In an era where the definition of "home or condominium" is no longer just a place to live, but a new lifestyle that makes living spaces everything in life, it is not surprising that people today are meticulous about decorating their homes and condos to meet diverse living needs as much as possible. However, achieving the goal of creating a beautiful and perfect home or condo that also meets functional living requirements is not an easy task.

If one wants to decorate a home beautifully with furniture that fits the size and design of the living space perfectly, many might think there is only one option: built-in furniture. Sometimes, beauty comes at the cost of luck in finding skilled craftsmen to create the dream home as envisioned. If one is unfortunate enough to hire an undisciplined worker, they may face headaches with unfinished work, leading to delays. In the long run, one might have to accept that if they want to renovate their home, it could leave marks, as built-in furniture is often installed permanently to floors, walls, or ceilings. Therefore, if not installed well, it may not look good, causing wall cracks or issues that require repairs over time.

These pain points have led to the concept of home decoration known as Fit-in, which involves using specially designed freestanding furniture that fits the size of the living space instead of built-in furniture. The person behind this concept is Khun Prechaya Chavalitthamrong, or Khun Nui, the founder of 10DK, a home design and decoration company. Besides having a passion for helping clients, she also has a clear business compass aimed at sustainability, which has become the starting point for the Fit-in concept, the core of 10DK's business, to converge with sustainability and create powerful change.

Starting with Fit-in before branching out to embrace sustainability

When 10DK launched the Fit-in concept and service, it revolutionized the room decoration industry entirely. The Fit-in approach opened up options for residents seeking beauty that is just right. The specially designed freestanding furniture not only fits perfectly with the size of the home or living space but also has the advantage of being rearranged if the homeowner wants to change the space to meet future life changes. The Fit-in decoration style offers "choices" to residents, leading to a very positive business response.

However, Khun Nui, the founder of 10DK, feels that even though the business model is already meeting the needs of customers and partners and growing well, the Fit-in concept has the potential to create even more positive change in society. This led to a focus on sustainability, thinking and acting genuinely to create real change.

“In the first 2-3 years of starting the business, we promoted the Fit-in concept to address the pain points of those decorating their homes effectively, which received a good response. The business grew rapidly, by 50-100% per year. At that time, I thought I wanted to expand the business as quickly as possible to take the company public.”

“But the more I did, the less happy I became, as the results were the opposite. Since the business goals were based on numbers, maintaining the quality of products and services meant controlling costs in other areas as much as possible.”

“We had to try to find suppliers who could offer lower prices while maintaining the same quality of work, which sometimes meant they had to choose materials that were not environmentally friendly. Issues regarding wages or worker care might not be fully addressed, which made us uncomfortable. So, I thought about changing the business approach to focus more on sustainability than on numbers. At that time, this concept was becoming popular abroad, but in Thailand, it was still rare, especially among home design and decoration companies, which were almost nonexistent. There were only manufacturers of environmentally friendly furniture. Thus, 10DK can be considered one of the first companies in home design and decoration to champion sustainability.”

Fit-in for real, doing it genuinely to create deep change in all related sectors

            When discussing businesses focusing on sustainability, many might think of social activities or switching to alternative materials. However, the definition of sustainability at 10DK is deeper than that. Khun Nui does not see sustainable business practices as merely a marketing strategy to create a good image for the company but views it in a broader context that encompasses everything from the environment to the people within the entire supply chain.

“The heart of sustainable business does not mean we have to be the biggest player, but we can be a small player with quality, responsible for ourselves, the economy, society, and the environment.” Therefore, with a clear goal of being the most sustainable home design and decoration company, after providing solutions that effectively address pain points for customers, 10DK has expanded its business by focusing on three main areas:

1. Supporting communities and valuing labor rights.

2. Being environmentally friendly.

3. Supporting the local economy.

“In the past, 10DK has tried to reduce the use of harmful substances to the environment by using low VOCs wood finishes and paints, which are good for both the environment and residents. Additionally, we support communities by choosing products made from natural materials that do not go through middlemen.” At the same time, 10DK creates jobs and income for communities by collaborating with them, such as having the 10DK team design pillowcase and bed cover patterns, which are then sewn by the Karen group from Lai Kaew. For furniture, instead of importing cheaper furniture from China to offer customers, 10DK chooses to work with skilled craftsmen in the community, ensuring that we adhere to labor standards and human rights. You can see that 10DK not only starts as a small force in sustainable business but also passes on this concept, which is one of the mega trends in the world, to people in the supply chain, including customers, because 10DK's designs prioritize balance over trying to fit everything in and creating excess waste.

Thus, not only does 10DK's work meet the needs of residents today, but even as time passes and living requirements change with age, when homeowners want to renovate, Fit-in furniture can be easily moved or modified without the need for demolition, which would create unnecessary waste.

Building towards being a strong cog in society and the economy

            At this point, it should be clear that Fit-in home decoration not only provides "choices" that fulfill diverse needs for residents but also offers powerful sustainable "choices" for society.

            For future goals, Khun Nui concludes that she wants 10DK to be the most sustainable home design and decoration company and the first company that comes to mind for those wanting to decorate their homes with Fit-in solutions. Most importantly, she wants to be a strong cog in society and the economy.

“Even though we focus on sustainability, our business philosophy emphasizing honesty and keeping promises to our customers remains unchanged. We still prioritize after-sales service. If we make a mistake, we will not make excuses but are ready to correct it and do every job to the best of our ability. Because we always think that what we do may be one of 100 works, but it is the only home for the homeowner. What is essential is that we intend to take good care of our employees and suppliers because without us, they can survive, but if we do not have them, we struggle,” Khun Nui concludes.