The children's welfare was paramount in the clients' brief, says designer Ken Leung, director of Original Vision (26/F, Wing Hang Finance Centre, 60 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2810 9797). 'They wanted them to be able to move freely and safely, and they wanted to provide a spacious area for them,' he explains.

The interior started as an empty shell, with no particular vision of how the space was to be used, but the owners knew exactly what style they wanted, says Leung - 'as bright as possible, clean, modern, but still very homely and cosy'. The lack of a more specific brief gave the designer freedom but he admits it was difficult at the start. 'They just gave us a general space plan - how many rooms they wanted, how they would connect with each other and the basic function of each room.'

The wide entrance passage was narrowed to create unobtrusive storage space, which was clad in mirrors to obtain the illusion of width. The colour scheme features soft tones of white, beige and brown, chosen to create a calming effect. Long, wide planks of light oak wood cover the floor.

Every opportunity has been taken to make the most of the natural light and the green surroundings by minimising the divisions within the house and those that separate the interior from the outside. A wide archway divides the living and eating areas, with a retractable glass ceiling over the dining room enabling it to be fully opened to the elements. Floor-to-ceiling windows and doors line this ground-floor entertaining zone, which opens onto a half-covered terrace boasting a large, built-in barbecue and a trampoline.

Above the living area is a guest room and bathroom. The master suite, with study nook and a large picture window, overlooks the terrace and garden and features a walk-in wardrobe, built as a passageway between the bedroom and the bathroom (see Tried & Tested).

Unusually, the children's bedrooms and a second guest room are on the top level. 'Normally we put the master bedroom on the top floor,' explains Leung. But the children's mother wanted to be on the middle floor so that she would be near the children whether they were upstairs in their bedrooms or below in the living area.

Here, family comes first, but at no cost to style.

1 The rectangular paintings are set on wall panels that slide open to reveal the television. The couches and rectangular pouf were designed by Original Vision (26/F, Wing Hang Finance Centre, 60 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2810 9797) and custom made by Element Collection (shop G03, 9 Wing Hong Street, Cheung Sha Wan, tel: 2743 9618) using fabric from Cetec (Winway Building, 2/F, 50 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2521 1325). The couches cost about HK$23,000 and the pouf was HK$3,000.

2 In the master bedroom, a large desk doubles as a dressing table. The bed was designed by Original Vision and built by the contractor. The curtains were made with fabric from Cetec by Cloverleaf Interiors (room 1701, Keen Hung Commercial Building, 80 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2866 6801). The bench with polished stainless-steel legs (about HK$3,500) is from Element Collection and upholstered in Cetec fabric.

3 The wide staircase is in light oak with stainless-steel edging. It features 15mm-thick floated glass, which is designed to accentuate the bright and airy feel of the home. The oak flooring throughout the house is from Equal (room 302, Phase II, Ming An Plaza, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2881 7066) and cost about HK$120 a square foot.

4 The remote-controlled glass roof over the dining table opens all the way back to the kitchen wall, creating an open-air environment. The eight-seat dining table is made of 20mm-thick floated glass and stands on polished stainless-steel legs. It was designed by Original Vision and built by the contractor for about HK$15,000. The chairs were designed by Original Vision too, but made by Element Collection using fabric from Cetec. They cost about HK$2,500 each, including the fabric.

5 The owners love to cook, and the keywords in the kitchen are easy maintenance and high functionality. The centrepiece of the square kitchen is the huge worktop in beige Formica. The taupe-coloured fittings are by Effeti and were installed by Essentials (81 Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley, tel: 2833 9100). The kitchen cost about HK$600,000.

6 The entrance to the master bathroom is via a walk-in wardrobe corridor (see Tried & Tested). The deep, freestanding limestone oval tub was sourced in Bali and cost about HK$20,000. The Silhouette window shades from Cloverleaf Interiors cost about HK$8,000.

7 The exterior of the house is painted white. Side-lit steps lead down from the terrace to a generous-sized garden with a wooden-decked patio.

tried & tested

smoke and mirrors

A sliding door from the master bedroom leads to a corridor-style walk-in wardrobe, with some sections in oak veneer and others with glass-fronted doors. At one end is the entrance to the en-suite bathroom. An air-conditioning unit and warming tubes are concealed. The wardrobe was designed by Original Vision (tel: 2810 9797) and custom made by the contractor for about HK$45,000.

styling Esther van Wijck