Blessed with an eye for hidden potential, Kate Green has transformed cast-off furniture into colourful statement pieces that complement the antiques and design store-bought items that abound in her three-bedroom apartment on The Peak.
Since moving to Hong Kong from Britain three years ago, Green and her husband have scoured high-end shopping malls, market stalls and even dumpsters for items to fill their flat.
'It's a very fun and happy place to come to,' says Green, an event planner, who co-founded POP (planners of parties and weddings).
Then there's the view. The living room and two bedrooms that face the harbour have been fitted with wide windows. The third bedroom is used to store fabrics and other materials for Green's work.
Green doesn't follow a master plan when decorating her home but creates on the go. Somehow, she says, it all comes together.
Once, she found two armchairs dumped outside an apartment block in Sham Shui Po, where Green was shopping for fabric. The lacquered chairs were in poor condition but she saw their potential, thanks to her training as a furniture painter. Now coated in lime green and adorned with colourful cushions, they are a focal point in the bright and spacious living room, which leads on to a terrace overlooking the harbour.