Lanna Thai Decorating Styles

The Lanna Kingdom, founded by King Mengri in 1259 and seated in the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai, was a seat of Thai culture for hundreds of years. Its signature decorating style is a beautiful, enduring tribute to that time in Thai history, and it is deeply rewarding to integrate Lanna into one's home decorating style. Does this Spark an idea?

Lanna Structures

The first step in creating a typically Lanna-style space is, of course, the basic structure. Typical Lanna architectural design is identified by a steep, gabled roof that descends from an elongated pinnacle into a set of curving eaves made to resemble flames. Most traditional Lanna structures are elevated from the ground, making it necessary to ascertain that the ground where the structure will be located is seismically stable (or that the structure itself is protected from earthquake damage).

Another source of architectural inspiration is the lak muang, a characteristically Lanna bit of architecture. It's a pillar that marks the heart of the city it's located in, and is thought to be the home of the city's guardian spirits. The lak muang, touching the sky with its flashing gold leaf and fire-red highlights, provides endless design inspiration for the person looking to integrate Lanna style into their space.

Lanna Furniture

Now that you have a space built, you'll need to feather the nest. Lanna furniture will make your space comfortable and utilitarian.

Lanna antiques and Lanna-style replicas abound in the northern Thai provinces (and, by extension, through internet suppliers based in the region). Most items of Lanna and Lanna-style furniture (as well as traditional Lanna homes) are hewn from teak wood--a dark, rich, reddish wood that easily accepts the intricate carvings and bright paints of Lanna furniture craftsmen.

Lanna Decorations

Now that your space is furnished and ready to be lived in, you're ready to decorate it with beautiful, traditional Lanna iconography. Many of the icons used in Lanna decorating are drawn from pre-Brahmanic mythology. These figures are instantly recognizable to anyone who knows Thailand and provide delightful focal points in any room or garden.

Arguably, the most ubiquitous of these figures is the naga (a mythical water-dwelling serpent-god charged with protecting the Buddha). The naga is integrated into Lanna decorating in scores of ways: sometimes as landscape sculptures stretching for hundreds of feet, but most often as an arch detail over doorways or along roofs and eaves.

Another common Lanna icon is the singh, a mythical lion. The addition of a Singh statue to a home display or landscape is a distinctly Northern Thai grace note. (These silent guardians of the home come to Lanna culture by way of Burma. As such, they're usually sculpted in the round-headed Burmese style.)

Now you're ready to enjoy your Lanna-influenced retreat. Tuck a fragrant frangipani branch into a lovely vase, and you might as well be in Chiang Mai!