When retirees Richard and Eleanor Borley bought a bolt hole in Mui Wo, on Lantau Island, 18 months ago, they decided to take on much of the renovation work themselves. Having had two homes in Britain built from scratch, they were confident they could replicate the success with their 800 sq ft apartment in Hong Kong.
So rather than hire a designer, they worked out what they wanted and hired contractors to gut the flat. In the bathroom, which was completely redone, Borley took on the tiling, including the narrow strip of mosaics that line the shower stall and edge the floor. The couple - in their seventies - painted the flat and wobbled at the top of ladders to install coving around the ceiling of their living room, softening its boxy feel.
Eleanor Borley took on the lighter tasks, leaving her husband to tackle the harder jobs. 'If anything needs doing he is quite handy,' she says, adding that once the workmen were gone, Borley did all the touch-up work.
After staying with a friend at Cheung Sha for six weeks, and commuting to work at their own flat, they had the place they wanted. 'I could spend the time on it, and I knew the way I wanted it done,' Richard Borley says. 'I have always believed anyone can do work as well as a professional, but it will take them much longer to reach the same result.'
But the couple know their example is unusual in Hong Kong. DIY took off in the 1970s in Europe, Australia and the United States, where such television shows as Bob Vila's This Old House series popularised the idea of renovating affordable but run-down properties. It gained traction through the 1990s and 2000s, with a boom in chain stores such as B&Q in Britain, Home Depot and Lowe's in the US, and Bunnings Warehouse in Australia.
DIY is all but ignored in Hong Kong, however. People here seem willing to do a little light assembly on flat-pack furniture from Ikea, which has proved wildly successful in the city, but aren't normally willing to take on more serious home improvement projects on their own. Perhaps Hongkongers are spoiled by the ready availability and relative affordability of local contractors.
