His passion for retro design started when he was a student in San Francisco, where he often spent his weekends browsing through flea and antiques markets. When he moved back to Hong Kong to start a graphic and brand-design firm, he brought his favourite pieces with him. For the next 10 years, they were stored at his studio in Wan Chai while Pang squeezed himself into a small flat in To Kwa Wan.

When designing his new home, Pang had one goal - to tailor the space around his collection. After laying claim to a 680 sq ft flat in Tin Hau, he enlisted the help of friends Danny Tse and Frankie Lam, of Bugs Design Consultants. Pang wanted a 'clean and straightforward' look with an industrial edge inspired by New York loft spaces.

Lam and Tse were familiar with his taste, which they had seen in the design of his Wan Chai studio. 'It was easy to take the elements of steel and concrete and implement them here,' Lam says.

Keeping most of the original layout, the designers set about stripping down and simplifying the overall look and feel. The wallpaper in the living room was removed, and wood was replaced by self-levelling flooring for a brushed concrete effect.

A built-in closet, which served as a partition for the two bedrooms, was knocked through to create one master bedroom. Instead of a bed frame, Pang opted for a raised platform, under which there is a storage compartment. Apart from an Ikea closet built into one wall, the rest of the room is furnished with Pang's vintage pieces - including a green felt loveseat from San Francisco and a mid-century side table purchased from Germany through eBay.

In keeping with the industrial style, and to make better use of natural light, the wall separating the main living area and kitchen was replaced by brushed glass panels in a thick steel frame.

'Times had wanted one large piece of glass,' Lam says. 'But the dimensions would have been too big - it would not have fitted up the stairs or through the door.'

Another challenge was outfitting the small bathroom to Pang's liking. He wanted to cover the entire room with hexagonal tiling found in a Wan Chai shop. Given the shape and size of the tiles, covering the curvature of the bathtub would have been problematic. Lam proposed an exposed tub (see Tried & tested) with a steel frame underneath for support. Pang was happy with the resulting look.

The white-walled rectangular living area makes a versatile showcase for Pang's prized possessions.

'My furniture adds enough colour to the place, so I wanted grey and white tones everywhere else. Otherwise, it would feel overdecorated.'

A large leather sofa serves as an anchor for the sitting area. Six mismatched chairs, which include different designs by Charles and Ray Eames, act as additional seating around the sofa and as dining chairs. A wall-mounted swivel lamp by Artemis perches over the marble table, but can swing easily over to the easy chair, where Pang likes to read.

While the stories that accompany each chest and table are as unique as the pieces themselves - the camphorwood trunk was part of Pang's mother's dowry; the regulator clock was found in the stairwell of an old building by a friend - the overall effect is cohesive.

Pang attributes this to his editing skills.

'I don't go rescuing every little piece of second-hand furniture I see. There has to be a visual connection for me. And I'm not a pack rat - if I bring something new in, I'll let something else go.'

2 The black leather lounge chair cost HK$3,600 from Chen Mi Ji (69 Peel Street, Central, tel: 2549 8800). The chest of drawers and clock were gifts and the coffee table was picked up from a flea market in Sausalito, California, for US$15.

3 The wooden lounge chair was among Pang's finds at a flea market in Sausalito in the 90s and cost US$35. The carved camphorwood trunk is a hand-me-down. The lamp came from an antiques fair in San Francisco.

4 To round out Pang's existing mid-century furniture collection, Bugs Design found a few Eames pieces for the dining area. The base of the dining table (HK$2,600) and the shell chair with the 'Eiffel Tower' base (HK$3,600) were sourced from Flea + Cents (1/F, 34 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2528 0808). The marble top of the dining table was custom made for HK$3,600 by Wing Ming Marble (unit 5, G/F, Yue Xiu Building, 160 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2802 3041). Pang wanted a movable light source for his dining table and reading area. Instead of a standing lamp, he opted for a mounted swivel lamp (HK$3,600) from Artemide (shop 111, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, tel: 2523 0333). The self-levelling flooring cost HK$20,790 for materials and installation (ABS Building Systems, 8/F, Sino Industrial Plaza, 9 Kai Cheung Road, Kowloon Bay, tel: 2798 0376).

5 Pang bought the bathroom wall tiles for HK$3,150 at Hop Hing Lung (235 Lockhart Road, tel: 2511 3013). Bugs sourced the tap (HK$1,760) and the toilet (HK$2,780) from H2O(Pro) (332 Lockhart Road, tel: 2834 1661). The bathtub (HK$2,960), excluding the steel legs, came from Luen Hing Hong Building Materials (370 Lockhart Road, tel: 2391 0356). The heater unit cost HK$8,280 from Town Gas (G/F, 59 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2963 3000).

6 Inspired by Le Corbusier's use of glass in La Cite Radieuse in Marseille, France, Pang and Bugs designed a glass and steel divider (HK$16,500) to replace the kitchen wall. Pang's requirement for the kitchen was to keep it simple and white. The countertop (HK$3,700) is tiled and the cupboards (HK$11,000) have a plastic laminate finish. The wall tiles (HK$2,100) came from Mosaic Tiles (shop 1, 353 Lockhart Road, tel: 2116 3002). The ceiling light consists of a single exposed light bulb brushed with mercury. The bulb, black plastic light bulb holder and fabric cable were sourced from Yen Fung Electrical (377 Reclamation Street, Mong Kok, tel: 2388 6717) for HK$71. The Siemens washer-dryer unit (HK$5,300) was purchased through Chun Tat (room 443, Chun Sing Factory Estate, 85 Kwai Fook Road, Tsuen Wan, tel: 2406 7272).

Tried + Tested

Free standing