The transition from city living to South Lantau was made easy thanks to a light-filled family home surrounded by nature. White, light and relaxing: this Lantau beach house proved the passport to a better life for Peter Millward and Tomoko Okamura. The couple, who are expecting their first baby early next year, traded in their urban Happy Valley pad for the open spaces of South Lantau. 'I had been thinking I'd like to move to South Lantau, but thought it would be in 10 years or so,' says Millward, a British-born music producer who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 15 years with his Japanese wife Okamura, a handbag designer. 'But then we decided to put our Happy Valley flat on the market and the time seemed right to move here.' Although Okamura was not convinced about moving to what some would consider a distant location, the couple now love their new home. Millward has a long list of reasons why: 'Where do we start? It's quiet all the time. There's no traffic, the air is breathable, the mountains are behind us and the beach is in front. We have a garden, can go hiking, ride a bicycle, swim in the sea. It's a completely different life. A real life.' They opted for a two-storey, semi-detached house that offered 700 sq ft per floor. 'We wanted a garden and privacy. The house we chose was the right size and fitted our budget,' says Millward. However, it needed work to brighten some dark areas and maximise its potential. The couple asked architect Bun Ho of su:b design (tel: 6773 7292) for assistance. They knew Ho's work when he was with design studio K+K, which renovated Millward's former home and music studios. The design brief was simple. 'We wanted more space, more light, an open kitchen and easy access to the garden.' Ho got to work and Millward was happy to leave him to it. 'The details we left to Bun. I'm a big believer in choosing a creative person you trust and letting them deal with the details, as long as the big picture is right and it comes in on budget.' Ho knocked down a number of internal walls, opening up the kitchen, dining and living areas. He installed large sliding glass doors leading from the back of the kitchen to the terrace, letting light flood into the whole living-dining area. 'We did quite a lot of structural alterations, knocking down walls and making a small dark space into something much more light and open,' Ho says. Upstairs, the designer turned what was a three-bedroom space into one with two bedrooms and one study, installing glass panels rather than walls - between the en suite bathroom and master bedroom, and the study and hallway - to ensure as much light as possible. The couple had furniture from their previous home they wanted to fit into the design of the new house. Says Okamura: 'We wanted something clean, simple and practicable, something that would match our existing pieces such as my Eames chair and the antique-style Chinese cabinets.' White walls and bamboo flooring set the interior mood and are complemented by decorative items providing colour. 'We wanted to introduce different colours and textures using our existing furniture and pictures - and white works with everything. It also gives you flexibility later on,' says Okamura. Because white requires more maintenance than darker colours, Ho chose hardwearing, easy-to-clean materials such as Milan stone in the kitchen and bedroom to ensure durability. While they enjoy using all parts of the house, the couple still head outdoors at every opportunity. 'My favourite place is the wooden deck in the garden and I love plants and gardening,' says Okamura. Her husband agrees: 'I think we both love being in the garden best. Sorry Bun.' 1 Lily the dog sits in a wicker basket in front of a Chinese wedding cabinet bought in Macau 10 years ago. Lily came from PALS, the South Lantau dog rescue organisation ( www.pals.org.hk ). On top of the cabinet are painted Chinese vases from a Chinese ceramic shop in Elgin Street, Central (since closed); the gold picture frames are from various sources, including Lane Crawford (IFC Mall, Central, tel: 2118 3388; www.lanecrawford.com ). Aluminium venetian blinds in white were supplied and installed by Man Ho Decoration Engineering (tel: 9770 4123). The white sofa (HK$11,300) is from G.O.D. (various locations; www.god . com.hk). A sleek bench and wall-storage unit was built at one end of the living room to house the couple's audio-visual equipment. Clad in anodised aluminium, the bench was custom designed by Bun Ho and built by Man Ho Decoration Engineering. Above the bench is a wall of 'floating' cabinets, broken up by inset lighting. A flat- screen TV is inset into the cabinets. The re-conditioned Eames chair is from Chen Mi Ji (69 Peel Street, Central, tel: 2893 8732; www.chenmiji.com ). 2 The natural palette of the dining room is enlivened by flashes of colour from the long photos on the wall by William Furniss from 10 Chancery Lane Gallery (10 Chancery Lane, Central, tel: 2810 0065; www.10chancerylanegallery.com ). Above the table hangs a yellow light, found in an abandoned house in Central a decade ago. The table, from G.O.D., and the chairs, from Indigo Living (18/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2555 3500; www.indigo-living.com ), were bought many years ago. The hat stand is from Franc Franc (2/F, Hang Lung Centre, 2 Paterson Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 3427 3366; www.francfranc.com ). 3 Behind the sofa is an altar table that was made to order by D'Objects (since closed). On top is a vase, called Vase d'Averil, made of a series of test tubes by French design team Tse & Tse from Wabi (since closed). On either side of the sofa are silver dragon candlestands bought at Bali Pavilions (Jalan Danau Tamblingan No 76, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia, tel: 62 361 288 381). The woven wicker baskets underneath the altar table were also sourced in Sanur. 4 The bright, white kitchen was designed by Ho and includes plenty of storage space and easy access to implements and condiments. The cabinets are made from gloss white post-formed doors, the work surface is made of Milan stone and the splashback is stainless steel. The stool in the foreground cost about HK$900 from Franc Franc. 5 Ho used the stairwell to maximise the light and updated the stairs with stainless-steel edging around the bamboo steps. He installed clear glass windows to provide views of the garden, mountains and trees beyond. The three globe lamps are from Wan Mei Lamps (29 Morrison Hill Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2893 5803). 6 To make the most of the space in the en suite, Ho chose a long, slim double sink instead of two single units. The pair of Axor Talis taps cost HK$1,176 from Sunny Building and Decoration Materials (345 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2893 9118). A large wall-mounted cabinet with mirrored front provides storage and allows maximum light reflection into the room. The model boat was a childhood gift. 7 Instead of a third bedroom, Millward and Okamura chose to have an open study area. Ho installed a clear glass panel and sliding door instead of a wall to allow flexibility and let light into the upstairs corridor. The master bedroom can be seen in the background. The wall behind the bed was painted bright red for maximum impact. On the wall hangs a carved dragon sculpture (visible in the previous picture) scaled up from an existing piece found in a shop in Shanghai Street years ago and sprayed gold by Okamura. The white bed, side table and headboard unit are all made of hardwearing Milan Stone and custom designed by Bun Ho. 8 For privacy, Ho installed white polycarbonate panels from Man Ho Decoration Engineering around the perimeter of the terrace. Man Ho also supplied and installed the teak raised platform. The sun lounger cost HK$500 on sale from Everything Under the Sun (shop 1613, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2554 9088; www.everythingunderthesun.com.hk ). tried & tested panel vision The master bedroom is separated from the en suite bathroom by a large sliding panel made of acid-etched glass with a stainless-steel frame. This device is practical and decorative. When open, the panel - which measures 2.05 metres (w) x 2.25 metres (h) - allows light from the bathroom windows into the bedroom. When the panel slides closed it reveals shelves used to display books and pictures. Even when closed, the semi-transparent glass allows soft light to filter into the bedroom. styling Esther van Wijck
