Colonial meets mid-century modern design and Internet of Things in a Hong Kong home that mixes local craftsmanship, vintage furniture and the latest technology
- A couple who like to entertain fancied an East-meets-West vibe, with elements of colonial and mid-century modern design, for their Parkview, Hong Kong apartment
- The result? A home with marble and travertine chequerboard floor, vintage and bespoke furniture, handcrafted fittings and extra space to cook for dinner parties
Seeking a retreat from the demands of their business, a young Hong Kong couple could not pass up the mountain greenery cocooning a flat at Parkview.
The Hong Kong Island location of the 2,167 sq ft (201 square metre) apartment meant they would be close enough to Central district to keep a finger on the pulse of their workplace, but the views of Tai Tam Country Park made them feel a world away.
The couple, who have a baby, fancied an East-meets-West vibe for the four-bedroom, three-bathroom flat, with elements of colonial and mid-century modern design. Hong Kong-based Stylus Studio would provide the professional input to bring their ideas to life.
For a couple with culinary and bartending credentials, the ability to host regular social gatherings was important. The spacious living/dining area provided room for guests to gather, but the original kitchen let the catering down. Stylus Studio had a tailor-made solution.
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“Adjacent to the kitchen was the fourth bedroom, or study, which the couple didn’t really need,” explains Simon Zeng Hao, founder and director of Stylus Studio, who worked on the project with a team led by senior project designer Mandy Leung.
“Since our clients like to cook both Chinese and Western cuisine, we utilised this room to create a second kitchen, providing dedicated amenities for each cooking style.”
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The new kitchen was turned into a social hub by incorporating a bar where hosts and guests can show off their cocktail-making skills, and an island to sit around and chat while food preparations are under way.
Accordingly, it is fitted with not only premium appliances but also high-end Italian-made Maistri cabinetry, a decorative gypsum ceiling and works from the owners’ extensive art collection.
Because the original, closed kitchen was still usable, all that was needed to freshen its look was installing matching cabinet doors and new flooring.
“That kitchen would otherwise have ended up in landfill, and even though Hong Kong’s high labour costs meant it would have been cheaper to start afresh, our clients were on the same page,” Zeng says.
The elegant chequerboard floor in both, composed of alternating black marble and white travertine in different shapes, puts a fun twist on a mid-century modern staple.
These traditional skills are a dying art, and we want to preserve them wherever we can
Designer and clients’ shared appreciation of natural materials is epitomised in the dining room, approached through a graceful archway. Seating 12, a live-edge FSC American walnut table was made in Hong Kong by a local craftsman, and paired with vintage armchairs by Brazilian architect Sergio Rodrigues.
“Designed in 1956 for the Sao Paulo Jockey Club, and now with a new home in Hong Kong, these iconic chairs continue to be a symbol of modern furniture history,” says Zeng.
Along the window wall of the dining room, a new banquette provides additional seating and storage. More bespoke items were made for the living room, including a unique wall lamp with arms that move – manually – like a clock. It is one of the few decorative light fittings in a flat fitted mostly with gallery-style track and spot lights, and recessed LEDs.
In the living and dining rooms, a magnetic track-lighting system concealed in an open ceiling maximises height while giving flexibility to the control lighting design. “Our clients can simply add, take out or adjust the location of the light fittings, as they are connected by magnetic force,” Zeng says.
The main bedroom was already large, but its wardrobes were inadequate. Cribbing space from a corridor gained an extra 800mm (31.5 inches) of usable space, allowing for a dressing room.
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The wow factor of this bedroom is its graceful bay window framing verdant views – an asset the designers could not resist highlighting (see Tried + tested below). It is one of two spaces for quiet reflection in the home, the other being a balcony.
The remaining two bedrooms also came with en suite bathrooms. Mindful of their clients’ hospitality habits, the designers turned one into a whimsical guest powder room, and gave the other dual access from the bedrooms.
While guests might smile at the quirky fish wallpaper in the washroom, the provenance of the beaten copper hand basin is heart-warming.
“It was made in Hong Kong by an elderly craftsman we managed to find,” Zeng says. “These traditional skills are a dying art, and we want to preserve them wherever we can.”
