WHEN IT COMES TO ORDER and organisation, Germans have a reputation unparalleled, and no better is this reputation upheld than in the 1,250-square-foot Happy Valley home of Oliver Breit. Originally from Heidelberg, Breit has been an avid collector of punk and new wave vinyl for 22 years. He claims to have amassed one of the world's largest collections of the genre - 6,500 discs at last count - and buys 100 records every month.
Housed in a room dedicated to its storage, the vinyl collection is mind-blowingly well-organised ('I know where everything is') - grouped by style, release date and alphabet. It's all rather impressive and maybe a little scary.
'I am over-organised, over-tidy, but I'm not that precious with my collection,' the 35-year-old product designer says. 'When I have parties, I let my friends choose what they want to play. Saying that, I find Hong Kong people respectful when it comes to other people's property. If I had a party in Europe, things would get broken, things would disappear. It never happens here.'
Ah yes, the parties. Breit loves to entertain and loves to play his records 'very loud', a combination that does not bode well for his neighbours. The police were called to the property three times last year, once by a family on the 14th floor - four floors below.
Breit's home is definitely masculine, decorated solely in Bauhaus black, white and neutrals and packed with boys' toys: a Bang & Olufsen TV, a professional espresso machine, framed concert posters and platinum discs and a $200,000 music system. 'I don't know if a wife would allow all this - maybe that's why I'm not married yet,' he jokes.
Accommodating his prized music system and record collection was the priority when he was looking for a new home. In the second apartment he viewed, the space was ideal but the decor was not.