The great outdoors: couple's very Australian home in Hong Kong
An open-plan layout helps a family create a little bit of Australia in a spacious Pok Fu Lam townhouse, writes Vivien Jones
A good rapport with their interior designer was the key to success for Kate and Philip Spanton when they undertook the renovation of their three-storey, 3,300 sq ft townhouse in Pok Fu Lam. Having worked with Mark Le Feuvre on several other properties – a holiday home in Thailand, their previous home in Hong Kong and two houses in Sydney, Australia – the trio had an understanding that made transforming the house relatively stress free.
“[Mark] has got to know me, understand my likes and dislikes,” says Kate, who is Australian. “He really worked hard because my husband and I can have quite different tastes and approaches, and he managed to beautifully combine our separate thoughts.”
Having outgrown their home in Pok Fu Lam’s Bisney Road, the couple looked at more than a dozen properties in the neighbourhood before viewing the spacious townhouse, which “offered something a bit unique”, says Kate.
“Having been three apartments turned into a single house meant there was a great courtyard and rooftop – what I saw was an opportunity to live as we would in Australia and bring the outside into the house to make it a lighter, brighter space.”