Calm and collected

Stepping into designer Ana Chan’s home in Tai Po is to experience house envy of the highest degree. Think 3,000 square feet of light, bright rooms, high ceilings and a sense of tranquility that comes from a neutral palette, a lack of clutter and the rural location.

“Most of the houses this size in the complex have the same exterior and footprint. We couldn’t change the shape of the home but we could do the interior the way we wanted,” says Chan. “I wanted clean lines; bright, big spaces and windows; lots of storage; and centrally controlled air conditioning.”

Born in Paris, France, to Shanghainese parents, Chan was brought up in Europe and lived in Britain for two decades before moving to Hong Kong, in the 1990s, with her husband and two children, who have since decamped to America to pursue their careers.

“Our Mid-Levels apartment became too small for us so we chose Tai Po because we could have a house and it was closer to work,” she says. “We re-organised the space and opened up the vista. It took about eight months to complete and we’ve been here almost a year now.”

Because she travels frequently, Chan was able to source furniture and homeware from all over the world but she also trawled Lockhart Road, in Wan Chai, for everything from shower tiles to flooring to outfit the two-storey, four-bedroom house.