Energy transfer

Text Adele Brunner / Stylist David Roden / Pictures John Butlin

When Marcus and Christina Fong decided to swap their Mid-Levels apartment for a 1,710 sq ft house in Clear Water Bay with an 810 sq ft outdoor area, they envisaged a Spanish-style villa with patterned tiles and wrought-iron balustrades.

Their dream was not to be, however.

Although interior designer Dylan Tan Dar-luen, of WOM Concept, is generally in the habit of realising his clients’ wishes, he says he couldn’t go ahead with this particular idea.

“To create authentic Spanish-style decor, you need features such as archways, high ceilings and stone floors,” he says. “This house is not like that. It ranges over several floors and has a much more modern character. Nor could I just incorporate a bunch of coloured tiles into relatively minimal decor – they would have no meaning and would look strange.

“It is also quite difficult to find the materials to produce a Spanish-style interior in Hong Kong. I looked but the options were limited and incredibly expensive.”

Instead, Tan suggested a more contemporary approach and started by turning the house upside down – quite literally.

Although the main entrance is at the top of the house and one has to descend into the home, Tan moved the living rooms down to the ground floor and relocated the master bedroom upstairs.

He divided what had been a large, single space on the second floor into three rooms and a study, and demolished a series of small bedrooms on the ground floor. He replaced these with an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area and a den, for family movie nights and relaxation.

“It made sense to swap all the rooms around so the family could capitalise on the outdoor terrace and access it without going through one of the bedrooms,” says Tan. “Originally, there were steps down to the terrace and we had to raise the entire space and make it level with the ground floor, which took a lot of time.”

Fung shui played a major part in the configuration of the rooms and furniture.

“My dad was tired of living in the city, on the 57th floor, and, when we saw the house, we loved the views and the space,” says Hannah, 14. “But when a close family friend, who is a fung shui master, saw it, he told us not to live here as the main entrance was at the top rather than on the ground floor.”

To get around this, Tan created a back entrance leading off the ground-floor terrace, which, the family say, they have ended up using more than the front door.

Fung shui also restricted the positioning of furniture in the master bedroom – Tan wanted to get rid of a side wall and have the bed face the green view; principles dictated otherwise. On the whole, however, the interior designer managed to come up with an aesthetically pleasing design.

“If clients want to use a fung shui master, I recommend he comes to the house before I do,” says Tan. “I can easily work with what he advises. For example, it is simple to turn a ‘prosperity’ area into an office and make sure nobody sleeps in a space believed to be ‘sick’, but it is a waste of everybody’s time and effort if I design everything and the fung shui master says it all has to be changed.”

The Fongs had a few requests, such as the blackboard wall in the kitchen and an incorporated home-entertainment system.

“I like my clients to feel as though they have played a part in the design process,” Tan says. “For example, I gave [the Fong family] a palette of colours to choose from and we went to shops together to select materials and soft furnishings.”

The children also had a say in how their bedrooms look. Harry, 6, went with an eye-catching striped wallpaper, “because I like colour”, while Hannah decided she would rather have wall decals, which she bought online.

Having lived in their new home for three months, the family couldn’t be happier. “The house is great and we definitely prefer living here to Hong Kong Island,” says Hannah.

The dining table cost HK$48,000 at Mod (7/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2580 8178) and the chairs were HK$1,290 each at Indigo Living (6/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2555 0540). The Chilewich table runner cost US$75 through www.amazon.com. The candleholders (49 yuan/HK$62 each) and pendant light (1,999 yuan) were from www.taobao.com. See Tried + tested for the drinks shelving.

Cinema room In the cinema/den, which leads off from the kitchen, hang film posters for The Godfather that cost HK$2,000 each (including framing). The Chesterfield leather chairs (HK$19,000 each) and chest of drawers (HK$800) were from Tequila Kola (1/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2877 3295).

Master bathroom The Roca bath (HK$13,800) and tap (HK$14,900) were from Hop Lung Building Materials (293 Lockhart Road, tel: 2802 2273). The slatted wooden blinds were HK$3,375 each from Tak Yar Curtain & Decoration. The pendant light (259 yuan) was found on www.taobao.com. The vases (HK$280 each) came from the Mong Kok Flower Market.

Master bedroom The wallpaper (HK$3,105 for a 90 sq ft expanse of wall) came from Tat Ming Wallpaper (16/F, Kwan Chart Tower, 6 Tonnochy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2910 2268). The headboard (HK$8,590) and base (HK$6,280) came from Indigo Living. The bedside table was made by Ngai Keung Decoration (HK$6,800 for two) and the hanging light cost 259 yuan on www.taobao.com. The throw came from Ikea (HK$349) and the tray (HK$280) from G.O.D. (various locations; www.god.com.hk).

High spirits Drinks cabinets tend to be full of half-consumed bottles that haven't seen the light of day in years, but Marcus and Christina Fong, who are connoisseurs of vintage whisky, wanted to show off their collection. Dylan Tan designed the shelves in the dining area, making sure they were wide enough to accommodate a variety of bottle shapes, and Ngai Keung Decoration built them for HK$6,500. Not only are the displayed bottles a room feature in themselves, the arrangement dispenses with the need to rummage through a cupboard every time a visitor fancies a drop of Glenlivet.