'It was previously a studio, with no walls or inside doors except for a glass door to the bathroom,' she says.

Although Highfield kept the living space open, she created a bedroom and a more private bathroom.

The interior of the flat, perched at the top of a building on Elgin Street, was inspired by the strong colours used in the owner's fashion boutiques.

'Her designs are mostly black and white with hot pink,' says Highfield. 'I wanted to incorporate a little bit of her work as this was going to be her workplace.' Using a palette of just three primary colours allowed Highfield to make bright, bold statements that maximise the sense of space. She opted for white with black accents and a feature wall in yellow.

The furniture - custom designed by Highfield - is almost all white, but to relieve the starkness and create interest, she has used curved surfaces where possible, which also saves space. The half-moon-shaped work desk, positioned against a living-room wall, is spacious yet unobtrusive and the high kitchen table, which also serves as a bar top and work space, is similarly shaped.

The square bathroom has also benefited from some curves. 'I went with the round mirror, round basin and round light over the mirror to continue the curved theme,' says Highfield.

'The challenges with these smaller apartments are allowing for enough storage space so your life isn't surrounded by clutter, and making the space feel bigger than it is,' says Highfield. 'The trick is keeping it really open - but too open often means no storage, so you have to find a happy medium.'

Storage space has been fitted in as inconspicuously as possible: a small, very neat, almost floor-to-ceiling door conceals a spacious shoe cupboard near the entrance; the narrow passageway to the bedroom is lined with storage concealed behind mirrors; and there is space under the bed and the work desk.

The bedroom and bathroom are separated from the kitchen by a sliding door in frosted glass. The kitchen runs along a wall with two windows and incorporates work and storage space that is hardly used.

'She does not cook at all,' says Highfield, laughing as she looks at the pristine surfaces. 'But she does mix great muesli and cocktails.'

2 The built-in wardrobes and bed, with storage underneath, were designed by Tara Highfield (tel: 9613 6857) and fitted by Mister Space (tel: 9223 3978; mister@ netvigator.com). The bed and cabinetry cost about HK$32,000 in total. The light shade cost HK$399 at Modern Lighting (206 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2877 9822). The photo frames (HK$120 each) were from Ikea.

4 The shelf and curved desk with a clear glass top were designed by Highfield and made by Mister Space for HK$10,000. The ceramic plant pots complete with plant cost HK$10 each at Ikea. The Nyttja photo frames cost HK$30 each and were also bought at Ikea. The Kartell Louis Ghost Chair in matte glossy black cost HK$2,805 at Kartell (1/F, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, tel: 2810 0408).

5 The 12 inch by 12 inch grey ceramic floor and wall tiles cost HK$16 each from Noble Tile (292 Lockhart Road, tel: 2598 8868). The 13 inch by 13 inch iridescent mosaic tiles on the walls cost HK$29.80 each, also from Noble Tile. The porcelain wash basin cost HK$1,180 at a shop that has since closed. The oval mirror was made to order by Mister Space. The white cabinet under the wash basin was designed by Highfield and made by Mister Space for HK$5,000. The light fitting over the mirror cost HK$499 from PLC (210 Lockhart Road, tel: 2519 6275).

6 The high table was custom designed by Highfield and made by Mister Space for HK$9,000. The faux leather and metal stools cost HK$950 each from Po Wah Furniture. The black plastic and frosted glass overhead light cost HK$2,800 from Modern Lighting.

7 The kitchen runs along the length of one wall with a long, seamless worktop and plenty of storage. Highfield wanted to make use of whatever was salvageable from before the renovation. The Cristal cooker came with the flat.

The good and the ugly

Light relief

'I always try to avoid overlapping or losing windows in my designs because windows are very valuable for letting proper light and ventilation into the apartments,' says Tara Highfield, but sometimes there's no other solution.

'In order to put a full-size fridge in the kitchen, the fridge needed to overlap the window slightly. It was something that had to be done.'

Fortunately, the proximity of a second small window and large glass balcony doors made up for the slight loss of light.

Tried + tested

Triple whammy

Multiuse furniture helps save space. The wooden television cabinet is built into the lower part of the kitchen table, which also serves as a worktop. It was custom designed by Tara Highfield and made by Mister Space for HK$9,000.

Styling David Roden