some great cafés to choose from, nice restaurants and beautiful natural beaches. The location is quieter than the central area, but close enough to easily access it when you feel like going out on the town.
Why did you choose to start building a house in Hua Hin?
We decided on Thailand because it’s a holiday destination from door to door! Back in 2018, we visited Hua Hin and stayed at our friend’s house. We immediately liked the area and so we started to look for some empty land to build something. We’d always want to create our own design.
Our hope was to be within an existing development but to also have some freedom to design our own home, rather than a standard design. However, finding the right piece of land and the right developer wasn’t straightforward. We looked at many options, but we finally found a place that could be adapted and where we were comfortable that we could work with the developer to achieve the modern house design and quality we wanted.
What was involved in creating this modern house design?
Building the house took four years in total. Having said that, three of those years were while the pandemic was impacting both Hong Kong and Thailand. One major challenge was sourcing quality materials – in the end, we sourced some directly from Hong Kong and mainland China.
Finding and retaining quality builders was another challenge, especially in the pandemic. And, of course, keeping a close eye on the build process. Built-in furniture such as cupboards, bathroom vanity units and even the kitchen required keeping a close attention to detail with frequent on-line video calls while these were being manufactured to check on quality and that the design was being followed.
We would have liked to be on the ground for more of the build, but we couldn’t. Eventually, when the quarantine rules eased in Hong Kong, we went to Hua Hin and stayed for almost two months to drive the project to completion and get the house and garden finished. This included correcting some things that the developer had gotten wrong. We moved in early in December 2022 and celebrated a lovely Christmas together.
What are the main features of your home?
The house is 540 square metres, with a 1,000-square-metre garden. It’s a V-shaped house with an open kitchen and living room on the ground floor. The kids’ bedrooms are on the other side of the staircase. The kitchen/living room has a 3.5-metre-high ceiling and opens out to an outdoor patio area with huge sliding doors that are also three metres high. On the first floor, we have a master bedroom and media room. We also have a unique third floor at the top of the staircase “turret” that we use as a games room and gym; It has 360-degree views, with a vaulted ceiling.
All the main living spaces have colourful LED lights hidden in ceiling troughs and we have a gorgeous chandelier in the staircase that we sourced in China and modelled on one that my husband loved from the bar at the Park Hyatt in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The staircase is oversized and creates a sense of grandeur. Along with the games room on top, we also have a play area and kids’ reading area at the bottom.
Do you have a favourite spot in your Thailand property?
I love the living room, also the dining table area when I need to work. I normally just use the dinner table as my study area; I can sit by the table with my drawing pen and look at the beautiful garden while my kids are in the pool. And don’t forget the coffee machine we brought from Hong Kong, which is just next to me!
Where did you find key pieces to create a modern house design?
Most of them are from Thailand, and some from Ikea. I must mention that solid wood furniture here is great – the dining table, chairs and outdoor dining table are all tailor-made in Thailand. They’re excellent quality and they also look good.
What are your future plans and projects?
We plan to use the house as our own holiday house only (and for family and friends). So far, we’ve been there every other month. It’s always something to look forward to.
I’ve still had projects on the go in HK while doing the Thailand house, including working for a few projects in Sai Kung and Happy Valley, ranging from apartments to whole house full renovations. These have demanded a lot of my attention so the Hua Hin house design and materials selection was done mostly in the evening. Also, my husband took on more of the role of being on-site to push the builders along.
Our children are heavily involved in sport including a lot of netball and rugby tournaments and that’s rewarding to see. I volunteer first aid for my son’s Stingrays rugby team – it’s great to be involved. We love living in Sai Kung and co-own a junk boat, which is always fun to take our children and friends out on to beautiful and remote bays or beaches.
Final word on building a house in Hua Hin?
Building a new Thailand property can be very challenging and frustrating if you don’t know what’s going on and you don’t understand the way of working there. We learnt a lot of lessons doing our house and have established a supply chain of workers, materials, furniture and fittings that are reliable and good quality. So, currently, I’m exploring if we may do whole projects in Hua Hin as well or possibly project management for others who want to build there.
Looking to upgrade your abode or keen to dip into the waters of building in Thailand? Find out more about Jenny’s modern house design projects at perrycontractinghk.com.
