Baan Sao Nak, Lampang

Baan Sao Nak is a teak wood house in Lampang originally built in 1895 as a private residence. 

Baan Sao Nak is open to visitors from 10:00 to 17:00 every day and admission costs 50 THB for foreign visitors, which includes a drink and a snack. Admission for Thai visitors costs 30 THB. Children can enter for free.

About Baan Sao Nak

Baan Sao Nak is located on a plot of approximately 5,000 sqm and compromises 3 structures: the main house, a granary and a barn currently used a restaurant. Ban Sao Nok is a privately run museum which is still owned by the descendants of the original owner.

The name Baan Sao Nak was given to the house some time after it was constructed and means the ‘House of Many Pillars’. The reason for the name is that Ban Sao Nak is supported by 116 teak wood pillars. You can see the pillars when you get you your complimentary drink and snack which are served in the large area under the house.

The rooms at Baan Sao Nak are all arranged on a single level as was common for traditional Thai houses built before the 20th Century.

The first area you come to after ascending the stairs to Baan Sao Nak is the balcony. A large part of the balcony is covered. Again this is a traditional feature of many South East Asian houses constructed before the widespread use of electrical devices to keep houses cool. At the time Ban Sao Nak was constructed the only cooling came from the wind.

Baan Sao Nak is full of antique furniture, pictures and household object collected over the last century. The pictures are very interesting as they show the people who used the house over the last 100 plus years and scenes from local life in Lampang over the same period.

Baan Sao Nak is  labour of love for several generations of the family who have owned the property. The house needed major repair works in the early 1960s which took 10 years to complete securing the structural integrity of the house. The granary was also replaced in 1987 with a similar teak structure from the same period. Tropical weather and tropical insects are not kind to wooden houses. 

By the 1970s the family’s efforts in maintaining Baan Sao Nak started to receive much deserved recognition. The Crown Prince of Thailand visited the house for a tour and lunch in 1977 and in 1979 Princess Maha Chakri of Thailand also visited the house for lunch.

Further recognition of Baan Sao Nak, and a boost in its popularity as tourist attraction, came in the 1990s when the house featured in a Thai television show and in a publication by the Siam Society entitled ‘Heritage Homes in Thailand’.

Location of Baan Sao Nak

• Baan Sao Nak is located 1 km walking distance from the Ratsadaphisek Bridge.