How a couple transformed their Hong Kong apartment to make room for two kids
Six years and two kids after the first, a couple give their urban apartment another makeover to create more space
“I’m really into old Hong Kong,” says Ng, a lawyer who, with husband James Black, infused a generous dollop of nostalgia into their 44-year-old apartment.
Going back in time for the couple, however, meant more than just shopping for the desired look. As important was saving everything they could from what they already had.
That meant restoring the original parquet flooring, a second time, throughout much of the 860-sq-ft flat, where the pair have lived for the past six years. In 2011, having acquired the apartment, the couple undertook a renovation that saw them project-manage the work to save on costs. That first attempt resulted in a relaid floor that soon dipped and cracked.
This time, in part to fix the foibles of the initial refurbishment (“James and I were inexperienced,” Ng says) and because they are now busy parents to two boys, aged two and three, they chose a team they hoped would take care of (almost) everything and leave them stress-free.