One home-owner's desire to go back to his roots brought about an opportunity to start afresh with a new flat.
There's no place like home, and for some, the opportunity to return to a childhood neighbourhood is the chance of a lifetime. So when Tim Ho was granted an 830-square-foot flat in a new Shau Kei Wan high-rise under the government's subsidised home ownership scheme, he jumped at the opportunity to live closer to his elderly parents. He didn't know, however, that his mother would have such a strong reaction to his decision to gut the flat.
'She cried when she saw what I had done to all the walls,' says Ho, who owns and designs for his eponymous furniture store at 10 Anton Street, Wan Chai (tel: 2574 6918). 'She asked why I would destroy a perfectly new flat like this.'
The answer was simple: Ho had a vision and he dedicated most of his savings and two months to making his dream a reality. He chose to take a hands-on role in the process. 'You have to feel the materials yourself,' says Ho, a former graphic designer. 'Only you know how it will be used. Even interior designers can't think that much for you.'
Ho bought the flat off the plan but that didn't stop him drawing up blueprints for its redesign before he had even seen it. Space was limited for the family of three - Ho, his wife Fiona and 12-year-old son Jason - so he wanted to make the flat look larger. Colours were kept to a minimum and distinct patterns were out of the question.
To this end he covered the floors with white tiles and light wood panels, and bathed the walls in bright white latex paint with a sandy texture. 'The simpler the house decor is, the better,' says Ho. 'You get colours from the things you put in it.'
