Homes in Hong Kong with Asian interiors are the kind of places that invite visitors to inquire of the origins of the Chinese rosewood furniture, the Indochina objets d'art on the walls, the Thai silk cushion covers, and whether the enigmatic sculpture gazing into the beholder is Lao or Khmer?
Everything in the room seemingly has its own story to tell.
Tim and Sally Conti, an east-meets-west couple, with Tim hailing from southeast England and Sally from Singapore, are the owners of such a home. Arriving in Hong Kong in the late 1980s, it didn't take them long to find the multicultural enclave of Discovery Bay and decide it was their kind of town.
Their home's warm and inviting ambience is due in large part to its traditional Chinese furniture, which provides a rich and natural theme throughout their living room. According to the couple, 'quite a few pieces' were bought from big showrooms in Ap Lei Chau, a district much-loved by homemakers of distinction. Some of the Chinese furniture were souvenirs from weekends in Macau, other items were sourced from outlets in Central and elsewhere.
Their spacious flat in a Discovery Bay low-rise also includes elements from across East Asia, including a chest of drawers from Bali, a traditional Chinese medicine chest from Hollywood Road, Chinese-style ceramics, a Chinese lacquered screen also from Hollywood Road (a replica of a Qing Dynasty original), metal figurines of Thai dancers from an island in the Andaman Sea and, from Peng Chau Island, a wooden chest that serves as the Chez Conti coffee table.
Unobtrusive Occidental touches are provided by British art on the walls, including a watercolour of Cambridge University's King's College, limited edition copies of paintings by Belarusian-French expressionist Marc Chagall, and etchings of scenes from Olde London.