PHITSANULOK: A couple who have been building their dream house for three years are facing a redecoration nightmare after burglars stole nine doors made of precious wood.
Pitak In-tap and his wife Phakamas are building a house beside Road 117 in Bang Rakham district and were planning to move in soon.
Mr Pitak, an architect, designed the house to be unique, with a combination of wood and steel giving it a look that is both rustic and minimalist.
The doors were among the highlights of the house. All of them were made of priceless wood, either teak or pradu (rosewood), Mrs Phakamas said on Friday.
The couple have been staying in Muang district where Mrs Phakamas has a salad shop at Naresuan University, and they go to the house every weekend and on holidays to clean it. They were preparing to move there permanently in the near future.
But on their last visit on Wednesday, they were shocked to find a gas oven, kitchenware and nine wooden doors taken out, though some had been left at the scene.
Mrs Phakamas suspected the burglars were mainly interested in the doors for their wood, as each was estimated to be worth 10,000 baht or more.
The couple filed a complaint at the Bang Rakham police station. Deputy station chief Pol Lt Col Somsak Panthong said on Friday that tyre tracks found outside the house and other evidence collected inside indicated that the burglary took place on Tuesday night. At least five people might have been involved in carrying the doors, each one weighing between 60 and 70 kilogrammes, he added.
Architect Pitak In-tap designed the house that he and his wife Phakamas are building in Phitsanulok. (Photo by Chinnawat Singha)