A 4,200 sq ft family home in Jardine’s Lookout is a riot of colour and characters
One Hong Kong family took a novel approach to decorating their apartment, writes Adele Brenner
Step into Tarlan Amigh’s home and her love for colour becomes immediately apparent. In the entrance hall, two custom-made rectangular rugs in bright geometrics complement a turquoise altar table, a blue-and-orange patterned stool and an orange lamp. The rest of the 4,200 sq ft Jardine’s Lookout home is similarly awash with bold primary colours, eclectic artwork and exquisite textiles.
“A week before we moved in [two years ago], I decided the space was too white, so I went to a store in Sheung Wan that sold eco-paint and asked them for whatever they had … which turned out to be red, blue and green. I just went for it and used all three colours,” Amigh says.
“When my husband and children [now aged 10, six and three] first walked into the freshly painted apartment, they all went completely silent, which is rare for my family. But they’ve got used to it and really like it now.”
Despite having had no formal training, it is obvious Amigh has an eye for design. She is currently working with Missoni Home and is organising a series of pop-ups for the brand, which will debut on May 12.
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom rented apartment was originally the ground floor of a house that has been divided into two flats. By painting sections of the open-plan living area in distinct colours, Amigh has created the impression of separate rooms, each of which is complemented by artwork and silk brocade cushions. “I stumbled across stock from an old family-owned silk mill in Hong Kong and found the most beautiful silk brocade fabrics,” she says. “It was a real treasure trove. Most of the textiles are from the 1950s and 60s but they look very contemporary.”
Amigh preserved the vintage fabrics by turning them into wool-backed cushions in collaboration with friend and textile designer Sarah Coates, creative director of homeware label Smith & Coates.
