Tricks of the trade
When it came to balancing budget with quality design, a small-business proprietor had his work cut out
Designers often say that working for themselves is harder than trying to please a client. That was certainly the case for architect Keith Chan, although the challenge of satisfying his own brief was compounded by another problem: tight finances.
“The design phase took two months, which for such a small space was very long,” says Chan of his 500 sq ft office and weekend hangout in Sha Tin. “And the project was a little over budget.”
It may have cost just 10 per cent more than expected – low in comparison to many renovation projects – but, he says, that is still a lot when you have “no money”.
Although obviously an exaggeration, that lack of cash has become a selling point for Chan’s company, Hintegro.
Top of his penny-pinching agenda was a cement floor. “I wanted to use self-levelling [epoxy] but the labour cost of doing that was too high,” he says. Cement underfoot for the whole unit cost about HK$10,000, although it came with inevitable cracks on the surface.
Chan also saved by building furniture from cheap materials. His entertainment unit is made of shelves covered in metal sheeting and supported by raw bricks. “The whole thing cost a few hundred [Hong Kong] dollars,” he says.
