bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Adele Brunner

Text Adele Brunner / Styling Anji Connell / Photography John Butlin
 
Small rental apartments are two a penny in Hong Kong but a compact one that has also been tastefully kitted out is a rare find. Add in an almost 270-degree view of Victoria Harbour and it isn’t hard to see why Summer Lai and Scotsman Brian Wilson fell in love with their “almost 400 sq ft” flat at first sight.
“We had an idea of the kind of apartment we wanted but when we described it to our estate agents, they said there was no way we would find that in Hong Kong,” says Lai, a photographer, writer and lifestyle blogger currently compiling a coffeetable book on Hong Kong. “But we did.”
Although the view was the main reason the couple took the flat, there were other factors.
“We also love that the apartment is so light and open,” says Lai. “And despite being in Mid-Levels, it isn’t noisy at all.
We had a house-warming party and almost half our guests couldn’t find it, which is another reason why we wanted to live here. It is so private.”
Before moving to Hong Kong, the couple lived in Guangdong province, where space was not an issue – they had an entire room just for clothes.
“We threw out and gave away about two-thirds of the stuff,” says Lai, who is from Taiwan. “My girlfriends were really happy. We brought with us minimal clothing, two red lacquered boxes and white wicker baskets, photos, three cowhide rugs and a few other home decorations.”
The couple now resist the urge to shop – by necessity.
“There’s just no space for anything else,” says Lai. “We agreed that if we bought one thing, we would have to throw away one thing we already had. But we didn’t specify what – so if I do purchase something, I can always throw out something of Brian’s.”
Luckily for them, the apartment came with furniture they liked, thanks to a landlord with similar tastes. Pieces such as the sofa and bed are contemporary and understated, while designer-style pendant lights and Philippe Starck-like chairs add a touch of pizza.
ZZ”Everything that was here when we arrived had been well chosen,” says Lai.
“Usually, bathrooms [in rented properties] are horrible but this one is great. I especially love the natural stone tiling in the shower and the low wooden shelving.”
Originally a two-bedroom property with a minute kitchen and bathroom, the flat was reconfigured by the landlord, Kevin Lui, who knocked down all the walls to make a single living and dining room. A separate kitchen, bathroom, cubbyhole bedroom and storage room with floor-to-ceiling cupboards were incorporated off the main area.
Clever ideas abound. The platform bed, which has a lip around it that is wide enough to accommodate bedside lights, has storage space in its base. Among other things, Lai keeps her sewing machine there, and another cowhide rug – made, like the others, by one of Wilson’s suppliers (he’s a leather expert and works in the shoe industry). A panel of opaque glass separates one side of the bedroom from the main living area – a regular concrete wall would have taken up too much space – and as there was no room for a door, sliding or otherwise, a blackout blind maintains privacy.
“Even though there are only the two of us here, we shut the blind every night,” says Lai. “It is very cosy.”
Although the kitchen is compact, it contains a washer/dryer and an oven. A full-sized fridge-freezer is hidden behind cupboard doors next to the alcove containing Wilson’s computer, in the dining area, and crockery is stowed in a cupboard above it.
In any spare spaces around the flat, Lai has inserted rows of flat-packed cardboard shoeboxes that were custom made for her in Dongguan. They look interesting and store myriad items – including shoes.
Lai admits one of the main challenges of living in such a small flat is not having enough personal space; but the apartment works, she says, because she and Wilson both travel a lot – separately as well as together.
“We do our best not to kill each other,” she says, laughing.
Wilson has occasionally suggested they find somewhere larger – with doors – but Lai is firmly against it.
“I love this place and I don’t want to move,” she says.
 

