Phuket Furnitures and Houseware Guide

Furniture Shops

Wonderful antique, contemporary or handcrafted furniture from Thailand and the entire Asia region is available on the island. Cabinets, tables, dining room, bedroom and outdoor furniture can also be made to order in a variety of wood, including teak, rosewood, rattan and bamboo.

Island Furniture and Phuket Intercraft, on the edge of Phuket City (Chao Fa Nok Rd) have a good range of household furniture made from teak, rattan and bamboo. Ban Boran Antiques, next to Ka Jok See restaurant on Takuapa Rd in Phuket City, specialises in antique pieces from Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. Take a stroll in Phuket City around Takuapa, Rassada and Yaowarat roads for boutique shops offering antique furniture and collectibles.

Following Thepkasattri Rd out of Phuket City along the highway heading towards the airport (close to the entrance of the Boat Lagoon) are a number of furniture shops with contemporary and antique wooden furniture for sale and export. The bypass road (Chalermprakiet Ror 9 Rd) has a string of large warehouse-style furniture shops where bargain pieces may be picked up or made to order.

Housewares

Thai-made houseware items can add a colourful, funky or elegant accent to a home, depending on your taste. In addition to pieces made in a traditional Thai designs, every season brings a new stock of inventive styles as Thailand's designers aim to compete at a global level. One could easily furnish an entire home with Thai housewares -- cutlery, chopsticks, pillows, placemats, lamps, incense holders, tablecloths, wall hangings, bathroom accessories, bedding, dishes, glassware, vases, functional items such as newspaper racks and bookends, and much more, are sold in a bewildering array of styles and materials.

All the furniture shops listed above also carry houseware goods, which are also found at specialty shops within the department stores. Street vendors in Patong, other resort areas and Phuket City sell smaller items that are easy to carry and pack. Canal Village at Laguna Phuket, and the shops just outside Laguna's entrance, are good places to pick up decorative accessories. Jim Thompson has two home furnishing factory sales outlets in Phuket, at Canal Village in Laguna Phuket and The Courtyard on Chao Fa Nok Rd, that sell fantastic, luxurious fabrics.