For style-conscious folk on a tight budget, furnishing a home can be a tormenting experience. Furniture, artwork, antiques - they're all big-ticket items, even at the lower end of the scale. And people with taste rarely set their sights on budget options. Even for a fledgling home decorator, it only takes a look at a few interior design websites such as ApartmentTherapy.com or the newly launched MyDeco.com to ignite a desire for the good stuff.
Whether your taste tends towards tradition or modernity, the proliferation of interior decor information available means it's now all too easy to find yourself coveting items for the home with the knowledge of a connoisseur.
Fans of classic modern design, for instance, will always be drawn to iconic mid-20th century modern furniture. Designed by forward-thinking architects in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and characterised by functional forms and sleek lines, such pieces are at home in modern surroundings and are considered by many to be works of art. Perennial favourites in the offices of image-conscious companies, modern iconic furniture pieces have become increasingly popular in recent years.
But aesthetic perfection comes at a price. In Hong Kong, a licensed Charles and Ray Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman will set you back at least HK$36,000. By comparison, you can pick up the pared-down elegance of a Barcelona chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for only HK$17,000. Even a stackable plastic chair such as the glossy one designed by Verner Panton retails for HK$7,000. How much can you afford to spend on lighting? Because an Arco lamp, the definitive choice for aficionados of modern design, costs HK$18,000 and you will probably have to wait three months for delivery.
For those who prefer their furniture to show signs of age, the outlook is even worse. For the price of just one top-quality antique chest with a certificate authenticating its origin, you could furnish an entire living room with iconic classics.
As for art, anyone who participated in this year's ArtWalk last month would have noticed the steep price tags of original artworks by Chinese artists, even for relative newcomers to the scene.