Simplicity was key to converting a bachelor's Mid-Levels 'show flat' into a home built for two.
It might have taken Maria Howard and husband Stephen 10 seconds to decide on their first flat in Hong Kong but the couple then took their time figuring out what to do with their purchase. 'We lived here for three months to experience what it was like,' says Howard. 'We wanted to make sure of what to change and how to utilise the space. Everything about the way the previous owner had it was wrong.'
Moving in with only their miniature dachshund, Jodie, and other essentials, with the rest of their belongings in storage, the pair began mapping out how to turn their 1,400 sq ft seaview Mid-Levels apartment from a bachelor pad into a home for two. 'It was a challenge because the three months didn't pass very quickly,' says Howard. But during that time they plotted a list of priorities: to enlarge the living room by reducing the size of the master bedroom; to build more counter and storage space in the kitchen, in part by removing the maid's bathroom; to use the space originally occupied by a sauna for a laundry; to convert a small bedroom into a study; and to make full use of a rooftop almost as large as the flat itself. 'We had been looking for something with a roof terrace and internal access,' says Howard. 'And we wanted to use it on a daily basis.'
The test period was illuminating in other ways - they realised they couldn't live in such a dark apartment.
'We wanted to open up the space and make use of all the natural light,' says Howard, who recalls the dark wooden flooring and grey/black tiles of its previous incarnation as well as the discomfiting presence of tinted glass and mirrors. 'It was totally not our style,' she says. 'We said [to the designer], 'We want white walls and everything else light in colour and not complicated' - so clean lines and clean cut.'
With this simple brief in hand, Harvey Tsang and Philip Tang, of PTang Studio (room 604, Harry Industrial Building, 49 Au Pui Wan Street, Fo Tan, tel: 2669 1577), started transforming what Tang describes as a 'cold, masculine show flat' into a comfortable home. Apart from changing the layout of the living areas and introducing materials such as natural oak, he built roomy cupboards in the bedroom, study and kitchen, as well as 'invisible' storage space: a column in the living room was enlarged so CDs and other paraphernalia could be housed in shelving within. He also designed simple wooden boxes to keep electrical spaghetti out of sight (see Tried & Tested).