The transformation of a dark and dingy apartment into a light-filled home that takes full advantage of its green surroundings has the owners - past and present - singing its praises.
'This place used to be hell,' says interior designer Gary Yan. 'I can't say it is heaven now, but it was really dreadful before the renovation.'
Yan's descriptions may be over the top. After all, the place in question is a 1,500 sq ft flat in Po Shan Road and has views of the hills near The Peak. But that is the point Yan is trying to make. 'For a place with such lovely scenery, it should be bright and crisp. But the original design was dark and sombre,' he explains. 'The floor was dark. There was a long, narrow corridor leading to the bedroom and much of the natural light was blocked.'
Yet the domestic gloom did not put off visionary flat hunter Nicole Wakley, a former lawyer who now owns the furniture shop TREE. 'When I first saw it, I fell in love with it. I knew it was the right place because of the shape, the size and the greenery, although it was extremely dark.'
So as soon as she bought what she described as a 'tree house', Wakley commissioned Yan to turn it into what is today a delightfully bright and cool flat, every corner of which enjoys natural light. The design wowed not only Wakley and her partner, but also the flat's new owner, Noel Becker, who bought it after pregnancy persuaded Wakley to find a bigger apartment. 'It's beautiful and the great view makes you feel far away from the city,' Becker says.
The nub of the renovation plan was to open up the space and maximise the natural light with a view to bringing the flat in concord with the green surroundings. To this end, a few dull features had to go. The dark teak-wood floor was replaced by light-reflecting white tiles. The narrow corridor and the bedroom door facing the living room were significantly widened to capitalise on the natural scenery and light outside. In addition, the tinted brown glass door on the balcony was substituted by crystal-tempered glass, which, according to Yan, has the highest transparency of almost all types of glass.
