After years on the move, one frequent flyer decided to take the plunge and create a relaxing home away from home.
After more than 20 years spent shuttling between Hong Kong and Britain, and more recently the US, sportswear manufacturer John Marshall took the plunge and bought an apartment behind the Botanical Gardens, just a short walk from the bustle of Central. When your time is divided between three continents and includes periods away from your family, he says, it is a relief to have a place in which to relax.
'It's going to be a bit of everything,' he says of his 1,800 sq ft home away from home. 'Certainly a base for working [in China] in the future - one of the children might get a job out here and my wife comes out now and then. So it's a bit base and a bit home.'
In May, after finalising the purchase, Marshall went on a business trip, leaving Hall to her own devices. Although major structural changes were unnecessary, restrictions imposed on work hours by the building's management meant the project wasn't finished until early September. The plan was to retain the three bedrooms, three bathrooms, living area, kitchen and maid's quarters, and to focus on decoration and finding furniture and art pieces to gel with Marshall's vision of a subdued atmosphere where he could entertain friends, work, manage a family or just relax with a beer and enjoy the view.
With help from contractor Philcon Interior Works (tel: 2804 6636), the entrance to the kitchen was widened to accommodate French doors, a large serving hatch was punched through to the dining room and marble window sills were replaced with wooden ones. The flat features heavy use of white oak, specially cut to reveal its grain and knotting, for the doors, frames, skirting, sills and cupboards. Having been lacquered with care, the 'crown-cut' wood adds to the apartment's rustic ambience.
