Variety performance
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.”
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).
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.