What is a modern-style house? Straight lines, box shapes, and colours that really work in Thailand

What exactly is a modern-style house?

Modern sounds as if it just means new, but in design it means the clear ideas of one particular era. Modern architecture grew up in Europe in the early 20th century, when architects began to drop traditional ornament and turn to concrete, steel and glass, the materials of the industrial age.

The ideas most often quoted are form follows function, meaning a shape should come from its purpose, and less is more, which is tied to the architect Mies van der Rohe. The Bauhaus design school in Germany was one of the key centres of this thinking.

If you compare it to fashion, a modern house is a well-fitted white shirt: no lace, no embroidery, but so well cut it needs neither.

Modern vs contemporary: what's the difference?

The two words are swapped around all the time, but they are not the same thing. Modern is a style tied to a particular era, so its look is fairly fixed. Contemporary means of the present: whatever is popular now, so it keeps changing over time.

Today's contemporary houses often borrow modern simplicity, then mix in curves, natural materials or warmer colours. In the Thai housing market, modern house usually covers both, and that's fine. Just knowing the difference makes it easier to talk to your architect.

• Modern: tied to an era, crisp straight lines, industrial materials, very little ornament
• Contemporary: of its time, changes with the times, uses both straight lines and curves
• What they share: simplicity, open space and plenty of natural light

What a Thai modern house looks like

The modern houses you see most often in Thailand are stacked boxes, with parts that project and parts that are set back, creating shade that helps keep the sun off. There are two main roof types: the flat (slab) roof and the mono-pitch roof that slopes one way.

A flat roof looks the cleanest, but in a rainy country like Thailand, waterproofing and enough fall for water to drain away must be planned at the design stage. A mono-pitch roof drains more easily and still gives you the full modern lines.

• Box shapes, straight lines and sharp corners
• A flat or mono-pitch roof
• Large glass windows with black or dark grey frames
• Slats or sunscreen panels
• Plain walls contrasted with wood, stone or some exposed concrete

Modern house colour palettes, outside and in

The classic formula is a neutral as the main colour, with a dark colour to pick out the structure. White with dark grey, light grey with black, or off-white with wood: these three formulas almost never date.

For a house in Thailand, most exterior walls should be light to mid-tone because they take the sun all day. Then use dark grey or black on projecting boxes, window frames or walls shaded by eaves. You get crispness without making the house too hot.

Inside, today's modern homes are warmer than before. Off-white, warm grey and stony beige are replacing stark white and cool grey. A dark feature wall in a study or living room is still modern, as long as the lines stay clean.

Modern interiors: space, furniture and light

Modern homes love open-plan space, with living, dining and kitchen flowing into one another. Furniture is simple in shape, slim-legged and spaced out enough that you can see the floor.

Light is as important a material as concrete. Big windows bring in beautiful light, but in Thailand you need to control the afternoon sun with eaves, slats or curtains, or your beautiful room becomes an oven.

• Store things in flush built-in cupboards so clutter stays out of sight
• Use no more than three or four materials per room
• Concealed ceiling lighting, track lighting and geometric lamps
• Add warmth with wood, fabric and large-leaved plants

Mistakes that make a modern house look anything but modern

A modern house is easily spoilt by small, unintended details. With no ornament to hide behind, every spot is on show.

If you are choosing wall colours, take the Voqe shade quiz to find your main tone first, then choose accent colours. The whole house will speak the same language.

• Using so many colours that the lines of the house disappear
• Painting a dark colour on a wall that takes the full afternoon sun, so the house is hotter than it should be
• A flat roof without waterproofing planned from the start
• No eaves at all, so light walls get streaks of rain stains
• So much decoration that it has turned into another style