Beautiful Belian Wooden home in Sabah !
Sabah has always been a very important exporter of logs and sawn Timber. However, the timber resources are now being strictly controlled and instead of just exporting raw logs and timber, more local companies are encouraged by the government to get involved with downstream processing of timber products such as doors, furniture and other timber related .
For local sabahans, the availability of timber meant that it was easy to build homes using this abundant material. But that was then. Now it seems, the price of timber has gone up steadily and it is relatively cheaper to construct homes using bricks and cement.
The beauty of timber homes is obvious especially in a tropical setting. The home is much cooler and the elegance of natural timber has a special attraction. An old friend , Jules Stephens recommended that I visit his Uncle Richard Baxter who has a beautiful wooden home in Tenom, Sabah. So I was very fortunate to visit such a home today in the beautiful farm owned by the Baxter family of Tenom, in the interior of Sabah Malaysia.
Mr. Richard Baxter is a very prominent planter based in Tenom Sabah and loves to share his years of experiences in agriculture and outdoor lifestyle .He lives with the family in the beautiful timber home that was built by his father in the 1950’s and to this day is proof of the quality of the native sabahan timber, especially the local hard wood belian which is used as the pillars of the stately home! Belian is known to last for many many years and is the preferred timber for building timber homes in Sabah.
The timber home is surrounded by matured tropical fruit trees such as Durians, Mangosteen, Pamelo and Dragon fruits and many others. Flowers with colorful blooms line the cemented pathways while orchids grow in specially fenced areas around the 55 year old home making it a living paradise ! A cluster of giant orchids grows near the entrance of the home and has been named the 14 sultans orchid ! Apparently this unique orchid was transported all the way to Kota Kinabalu for display at a special event where VIPs were impressed by the beauty of the giant orchids ! The beauty of the place is equally matched by the great hospitality of the hosts, Mr and Mrs Richard Baxter who kindly gave me and my friends a grand tour of the whole property !
We ended the tour with a nice evening of refreshments served on a unique polished table that is made of solid timber measuring some 8 in thick , 3 ft wide and 12 ft long !! Its quite a sight ! We really enjoyed our visit to the Baxters home and learned many great ideas and shared experiences from our jovial hosts. We wish to thank Jules and Anna Stephens for helping to arrange the visit and of course our big thank you to our wonderful hosts Mr. and Mrs Richard Baxter and family !
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