The Thai word baan, “home,” embodies a complex interplay of personal subjectivity and personal ideal. Given its huge significance in Thai Culture, comparatively little work has been done on its meaning. As in other cultures, home certainly cannot be defined by any of its functions. Its meaning, rather, appears indeterminate and saturated by cultural history. Given this lack of empirical research on the meaning of home in Thai culture, the research first analyses the concept of dwelling by dealing with semantic field within which are grouped a number of terms which in English might be translated as signifying house, home, dwelling, inhabiting, residence, and compound. From semantic analysis, the research unfolds the idea of home as a realm cultivated by its architecture, its interior and life in that place. Since the domestic interior first emerged as an area of study in the context of modernized (westernized) domesticity, academic interest has emphasized how such interiors have been decorated and what they represent. What has been missing is the study of the relation between ideal domestic interiors and actual living conditions. This becomes the main area of investigation in the research. The photographic evidence from the research documents differences between the lived domestic interiors and the ideal ones. They illustrate physical outlook, orientation, how people use interior space and how such space are an important aspect of home life. When Thais say that “home is cultivated” rather than built, they acknowledge an interweaving of cultural ideology, personal identity and lived relationship. From this perspective, the research argues that although the modern era ended the physical apparatus of the traditional Thai house, the traditional ideology continues to be inscribed in the Thai mentality through language and other articulations. In other words, although baan is no longer a space of traditionality, tradition helps maintaining the idea of it. The research findings, on the on hand, reveal original resources and insights into contemporary home lives in Bangkok. It reflects not only the home life experiences of 40 individuals, but also the diversity of domestic interior as it is lived. On the other hand, the complexity the research reveals is overwhelming, leaving many issues concerning Thai domesticity unresolved.