 

Living area The three lattice candleholders (HK$125 in total) on the wall and the glass bell jar (HK$125) came from factory outlets in Guangdong. Below the candleholders is a camera storage unit that cost HK$1,200 from a specialist shop, also in Guangdong. Summer Lai drew the three framed illustrations for her aunt Caimei Lai’s novel Her Life, which was published in Taiwan in 2007. The sofa (HK$8,000) was bought by Lai and Brian Wilson’s landlord, Kevin Lui, from Norwood Home (various locations; www.norwoodhome.com.hk). The red lacquer box and tray were two of a few possessions the couple brought to Hong Kong with them. The silver antler candlestick was HK$500 from Pin, a homeware shop in Taiwan. The various candleholders were picked up on a trip to Bali, Indonesia. The small orange storage unit was once part of a bookshelf but the couple put it on the window seat, to use as a table. The glass vase is from Ikea (various locations; www.ikea.com.hk) and the colourful cow ornament was a gift from Taiwanese artist Zeng Yongning, who created it for an international art festival called Cow Parade (www.cowparade.com). The white wicker basket was bought from a factory outlet and the tray from a homeware store, both in Guangdong. The cowhide rug was made by one of Wilson’s suppliers and was a gift. The photographs on the far wall were taken by Lai. Blinds throughout the flat are from Season Curtain (182 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, tel: 2309 1986) and cost HK$7,000 for four. The television cabinet (HK$3,000) was from MC Interior (26/F, One Midtown, 11 Hoi Shing Road, Tsuen Wan, tel: 5414 3101).

Dining area The dining table cost HK$9,800 from Fancy Design (see Tried + tested). The clear perspex chairs (780 yuan/HK$990 each) are clones of chairs Philippe Starck made for Kartell and were bought in Shenzhen. The vase cost HK$980 from Lane Crawford (various locations; www.lanecrawford.com) and the tray was HK$25 from a factory outlet in Guangdong. The candles were from Ikea. The pendant light (1,000 yuan) over the dining table and the MD60050 light (1,500 yuan) above the sofa came from Marsden (www.marsden.cn), in Shenzhen. On the red lacquer box is a globe light from Ikea.

Kitchen Once little more than a closet containing cheap cupboards, a fridge and a microwave, the kitchen was opened up by MC Interior (cabinetry, HK$18,300; black granite countertop, HK$15,500). The fruit dish was from Taiwanese furnishing store Hola (www.hola.com.tw) and the glass vase from Ikea. The advert boards were found in Covent Garden, London.

Living area detail The pendant light by the entrance cost 500 yuan from Marsden. The photos on the wall were all taken by Lai and Wilson. The flat-packed cardboard shoeboxes, made in the mainland, are stacked up for practicality and style.
Bathroom Lai recycled olive-oil bottles from Premiere Pression Provence (www.ppp-olive.com) because she thought they were too pretty to throw away. The towels came from Ralph Lauren Home (www.ralphlauren.com). The low shelving was made to order by Wood Shop (2/F, One Island South, 2 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang, tel: 2234 0111). The tray (with bottles on it) cost HK$25 from a factory outlet in Guangdong.

Bedroom The bedside lights and throw were from Ikea. The blackout blind at the “door” to the bedroom was HK$2,000 from Season Curtain.
Bedroom detail The platform bed (HK$11,000), designed by Lui and MC Interior, was made to measure to fit precisely into a designated area. The mattress can be lifted to reveal hidden storage space.
 
 

Under the table What looks like a perfectly weathered wooden table is actually covered in laminate, imported from Italy. Landlord Kevin Lui, who works in IT, saw a work desk in the showroom of design company Fancy Design (www.fancydesign.com.hk) and liked it so much he had one custom made (HK$9,800). He specified the shape of the table but went with a laminate covering rather than real wood because he thought the latter would develop cracks and not age well because of Hong Kong's high humidity in summer and relative dryness in winter.
The black and white dining chairs (780 yuan each) are Kartell clones from Shenzhen.
 
 
 


Space lift

Magazines

PostMag

The tenants of a tiny Mid-Levels apartment have proved that the smallest spaces can be big on style


The tenants of a tiny Mid-Levels apartment have proved that the smallest spaces can be big on style.
