When it comes to interior design, the laundry area tends to go forgotten in the back corner of the home - after all, who wants to think about washing and ironing?  But with just a little planning and some help from modern technology, even the smallest laundries can become functional, practical and attractive spaces.

Hong Kong executive Bruce Griffin travels frequently for work, with trips to far-flung locations such as Mongolia and Queensland, Australia. No matter where the job takes him, each night finds him at home reading his two-year-old daughter a bedtime story.  

A decade ago, television sets were as big as an oven and weighed just as much.  In most homes these entertainment-monoliths were hidden away inside huge, purpose-built cabinets - cut to 2015 and concealing your television is a lot simpler.  The latest designs are so thin and flexible that you can peel them off your wall and roll them up like a sheet of cardboard, making them as portable as a mobile phone or tablet.

“Immersive entertainment” and “virtual reality” – for many of us, these hi-tech terms still sound like science fiction.  But, today, virtual technology is in fact part of the real world. Tech companies such as Oculus, Sony and Microsoft are bringing digital worlds into our sitting rooms, transforming the way we watch, listen to and interact with our home entertainment systems.

Ann Sacks’ career as a purveyor of unique home tiles began in 1980 with a hunt for a Mexican wedding dress.  While browsing through boutiques, Sacks stumbled upon a box of ornately patterned, hand-painted Mexican Talavera tiles. She instantly fell in love with them, and their traditional beauty inspired her to launch her eponymous tile business from her living room in Portland, Oregon. Three decades later, ANN SACKS is an established brand, with showrooms across the United States and in Britain. 

If you’re looking for interior-design inspiration, forget about searching magazines, homeware stores, decorators and stylists for the latest trends and tips - simply turn on your computer instead.  Interior blogs are mushrooming in number and popularity, as they are the quickest and easiest way to access the latest news from the world of interiors.

Smell is said to be our strongest sense. Clever use of fragrances can affect our mood, trigger memories and even impact the ambiance of a room. For 2015, scents are on the interiors map, with fragrances being used in many guises to subtly enhance spaces in the home.   

Once branded the “idiot box”, televisions today are anything but, with flexible screens that can go from flat to curved with the press of a button, the ability to sense when you leave the room and automatically pause the picture, wafer-thin designs that are only a half-inch thick, and glasses-free 3D viewing. The modern TV is a futuristic mix of technology, style and function.

Across the city, shopping malls are once again festooned with glittering decorations, the air is filled with the sounds of carols and the scent of pine needles, and excited little faces are whispering secret wishes into Santa’s ear. Hong Kong loves to dress-up for Christmas, but you don’t have to go outside to enjoy that special festive cheer – with a little planning and imagination you can bring it right into your own home.

Kate Davies’s career in antiques began with a 19th century mahogany butler’s tray – a piece that would have been used by the butler of a grand English estate to carry silverware from the pantry to the dining room.

If you asked art consultant and curator Jules Lambe the word that best describes her is, she would probably say “nomad”.  This year, the director of Hong Kong-based gallery Gaffer has traversed the globe finding and representing emerging artists at some of the world’s leading art fairs and Biennales, and sourcing art for corporate clients such as the Peninsula, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental.

It may be autumn outside but in the world of interiors it’s still spring, and cross-pollination is in the air.  Some of fashion’s biggest names are teaming up with interior firms to offer inspired, exciting and edgy designs for autumn - which promise to have even the most sedate of us salivating.

On a perfect autumn afternoon last year, Sarah and Paul Orrock married on the lawns of the Repulse Bay Hotel.  Under blue skies, guests were treated to a celebration with an English Country Garden twist: ice-cream coloured bunting flew from white marquees, large bird cages were used as decorations and filled with flowers, butterflies and green foliage, while every table was smothered with beautiful British blooms, such as foxgloves, ranunculus, peonies and lilacs - placed in quirky silver teapots and glass jar vases.

Large windows, natural lighting, hazy shades of green and blue, botanical inspired fabrics and wallpapers – for interiors this season, it’s all about bringing nature inside.  But a growing number of Hong Kong residents are taking the trend one step further, creating new and functional rooms outside – whether in a large, verdant garden or on a tiny urban balcony or rooftop.

The days are finally growing longer, temperatures are climbing and the glorious deep-blue summer skies have returned to Hong Kong. We are once again living in the sultry tropics, and interiors trends for the season are all about bringing those warm, balmy breezes indoors.

Now and again we all experience that sinking feeling after leaving the house: did I lock the front door, turn off the iron, start the tumble dryer? Well, worry not – thanks to the trend in home connectivity you can control your living space from just about anywhere. “Today’s smart home is no longer just about entertainment systems – it’s about being connected on every level,” says Hong Kong-based technology specialist, teacher and lecturer Clive Dawes.

Skincare brands line up to aid women worldwide in the quest for even-toned skin, write Tara Jenkins and Karen Pittar.