What is Kalae house?

The kalae house or traditional Northern Thai/Lanna house is an architectural style of Northern Thailand, in the area that used to be called Lan Na, today known as Chiang Mai. The house is composed of two compartments sharing the same platform. It is named after the decorative wooden carvings protruding from the top of the gables, features typically found in traditional northern Thai houses.

The house is a combination of traditional Lanna and Tai Lue, TaiKhoen and Tai Yong ethnic groups’ residences. The influences from these peoples makes the houses diverse in terms of style, plan, decoration, development of the functions and house elements.