Welcome to our gallery featuring the innovative Bear House, a seaside vacation home just hours from Bangkok, Thailand, designed by Onion.
The plan for Bear House was to renovate a three-story building, turning it into a modern second home for the owner’s family. The home belongs to Be@rbrick collectors. Many artists have created decorative patterns for the standard toy mould; in the family’s collection, the major figures are BAPE camouflage print and can be seen throughout the home.
Size matters in Bear House. The design process began at the Be@rbricks display cabinet. It is composed of steps, ladders, and voids that fit the scale of twenty-eight centimeter tall figures. The cabinet occupies a whole wall of the dining room, linking the entryway to the living area, which is three stories high. It is made of light colored oak panels resembling the other main surfaces of the house.
Miniature fixtures and oversize furniture are two hallmarks of Bear House. Lamps and pillows are designed to be oversized, so that the inhabitants may feel smaller when inside. The house has four sizes of doorknobs, customized for different sized doors. They are, at times, too big for a child’s hand and too small for an adult’s hand. Every room on the upper floor overlooks the main hall of living area.
An enlarged ladder links a space between the king size bed and a single day bed in an elevated space. In front of the primary bedroom stands an oversized Be@rbrick of seventy centimeters. This 1000% scale Be@rbrick can be seen from the living area, bedroom, and the landing that links the stair and the ramp towards the primary bedroom.
Bear House is bright and humorous. The living room and swimming pool appear in the front part of the house. The entire space is colored by young Thai graffiti artists, well-known as MMFK and P7. In the living room, behind the oversize sofa, MMFK paints a one-eye monster, dressed up as a sailor, whereas P7 paints a blue bear head with striped eyebrows. These illustrations were custom commissioned solely for Bear House.
Here we see the elaborate display cabinet, the centerpiece of the home and a reflection in miniature of the structure. The Be@rbrick figures adorn every step within the rich wood display, hinting at the style of the larger home itself.
A close view reveals the intricate work that’s gone into the display, using the same type of wood as the home itself, equipped with small ladders, echoing the life size models seen throughout.
This open living room space stands over a rich, dark hardwood floor, with bold minimalist splashes of color throughout. Full height glazing and retractible glass panels open the area to the outdoors and surrounding patio.
The thematic graffiti adorns large spaces throughout the home, adding personality and detail to the sleekly modern space. The sky blue sofa and set of pure white coffee tables are complemented by black I-beams and white walls.
Here’s a view upward in the massive three story void at the center of the home, glimpsing the hidden panels, cubbies, and loft spaces dotting the interior. The mixture of natural wood and ultra-modern shapes makes for a refreshing style.
The upper level, overlooking the massive vertical space, spans the gap with this elegant catwalk flanked by white rails. Small cubby-style openings adorn the walls throughout.
From here we see openings at various levels within the vertical open space. Glass panels and doorways allow glimpses into bedrooms and bathrooms.
The three story void features this decorative ladder running the entire height of the home, mimicking the look of the display cabinet.
Within this bedroom, we see through a massive interior window over the central void, highlighting the intricate interplay of textures and hardware. Natural wood, white walls, glass, and metal intersect in every major space.
At the bottom of the void we see this relaxation space, spread casually with low-slung white cushioned seating and matching modern tables. Above, the open space hints toward the open-plan floors above.
The primary bedroom, at the top of the home, is wrapped in rich hardwood panels from top to bottom, with a full height window at right and small loft space overlooking the central void at left.
Here we see the primary bedroom from the raised comfortable loft space, with sliding glass door access to a private balcony overlooking the ocean.
The primary bath stands in high contrast with the rest of the home, adorned in rich black tile, sandwiched between white flooring and ceiling. A micro-tile backsplash runs toward the walk-in shower, enclosed in class.
Even the bathroom enjoys expansive natural views, with full height glazing allowing for looks over the beach and ocean. Intricate embedded lighting informs the ceiling and wraps the large mirror.
This playful room is perfect for kids, with a bright blue and white mixture adorning the natural wood materials. The room centers on a massive bunk bed-like structure.
This built-in ladder leads to an upper loft-style bunk within the room, mirroring the intricate block-like structure of the wider home itself.
Outside, we see more of the gorgeous artwork on an exterior wall, overlooking an infinity pool on the edge of the hardwood deck.
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(c) 2015