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An appetite for travel and an all-embracing love for art and objects are reflected in a warm and welcoming Mid-Levels bolthole

 

To say that Sophie Agostini’s home is bursting with life would be an understatement. The 2,600 sq ft flat in Mid-Levels that she and her husband, John, have rented for the past eight years is filled with art, books, antique furniture and all sorts of curios that have been received as gifts, picked up on travels or bought in Hong Kong, where they have lived for 12 years since moving from their native Australia.

“The block was built in 1974, so the flat is relatively old in Hong Kong terms, but this means it has amazing space,” says Agostini, a real-estate agent. “We rent the apartment so we can’t change its structure but we have repainted and fixed it up. With these older-style apartments, you make the most of what you have. Every two years, when we renew our lease, I change it all around and move furniture and artwork.”

An eclectic mixture of old and new, her three-bedroom, three-bathroom flat is a treasure trove of fascinating pieces – most of which have a story behind them. Take the antique bamboo painting table that sits at the back of the dining area. Agostini bought it years ago on a furniture-buying trip to Zhongshan, in Guangdong province, and called her husband to tell him about it.

He happened to be in an antiques store in Ap Lei Chau, where he was advised against the purchase because the table would probably have woodworm.

“Sure enough it did, but it was purchased and I loved it,” says Agostini. “After some research and about six to eight months of it sitting outside – I was paranoid about the woodworm – I had it fumigated and restored beautifully. It was meant to be.”

The Agostinis make time to travel for pleasure and a lot of their prized possessions were lugged home from trips abroad. On one holiday to Istanbul, Turkey, Agostini swore she wouldn’t fall into the typical tourist trap of buying a Turkish carpet but when two deep blue rugs caught her eye, she couldn’t resist. They are now layered on her bedroom floor and she can’t imagine not having them. Other souvenirs that personalise her home include Masai “talking sticks” from Kenya and chandeliers from Rome, Italy, which sound like very disparate items until you see them all together.

“I enjoy putting everything together and I think that having lots of different things on display makes a home interesting,” says Agostini. “My husband and I buy a lot together. We can spend hours wandering around, exploring for undiscovered treasures. People think that women are always far bigger shoppers than men but he can really shop. He is also a prolific book buyer. We had a coffee table made especially larger by designer Tim Ho so he could store his coffee-table books underneath it but still see them through the glass top.”

Art, photography and antiques are also high on the list of preferred items to shop for but, again, Agostini’s taste is seemingly all embracing and she buys what she likes rather than for investment. One of her current favourites is a huge abstract photograph of a wave by Sydney-based artist Eugene Tan, who publishes daily photos of Bondi Beach; she also adores the wall-mounted koi carp sculptures by Alexander Lamont in Bangkok, Thailand. The high ceilings and wall space make the display of large pieces possible, while picture ledges from American homeware shop Pottery Barn allow her to rotate smaller pictures.

“I love being able to change my pictures around. I might leave them for months as they are and then swap them around on a whim,” she says. “It’s great not having to bother with picture hooks.”

Unusually for a centrally located Hong Kong apartment, Agostini’s is blessed with a balcony and a terrace, which stretches almost the length of the property. A keen gardener, she has lined the terrace with pots overflowing with lush greenery.

“I’m a frustrated gardener, actually, and it can be hard in Hong Kong with the heat, humidity and rain – plus, there are lots of air-conditioning units constantly dripping onto this terrace,” she says. “So we don’t sit out on it much but I really like getting out here and pottering around. I go to the Flower Market all the time – my husband thinks I’m crazy, but it’s great to look out of the windows and see a little bit of green that I’ve sort of created in the middle of the city.”

 

 