This is a home where heritage is honoured, yet technology also has a place. Internet of Things functionality controls the lights, music, air conditioning, underfloor heating and electronic blinds via a mobile app. As its designers intended, the project, completed in late 2021, is an apt reflection of the owners’ lifestyle and hospitality.
Decor
Classic ceiling decoration to match the black-and-white flooring completes the American farmhouse look. In the small arch on the left, the contractor built in a shoe seat and a switchable glass panel that can be a mirror or semi-transparent. The small, rectangular artwork is by Balinese artist I Wayan Pugur (Instagram @puguryoungartist).
Living room
Living-room sofas from Poliform’s Bristol collection (poliform.it) are paired with two custom armchairs designed by Stylus Studio and made by Ran Contracting. The artwork from the couple’s extensive collection is by Malaysian artist Raphael Scott Ahbeng (1939-2019).
Flanking the artwork, a pair of metal-framed mirrors designed by Stylus Studio reflect the view. Stylus Studio also designed the bookshelves, and the table lamp, made by Hing Fat Lighting International (hf.com.hk).
The silk floor rug in custom colours came from Tai Ping Carpets (taipingcarpets.com) and the overhead track lighting from Artemide. The coffee table was designed by Stylus Studio and made by Ran Contracting.
Kitchen
The new Western kitchen from Maistri Italy (maistri.it) was ordered in a custom lacquer consistent with the greenery outside. The undermount single-bowl enamel farmhouse sink came from Kohler US (kohler.com) and the oven from Wolf (subzerowolf.com.hk).
The walnut and rattan island with sintered stone counter top from Neolith (neolith.com), and the chairs around it, were designed by Stylus Studio (stylus-studio.com) and made by Ran Contracting (rancon.com.hk). The Talisman Loop sconce came from Apparatus New York (apparatusstudio.com).
The origin of the print on the far wall is unknown. Ran Contracting made the archway, finished in metal spray by Axolotl Liquid Metal.
Dining room
Grouped around a 12-seater dining table in FSC American walnut (by a company now closed) is a set of Oscar dining chairs, by Brazilian architect Sergio Rodrigues, made from natural cane, beech wood and leather. The chairs came from ESPASSO UK (espasso.com).
The banquette was made by Ran Contracting. The pair of pendants came from Foscarini (foscarini.com). The large artwork, by Vietnamese painter Hoang Duy Vang, came from Mai Gallery (maisgallery.vn). The spotlights on the artwork came from Artemide (artemide.com), and the wall sconce from Apparatus New York.
The herringbone parquet flooring from Listone Giordano was supplied by colourliving (colourliving.com).
Main bedroom
All furniture in the primary bedroom – a bed with hydraulic lift-up storage underneath, timber and rattan bedhead and bedside table – was designed by Stylus Studio and custom made by Ran Contracting.
The pendant lamp in brass, blown glass and leather came from Allied Maker New York (alliedmaker.com) and the other, extendable lamp, was designed by Stylus Studio and made by Hing Fat Lighting. The Moroccan Berber Beni Ourain rug came from Lilla Rugs (lillarugs.com).
Powder room
The quirky fish wallpaper came from Cole & Son in London (cole-and-son.com). Atop a custom-made counter in Calacatta marble is a hand-hammered copper basin by Luk Ping Kee Copperware, which closed in 2022. The tapware came from Lefroy Brooks UK (uk.lefroybrooks.com).
Balcony
The balcony overlooking the Wilson Trail in Tai Tam Country Park is laid with black marble and white terrazzo custom designed by Stylus Studio and made by Ran Contracting, which also created the vertical garden. Stylus Studio also designed the hanging sofa and solid Acacia wood side table.
The safari chair came from the couple’s previous flat.
Living room television wall
On the television wall is a custom wall sconce with arms that can swivel, designed by Stylus Studio and made by Hing Fat Lighting. Next to it is a Samsung Frame TV (samsung.com). The timber and rattan custom made television cabinet doubles as a bench. The Buchardt speaker (buchardtstudio.com) came from the owners’ previous flat.
Tried + tested
Optimising the bay window in the main bedroom, a love seat makes a cosy nook for reading or meditating, framed by a walnut arch with the green view as a backdrop. To meet the owners’ request for somewhere to store luggage, Stylus Studio set the sofa on a hydraulic lift-up platform.
