The tenant of a Peak home wanted a cosy yet masculine space to house his art collection.
It may seem extravagant, given that he is away from Hong Kong as often as he is here, but for an aficionado with deep pockets, a 4,500 sqft duplex on The Peak was the logical place to house his large collection of art.
When the tenant, a financier from the Middle East, approached designer Julie Wittgenstein for help, he asked for an interior that could accommodate his collection. The result is dozens of modern paintings and photographic works competing for attention with a bird's eye view of Hong Kong.
'He also wanted the place to be sociable, so he could throw parties when he's in town,' Wittgenstein says. 'And it had to be cosy as well as masculine.'
Turning a large apartment into an entertainment-friendly space was not hard to achieve but cosiness and masculinity at the same time?
'That was challenging,' says Wittgenstein. 'He didn't want any feminine elements. No bright colour, no pattern. It was difficult to make a contrast, which can generate cosiness.'