Dining/living room (above) Next to the bookshelves, which were custom made more than a decade ago, hangs the painting Sleeping Woman, by Jan Rae, from Art House Gallery (www.arthousegallery.com.au) in Australia. The small desk, which came with a wooden front that Sophie Agostini replaced with a mirrored panel, cost HK$6,800 from Artura Ficus (15/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 3105 3903). The 1970s German scarlet leather chair cost HK$8,000 at Ad Lib (26/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2552 0222). Behind the sofa is a Chinese altar table (HK$2,200), which Agostini painted white, from L&E Arts & Crafts (18/F, Sun Hing Industrial Building, 46 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Wong Chuk Hang, tel: 2546 9886). The custom-made sofa cost HK$12,400 from Wing Sun Upholstery (13/F, Harbour Industrial Centre, 116 Lee Nam Road, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2871 9293). Next to the sofa is a whitewashed temple elephant that cost HK$3,000 from L&E Arts & Crafts. The antique leather club chairs were €2,900/HK$30,800 (for a pair) from Sari Parsa in Marche Dauphine in Paris (www.marchedauphine.com). The antique French railway oak dining table (A$5,960/HK$41,000) and chairs (A$445 each) were all made to order by Australian firm Original Finish (www.originalfinish.com.au). The rug cost about HK$18,000 from Brooks Thompson (21 Po Tung Road, Sai Kung, tel: 2851 3665). The chandelier was bought years ago in a market in Rome, Italy, and the Lee Broom Clear Crystal Bulb pendant lights on either side of it were bought years ago from Lane Crawford (various locations; www.lanecrawford.com). The vintage pendant lights (18,000 baht/HK$4,200) came from Papaya Design Furniture & Studio in Bangkok (design-athome.com). On the far wall, the left-hand painting, Arum Lilies by Stephen Treblicock, came from Art House Gallery and the one on the right, Lunar New Year Tea, by Vietnamese artist Do Xuan Doan, came from Ben Thanh Art & Frame (www.benthanhart.com). The wall-mounted koi carp are by Alexander Lamont (www.alexanderlamont.com). The antique bamboo painting table was bought years ago in Zhongshan, Guangdong province. Under the painting table is an egg-shaped peony resin lamp, bought on sale for HK$1,320, at Lane Crawford. Next to the table is a wooden “juicer”, which cost HK$1,100 from L&E Arts & Crafts.
Living room (above) The sofa (HK$12,400) was made to order from Wing Sun Upholstery, and the stainless steel-and-glass coffee table (HK$19,800) was made by Tim Ho (12/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2574 6918; www.timho-steel.com). The floating Holman shelves (HK$375 each) came from American homeware store Pottery Barn (www.potterybarn.com). The Chesterfield armchair was a wedding gift. The photograph to the left of the television is Coastline No 2 by Zhang Xiao from Blindspot Gallery (24 Aberdeen Street, Central, tel: 2517 6238) and the one on the right is No Fear, by Ben McMillan, from Asia Fine Art Gallery, 14 Sik On Street, Wan Chai, tel: 2522 0405. The television cabinet was bought years ago. The School Boy statue is by Dinh Cong Dat and came from Tan My Design (www.tanmydesign.com) in Hanoi.
Kitchen (above right) Sophie Agostini upgraded the existing cabinetry with brushed stainless-steel knobs (HK$9/small piece; HK$16/large piece) from Honest Hardware Supplier Company (232 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2598 6800) and stainless-steel shelving (HK$365 from Ikea; various locations, www.ikea.com.hk). The coloured vases were picked up on the couple’s travels around the world.

Guest bedroom (above) The mirrored cabinet cost HK$6,000 at L&E Arts & Crafts. Above it are birdcages and a conical box all bought years ago. Next to the wardrobe is an old poster photograph from Agostini’s childhood. The three paintings are by Australian artist Sarah Bishop (www.sarah-bishop.com). The parasols were picked up in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bali and Sri Lanka. The old wooden suitcases were bought years ago on Hollywood Road. The vintage French towel rail stand, with crystal railings, came from a stall in the Marche Paul Bert Serpette, in Paris, and cost about ¤300. Reflected in the wardrobe mirror is a découpage artwork in paper lacquer, Ladies Beside The Lake, by Ho Hoang Dai (from Ben Thanh Art & Frame).
Master bedroom (above and below) The antique mirror and chest of drawers were from the Sydney Antique Centre (www.sydantcent.com.au) and the antique wooden suit stand was a gift to John Agostini from his grandmother. The hand-coloured screen print, Belinda, by David Bromley, came from the Tim Olsen Gallery (www.timolsengallery.com) in Sydney. The fabric for the striped blinds came from the Jim Thompson outlet in Bangkok (www.jimthompson.com). The 19th-century French couch cost HK$38,000 from Authentiques (10/F, Hua Qin International Building, 340 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, tel: 3460 4286) and the rabbit cushions were from the Alice in Wonderland collection at Ginger in Chiang Mai (www.thehousethailand.com/ginger.php). Beneath the blind is The Butterfly Man, Venice, a silkscreen print by Peter Blake from The Cat Street Gallery (222 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, tel: 2291 0006). The medicine ball (HK$1,500) came from Timothy Oulton (15 Gough Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2161 1742) and the meditation bench was a gift. In the corner of the room is a pile of hatboxes picked up from various outlets. Above them is an artwork by Jia Juan Li, from Connoisseur Art Gallery (Chinachem Hollywood Centre, 1 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2868 5358). The bedside tables (HK$4,800 for two) were custom made by L&E Arts & Crafts and the acrylic bobble side lamps were A$1,750 each from Villa Interiors in Sydney (www.villainteriors.com.au). Above the bed are photographs by Emmanuel Santos bought at the 2009 HK Art Fair. The vintage glass bubble pendant light cost €300 at a market in Paris. The two double-knotted silk Kayseri rugs were from El Rincon De Fehmi (price on application; www.elrincondefehmi.com).

Garden (above) The Agave Attenuata plants (bottom right; HK$265 per plant) were sourced for Agostini by Hay Fever (62 Flower Market Road, Mong Kok, tel: 2397 0668). The garden bench was bought years ago.

 

 

Sophie Agostini hung an antique chandelier, found in a flea market years ago in Rome, Italy, between two crystal pendant lights by contemporary British designer Lee Broom to highlight the beauty of each. The juxtaposition combines old and new and pairs a vintage find of unknown provenance with a 21st-century design with a name behind it.

 

 

 

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