With colour, collectables and creativity at the centre of its decorating plans, one family has created a warm ambience in a rented apartment while leaving every wall intact. Home is definitely where the heart is for Catherine Feliciano, her husband, Michael Chon, and their two daughters, Isabella, eight, and Sofia, six. Their 2,400 sqft apartment in Braemar Hill is comfortable and stylish, offering a warm welcome to family and friends alike. Working as a marketing professional with a special interest in the spa industry, Feliciano is well equipped to create a home that feels as good as it looks. 'This is our third year here. We liked it the first time we saw it,' says Feliciano, who was born in the Philippines and grew up in Los Angeles, in the United States. The unit has the generous proportions inherent in older properties: high ceilings and an efficient square layout. The front door opens into a large open-plan living and dining room (the living part is to the right, the dining area straight ahead). A smaller eating-cum-play space for the children is at the rear of the main dining area; leading off it is the master bedroom, the girls' bedrooms and a cosy family room. Feliciano faced a familiar Hong Kong conundrum when it came to designing her new home. Any structural or spatial changes were out. 'The only concession our landlord made was to allow us to change the colour of the walls.' So she focused her attention on colours, textures, furnishings and accessories. 'From my perspective, it's not a typical house that we had the chance to break apart or spend lots on,' she says. 'We had to work with what we had, looking at ways to incorporate a contemporary scheme, how to blend colour and Asian elements and how to find a balance between east and west.' A family connection also came into play in the form of professional design assistance. 'I love design but I can't claim all the credit,' admits Feliciano, explaining that her godsister, Cynthia Almario of leading Philippine-based design studio Atelier Almario (2242 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati, Philippines, tel: 632 817 4016; www.atelieralmario.net ), had lots of input. 'Cynthia is familiar with our style because she did two of our homes in the United States. I asked her to help me and she flew in, gave us pointers and helped us with the fabrication.' The duo visited the Jim Thompson outlet store in Bangkok and bought bolts of fabric, which was made into curtains, bed linen, cushions and all manner of soft furnishings in the Philippines. 'Fabrics are the quickest way to dress up a room.' The colour scheme was decided by Feliciano, with her daughters having a say in the colours of their rooms. Cool blue features in the master bedroom, deep red in the family room, lavender in Isabella's room, lemon yellow in Sofia's room and a neutral off-white in the living and dining rooms. 'The communal areas are rather Asian, although we didn't set out that way,' says Feliciano, pointing out the screens, wall hangings, small scroll table and numerous accessories sourced from flea markets across the continent. Bearing in mind that having too many Asian elements could look heavy, she retained the linear feel of the space, accenting with a light touch and keeping the palette fresh. She balanced this with western elements. 'When it came to the private rooms, we ended up going back to a more Californian style of design,' she says, using as an example her soothing blue-and-aqua-toned bedroom. 'I love this room the most. I burn candles and aromatherapy oils here. It is my sanctuary. 'It's important to me to create that feeling for the family as well. When it comes to the home, it is so important that people feel really relaxed.' The home also exudes a sense of personal history. Feliciano's love of collecting means she has trawled junk stores, car-boot sales and flea markets across the US and Asia. 'I like a lot of 'found' objects. I don't like new things. I like things that have a story, that don't look so perfect.' For Feliciano, her collections are the key to transforming a space. 'I have cupboards full of found objects, which I try to make work together.' This approach also allows evolution in terms of style, depending on season and personal choice. 'If you have a blank palette, you can always change it with different colours and combinations.' styling Esther van Wijck 1 The family room - used for watching television and relaxing - has deep-red walls and comfortable sofas. A set of six lithographs, bought at Chatuchak Weekend Market (Kamphaengphet 3 Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok), hangs on the wall. The cushions on the sofa were made by Atelier Almario (2242 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati, the Philippines, tel: 632 817 4016; www.atelieralmario.net ). The tray table with criss-cross legs was found at a garage sale in Los Angeles and purchased for the bargain price of US$20; the chair next to it was also found at a garage sale and was reupholstered before being brought to Hong Kong. 2 Catherine Feliciano jazzed up the neutral furnishings in the living room with fabrics and decorative accessories. A screen ($3,000) from Into Home (9/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2814 7413) has been divided, with two of the panels used to frame the huge windowsill. The pair of armchairs and nest of tables were custom made by Artura Interiors (29 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2527 2893), as were the sofas. The small scroll table on the windowsill cost $2,500 from Rimba Rhyme (5/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 8330 8100; www.rimbarhyme.com ). 3 A palette of green, beige and red defines the sofa area. The large beige-and-green silk cushions were sourced in Thailand. The rectangular red cushion in the centre of the sofa is by Atelier Almario. The female figurines in the foreground came from a flea market in Shanghai. 4 The bedroom is a sanctuary for relaxation with its cool blue walls and sumptuous fabrics. The curtains, roman blinds, duvet cover and scatter cushions were all made by Atelier Almario using fabric sourced from the Jim Thompson Furnishing Factory Sales Outlet (153 Sukhumvit Soi 93, Bangchak, Prakanong, Bangkok, tel: 662 332 6530; www.jimthompson.com ). 5 Isabella and Sofia play with Chiquito the dog in Isabella's pretty lavender-walled bedroom. The floral duvet cover and curtains and the green-and-pink scatter cushions were made by Atelier Almario in Jim Thompson fabrics. The pair of white embroidered cushions on the bed are from Ikea (Basement, Park Lane Hotel, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 3125 0888; www.ikea.com.hk ). 6 Sofia's room has been decorated in sunny yellow shades. The white box-shelving unit and the table and white bench in the foreground are from Ikea; the easel is from Toys R Us (3/F, Windsor House, Causeway Bay, tel: 2991 6222; www.toysrus.com.hk ). Atelier Almario made the swagged yellow curtains in Jim Thompson silk. 7 Feliciano used two panels from an antique wooden Chinese screen (the other two pieces are in the living room) to create a division between the dining room and an open area that houses a small table on which the children dine and play. The large square dining table and eight chairs cost about $22,000 from Into Home. The tall Chinese cupboard at the rear cost $15,000 from Beijing Antiques (2/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2851 1390). On top is a collection of ceramics from various sources including Panjiayuan Antiques Market (Panjiayuan Qiao, Chaoyang, Beijing). 8 Feliciano has dressed up a basic bathroom with her collection of blue-and-white ceramic jars, plates and boxes, sourced from Los Angeles and across Asia. She burns aromatherapy oils to create a relaxing vibe in the room. The wicker laundry basket came from the Central Chit Lom Department Store (1027 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok, tel: 66 02 655 7777). tried & tested screen saver Unsightly internal tubing and external air-conditioning equipment made it necessary to cover a corner window in the master bedroom. Drapes could not be hung owing to the tubes so another solution was needed. Feliciano chose to turn an eyesore into a cosy corner with the help of a stylish four-panelled screen. The screen disguises the less-than-attractive equipment yet still allows light to enter the room. Made by Atelier Almario, the screen ($4,000) has been covered with Jim Thompson fabric (plain on one side and striped on the other) to echo the room's cool blue colour scheme. The blue armchair ($5,000) in the foreground was made by Artura Interiors, also using Jim Thompson fabric.