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Terry Collins, one of the partners of BravoThai Lifestyle, the developers of The Vineyard and Simon Hall, formally of Beautiful World, a furniture and interior design company, have been working in close collaboration now for over a year. Theirs is a liaison of complements, a symbiotic relationship, where they, like peaches and cream, or sea and sand, derive considerably more from working together, than they would stand to gain individually; for what is a house without furniture or a furniture supplier without an adequate show outlet?
The Jomtien branch of Beautiful World, as a supplier of up-market, contemporary furniture and accessories, wanted something more than just their showroom as a display medium and were casting around looking for a location capable of exhibiting their products to their best advantage. The type of furniture supplied by Beautiful World is a fusion of East and West and ideally needs a particular style of residence which also shares this fusion. They visited numerous locations, but none was quite right, until they found The Vineyard, which fitted the bill, perfectly.
The Vineyard is an exclusive development of family-size villas, which combine the minimalist lines often found either in Zen and Balinese architecture, or in the Mediterranean. The villas each flank an infinity-edge swimming pool, set in a picturesque, tropical landscaped garden, replete with Birds of Paradise, Leelawadee and fruit trees and grapevines. The villas also have extensive flat roofs, housing salas, BBQ areas and sumptuous bathrooms, equipped with a jacuzzi and chromatherapy lights. The villas’ interiors are spacious open-plan, with Japanese-style wooden doors and fittings, and Thai plaques as the centre-pieces of the bedroom walls. In short, The Vineyard villas epitomise an exclusive tropical lifestyle, allowing at least five separate locations to display the products of Beautiful World to their utmost advantage. Consequently, Simon Hall contacted Terry Collins to arrange a photo-shoot, with models to set off the overall effect and from that moment the two have continued to use each other’s products in a perfectly symbiotic relationship, which has gradually deepened over time.
Simon has now branched out on his own under a new brand name, EAST - Designs for Life, but is still located in the same showroom in Jomtien, near the Hanuman Statue. The furniture lines carried by EAST are, however, essentially the same as those sold by Beautiful World, although in the future will be more extensive and will be an even more suitable complement for The Vineyard, which, naturally, EAST will continue to work closely with. The lines which are most suitable for The Vineyard are made of reclaimed teak, water hyacinth, acrylic and some furniture pieces with bamboo inlays. Both Simon and Terry share a highly developed eco-sensitivity, displayed by Simon in the type of materials used and by Terry in the tropical vegetation, which is such a significant feature of The Vineyard, rather than austere concrete so often seen elsewhere. The lush vegetation and natural wood of the rooftop salas are perfect complements to the furniture.
The poolside, overlooked by the French windows of the master bedroom, made a perfect location to breakfast or relax under the Sunbrellas, which are waterproof, UV resistant and don’t fade. Other outdoor furniture is impregnated to withstand mildew and fungal growth, a real problem in the humidity of the tropics, so is perfectly suited to the garden, or on the rooftop dining or recreational areas. The dining room-lounge benefitted from dining tables and chairs and a series of sofas.
EAST now has branches in Koh Samui and Koh Chang and a manufacturing base in Chiang Mai making loose and bedside furniture, run by an Englishman by the name of Glen, who has 35-years’ experience in upholstery manufacture in Las Vegas, with prestigious clients like the MGM Grand Hotel. Glen is a specialist in leather, PVC, fabric and natural materials, like cotton. EAST also has a plant in Phuket run by an experienced American carpenter, David Whelan, catering largely to hotels. These two manufacturing bases mean that the company will have a great deal of flexibility, especially in the manufacture of custom-made sofas, which really appeals to Terry Collins, who has already experimented with various designs in the dining room of the Vineyard.
The Vineyard and EAST are able to offer a collaborative furniture package, which is both very flexible and extremely cost-effective. For those wishing to go for the whole package, there are substantial discounts of up 20 percent as well as the convenience of having a one-stop venue rather than having the hassle of trekking from store to store trying to find suitable items of furniture. Customers who opt for the whole furniture package will also have the inestimable benefit of Simon Hall’s professional interior decor consultative experience, so they can rest assured that every item will be an aesthetic match, in keeping with the style of the villas. The furniture package also includes all the accessories necessary to complement the main furniture items. For clients who wish to rent out their villas, EAST provides a very good package with the emphasis on durability and economy.
This has been the first article about The Vineyard and EAST’s complementary relationship, read the next in January’s Property & Lifestyle, with the emphasis on Lifestyle proper.
EAST also have branches in Phuket, Chiang Mai and Koh Chang, supported by manufacturing facilities in Phuket and Chiang Mai making loose and built in wood furniture.
The soft furnishing department in Phuket, is headed by a British upholsterer named Glenn Murphy, who has 35-years’ experience in upholstery in the UK, USA and Australia, with prestigious clients like the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Glenn is a specialist in leather, PVC, fabric and natural materials, like cotton.
Wooden furniture manufacturing in Phuket is run by two experienced carpenters, Peter Brown, another Englishman with 35 years experience in stage and theatre set production with The Royal Shakespeare Company among other things, and David Whelan, a master carpenter from San Francisco with over 40 years experience, including a long list of super rich clientele in the exclusive Marin area of northern California.
These two manufacturing bases mean that the company will have a great deal of flexibility, especially in the manufacture of custom-made sofas, which really appeals to Terry Collins, who has already experimented with various designs in the dining room of the Vineyard.
The Vineyard and EAST are able to offer a collaborative furniture package, which is both very flexible and extremely cost-effective. For those wishing to go for the whole package, there are substantial discounts of up 20 percent as well as the convenience of having a one-stop venue rather than having the hassle of trekking from store to store trying to find suitable items of furniture. Customers who opt for the whole furniture package will also have the inestimable benefit of Simon Hall’s professional interior decor consultative experience, so they can rest assured that every item will be an aesthetic match, in keeping with the style of the villas. The furniture package also includes all the accessories necessary to complement the main furniture items. For clients who wish to rent out their villas, EAST provides a very good package with the emphasis on durability and economy.
This has been the first article about The Vineyard and EAST’s complementary relationship, read the next in January’s Property & Lifestyle, with the emphasis on Lifestyle proper.
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