Baan Bua, บ้านบัว (The Lotus Home) - A Thai Diffuser
▶ Pre-order only.
For generations, the "Pla Ta Pian", a Thai symbolic fish, has carried the same simple blessing: good fortune for a single Thai child, suspended above the cradle.
This piece extends that blessing further.
A lotus leaf symbolises the roof of your home, where each fish stands for someone you love: your children, your partner, your kin, all gathered within a golden structure that embodies wealth and abundance.
A gift for a family, and for the home that holds it.
Product details
- Pre-order only
- Handmade in Asha village, Chiang Rai, Thailand
- Materials: cotton, with stones, brass
- Wooden box included - Custom engraving on request
- For custom colours, a specific stone or bulk orders, please contact me for a quote
Made by Akha women
- These pieces are handmade by Akha women under the AKHA MA-DE social programme
- Every time you buy from us, you directly support and create opportunity for these women
Bulk orders and workshops
- For bulk orders, please contact us.
Contact me
- You can reach us any time through Messenger, Instagram or the "Contact Us" page
Delivery:
- Delivery within Thailand takes around 10 to 20 working days outside pre-order campaigns
- Because our products are handmade, delivery times can vary with the number of orders being processed
- For urgent orders (a housewarming, a new baby, a birthday), please reach us on Facebook, Instagram or by email here
- For international delivery, please contact us
Returns and exchanges:
We accept returns and exchanges:
- Please contact us within 7 days of delivery
- Send the item back within 14 days of delivery
Return conditions:
- The buyer covers return shipping when the reason for dissatisfaction is not caused by a third party. If the returned item does not arrive in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for the loss in value of the item.
* Product photographs are for presentation purposes and may differ from the actual product. Because screens vary, product colours may appear different from those shown on your display.
** Please allow a difference of 1 to 2 cm, as each piece is handmade and measured by hand.
How to use it
- Choose your place. An entrance, a living room, a child's room, a desk.
- Spray your essential oil onto the stone. A few drops are enough.
- Let the stone hold the scent. Porous stone releases it slowly, so the room carries it rather than the bottle.
- Refresh when the scent fades, usually every few days, and change the oil whenever you want the room to feel different.
No electricity, no reeds to replace, no liquid to spill.
The Pla Ta Pian, and why it hangs above a cradle
The Pla Ta Pian is one of the oldest Thai crafts still made by hand: a fish woven from palm leaf, hung above a baby's cradle so the child grows up with good fortune and abundance around them. The fish was chosen because it is plentiful, and what is plentiful is what you wish for a child.
Traditionally there is one fish for one child. It is a blessing for a single life.
Why Baan Bua holds a family
Baan Bua takes that blessing and opens it out. The lotus leaf above is the roof of your house. Beneath it hangs not one fish but several, and each one stands for a person the house belongs to: your children, your partner, your parents, whoever your family actually is.
The golden structure that holds them together is the part that carries wealth and abundance, not for one person, but for everyone gathered under that roof.
That is the difference between the two pieces. The Pla Ta Pian blesses a child. Baan Bua blesses a household.
Why the lotus
The lotus is the flower Thailand reaches for when something is meant to be pure and lifted. It is the flower offered at temples, and it grows out of muddy water into something clean, which is the whole of its meaning in a single image.
As a roof, it says the home beneath it is a place that rises, and that what happens inside it is protected.
When to give it
- A housewarming, as a blessing for the household rather than the building.
- A new baby, in the tradition of the Pla Ta Pian, but for the family the child joins.
- A wedding, for the home a couple is beginning.
- A thank you to a family who has looked after you, when a personal gift would miss the point.
A note on the stone
Semi-precious stones carry meanings in many traditions, and people choose them for that reason. Those meanings come from belief and custom, not from science, and we make no claim about the properties of any stone. Choose the one you like the look of, or the one that means something to you.
How to care for it
- Handle it gently. Cotton is delicate. Keep handling to a minimum.
- Keep it out of direct sunlight. Direct sun fades cotton. A shaded spot keeps the colour.
- Keep it dry, apart from the oil on the stone. Damp causes mould, which damages cotton.
- Spray the stone, not the cotton. Essential oils can stain fabric.
- Dust it regularly with a soft brush or a cloth.
Cared for properly, it stays beautiful in its place for many years.
See our other pieces
Meet our Malai Serenity, our other Thai diffuser, in which a phuang malai cradles a phan, and our Malai Glin Rak, our hanging garland in eight colours.