Fitting out a new condominium in Bangkok: what to do first

Fitting out a new Bangkok condominium takes four to six weeks of design and six to ten weeks on site, and costs ฿12,000 – 28,000 per square metre for design and build, or ฿8,000 – 15,000 per square metre if the developer's kitchen and bathrooms are kept and only joinery, lighting and finishes are added. Do the ceiling, lighting and electrical points first, then built-in wardrobes and the kitchen, then floors and paint, then loose furniture. Changing electrical points after the joinery is in is the most common and most expensive mistake.

Updated 18 September 2026 · 6 min read · By the 8Kunya atelier

A new condominium arrives in one of two states: a bare shell with a screeded floor and capped services, or a developer fit-out with a kitchen, bathrooms, a grid of downlights and wardrobes that are 50 cm deep. Either way, the order in which you do things decides both the cost and whether you move in on time.

The order of work

Survey and design, before the keys. Most developers allow a measured survey during the final months. Four to six weeks of design then happen while the building is being finished, so that permissions are submitted and joinery is in the workshop on the day of handover.
Ceiling, lighting, electrical and air-conditioning. Every socket, switch and light is placed on the drawing, with the joinery drawn on the same sheet, so that the wardrobe light and the bedside sockets end up where the furniture is. This is the stage that cannot be changed later without opening the ceiling.
Wet areas, if they are changing. Kitchens and bathrooms moved or rebuilt, with waterproofing tested by flooding for 24 hours before the tiles go on.
Built-in joinery. Wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, TV wall, prayer shelf and study, made in the workshop during stages 2 and 3, installed in one week.
Floors and paint. Engineered timber or large-format tile over the screed; paint last, after the joinery is scribed in.
Loose furniture, curtains and styling. One installation day, and the unit is finished.

What it costs in 2026

Starting point	Design and build
Bare shell, full fit-out	฿12,000 – 28,000 per m²
Developer fit-out, kitchen and bathrooms kept	฿8,000 – 15,000 per m²
Loose furniture package, added to either	฿300,000 – 900,000 for a one-bedroom

The Fyne, in Ekkamai, was a compact developer-finished unit fitted out in three weeks: Muji-calm timber joinery, mirrored wardrobe doors to widen the bedroom, a Japanese-style slatted partition and a touch of luxury at the headboard. Mazarine, at Ratchayothin, took six weeks with a marble media wall and full timber joinery.

Three decisions that pay for themselves

Mirrored wardrobe doors in the smallest bedroom, which double its apparent width for the price of glass. A single long piece of joinery along the living room wall that carries the television, storage and the prayer shelf, rather than three separate units. And the lighting redone as layers, table lamps, wall washers and a dimmable ceiling, rather than the developer's grid; it is the change guests notice first and the cheapest of the three.

Questions

What should I change in a developer-finished condominium?

Usually the lighting, which developers fit as a grid of cool downlights; the wardrobes, which are shallow; and the kitchen storage. Keep the bathrooms and the floor if they are sound. That alone transforms the unit for ฿8,000 – 15,000 per square metre.

How long after handover can I move in?

With a design signed before the developer's handover, six to ten weeks on site. Start the design during construction, when the developer allows a survey, so the drawings are ready on the day you get the keys.

Do I need the juristic office's permission for a fit-out?

For a bare shell or anything touching walls, ceilings, electrics or plumbing, yes. The studio submits the file. For loose furniture and curtains, no.