Three years ago, after 12 years in the flat, Wong and her husband, an architect with a local property developer, decided to give their 'tired' apartment a makeover. Keeping it simple, they stained the Canadian red oak floor a darker shade and painted the walls white so as not to detract from their paintings. At the time, their sons were away at boarding school and university, which meant the balcony, a former play area, could be reclaimed as part of the lounge. The only other structural changes involved building recessed shelves into false walls for sculptures: one where the old balcony door used to slide back; another into a false wall opposite the front door; and a third into the corner of a wall in the dining room that forms the back of a built-in wardrobe for the boys' bedroom. Of the three bedrooms, Wong expended most effort on the master and the room her sons share. The third bedroom, which, like the master, has an en suite bathroom, doubles as a guest and TV room. The bath in the guest bathroom was replaced with a shower and the only work in the kitchen involved extending the kitchen tops. As Wong points out, 'People have different ways of spending money. I spend on chattels rather than fixtures; things I can take with me. You can't take your kitchen with you.'

The dining area is littered with the owners' art collection. Wong says entertaining is an important part of her husband's job, so the space had to present a sophisticated image for formal dinners as well as be casual enough for family lunches and buffets with friends. The addition of four rows of square glass tiles, two above a reduced window and two below, means light can still enter the space but the unappealing view of the car park opposite is minimised.

Wong's love of symmetry is most obvious in the boys' room, with its identical double beds and patterned wooden headboards. At the opposite end of the room is a large built-in wardrobe, which was created using space that was once part of the lounge. The guest bathroom next door reflects the 'masculine' look with brown-tinged granite floor tiles. In the master bedroom, every wall is given over to storage. This is in addition to a walk-in storage cupboard down the hall. 'It's one big dressing area for me,' exclaims Wong.

What really makes the flat come alive is the couple's art collection, which has been assembled through local outlets and during trips overseas. Pieces are selected for their aesthetic quality rather than as investments. The paintings and sculptures are by artists from Canada, Spain, Vietnam and China.

With 2,400 square feet and many internal walls, Wong admits she has plenty of space to play with. 'We try to find things with movement, strong brushwork, colour and energy,' she says. 'We tend to find the art first and then find somewhere to accommodate it.'

1 Having grown up surrounded by brothers, and with three males living in her apartment, Karen Wong prefers masculine patterns, clean lines and dark woods and fabrics. The Italian-made, navy velvet sofas with teak trim cost HK$35,000 each from Le Cadre Gallery (11 Ruttonjee House, 11 Duddell Street, Central, tel: 2526 1068). The faux pony-skin cushions cost about HK$300 each from Aluminium (8 Kingston Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2577 4766) and the Italian lace-work mahogany chairs were HK$16,000 each from Nuovo (69 Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley, tel: 2831 9982). The walnut-framed ottoman was custom made for HK$3,000 by ELM Casa (New World Centre, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2199 7108). The Chinese rosewood coffee table (HK$3,300) was custom made by Yat Sing Furniture (58 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai , tel: 2441 3737). The rug cost HK$16,000 from Mir Oriental Carpets (52 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2521 5641); the antique silver-finish lamps, which cost HK$3,350 each, are from Altfield Home (shop 223, Prince's Building, Central, tel: 2524 3066) and the glass-top stands were HK$7,000 each from Nuovo. The cherry-finish bookshelves were built for HK$45,000 by contractor Wing Ming Interior Contracting (tel: 2647 3605).

3 Because she entertains a lot, Wong wanted a space that was bright and sophisticated for formal dinners, casual gatherings and buffets. The Flos chandelier in brass finish cost HK$14,500 from Dentro (shop A, Winway Building, 50 Wellington Street, tel: 2801 7007). The cherry-wood-inlaid dining table was custom made by Decca for about HK$15,000 and the solid cherry-wood chairs, which cost about HK$6,500 each, were bought from a store in Happy Valley many years ago. The oil-on-canvas Vietnamese landscape, by Hong Viet Dung, is from Hong Kong Fine Art (15/F, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham Street, Central, tel: 2537 7322). The bronze Ju Ming sculpture, from the artist's Tai Chi series, stands on an ebony-finish corner table that cost HK$2,480 from G.O.D. (2/F, Leighton Centre, Sharp Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2890 5555). The Iranian silk rug was bought in Dubai for about US$5,000.

4 The 'Le Vent' bronze sculpture, by French artist Bernard Vie, is from Schoeni. The reproduction terracotta warriors are from Xian and cost about HK$200 for a set of four. The shot glasses, from Lane Crawford, were a gift, as was the silver toothpick holder next to the sculpture.

5 This unfussy functional guest bathroom has granite flooring that cost HK$130 a square foot through Wong's contractor, Wing Ming. The American Standard sink and pedestal cost HK$2,500 from U'land Sanitary Ware (233 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2507 2320). The Italian walnut-finish wall unit plus chrome fittings (HK$3,500 a set) and the mirror (HK$3,000) came from Nice Tile (181 Lockhart Road, tel: 2598 5909). The wall tiles were about HK$25 each from Sun Ho Building Material (169 Lockhart Road, tel: 2519 9876). The shower stall was custom built by the contractor.

6 There is a spare room but the boys like to chat, which is why they share, says Wong. In keeping with her preference for conformity, the identical double beds with storage units in walnut finish were bought for HK$6,000 each from ELM Casa. The wood panels, with white finish and circle designs, at the head of the beds cost HK$4,000 for the two from Wood Art Timber (see Tried & Tested), with Wing Ming supplying the dark walnut-finish panels for HK$2,200. The Spanish bedside lamp cost HK$1,600 from Apartment (Sunning Plaza, 10 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, tel: 2882 2198) and the walnut night table cost HK$2,000 from ELM Casa.

7 Storage was a priority for Wong, which is why she had Wing Ming build floor-to-ceiling cherry wood units with profiled glass across two of the bedroom walls at a cost of HK$58,000. The bed has a black leather headboard and was bought more than 15 years ago for HK$30,000 from a shop that no longer exists. The black leather 'stressless' lounger and stool cost HK$12,000 from Simmons Gallery (shop Q, 2/F, Windsor House, Causeway Bay, tel: 2506 1100) and the Lebanese silver lamp cost HK$1,000 from Farah (70 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2739 8200). The Eileen Gray glass and chrome round table cost HK$1,800 from a shop since closed. The wave wall, which breaks up what otherwise would have been a blank white space, cost HK$4,000 from Wood Art Timber. The cushions cost between HK$500 and HK$1,000 from Lane Crawford.

tried & tested

origins of symmetry

A bay window was breaking up the symmetry of the boys' room so Karen Wong hit upon the idea of turning it into a cupboard. She had contractor Wing Ming cut down a natural seam in one of two circle-patterned wooden panels she had purchased from Wood Art Timber (354 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2836 3995) for HK$4,000. Now both beds have the same patterned headboards, although one now incorporates a cupboard.

styling Gloria Wong