ONE of the great design cliches in this part of the world is the concept of East meeting West. There have been so many pairings of East and West that one day someone will come up with a novel idea, market it as uniquely eastern, untainted by the merest breath from the West, and it will be a huge success.
Until that day arrives, we seem to be stuck with those two points of the compass.
Occasionally, however, there really is a marriage of East and West. This is what led to the formation of the design company Lotus Arts de Vivre, which has more of a right than most to market itself as a blend of oriental and occidental.
Rolf von Bueren, a descendant of noble German stock, met, courted and wed Helen, who comes from a prominent Thai family. They have two sons, Sri and Nicklas.
While these boys were enduring the arctic comforts of school in Scotland in the 1980s, their pining mother decided to devote her energies to collecting and commissioning beautiful objects.
In 1985, the first Lotus Arts de Vivre was opened in Bangkok and it has flourished in the region's smartest hotels ever since.