Fit to be tried
The first thing a brand-conscious couple did when planning their new home was to find like-minded designers, writes Charmaine Chan
In the case of architect Keith Chan, it was a light-blue shirt with patchwork shoulders. For his partner, Will Ng, it was his striped wallet. These two items persuaded Silas Leung and Taz Tong, a young, brand-conscious couple, to have the pair design the first home in which they would live as husband and wife.
'We met at a Starbucks,' says Chan, referring to their meeting last year with Leung and Tong. 'When they saw Will's Paul Smith wallet and my Comme des Garcons shirt, they knew we were the right people [for them] because we had the same interest in fashion and our style was similar.'
First impressions taken care of, Chan and Ng, whose company, Designlooop, would rework the couple's 680 sq ft flat, which is above Kowloon station, waited for their wish list.
'The first e-mail listed their toys and pictures; they told me they needed display cabinets and they liked stainless steel,' says Chan, seated in their living room on a three-legged Hans Wegner Shell Chair upholstered in distinctive Paul Smith stripes. On either side of him are the couple's collections of posters and toys by pop artists Kaws (who is known for his signature crosses for eyes) and Yoshitomo Nara (whose cute yet slightly sinister cartoon depictions of children and pets Tong started amassing 10 years ago).
The couple were firm about the modern style they liked, so, even before their architects had drawn up a floor plan, they insisted on having, among other things, a swirly Paul Smith rug in front of the sofa and a pair of small, gourd-shaped Scandyna speakers.
Designlooop's own preferences, however, share centre stage with the collectors' items. Fans of Japanese architect Tadao Ando, they installed in the living area their version of his trademark concrete wall with evenly spaced holes.