'Blank canvas' Sai Kung village house takes on a nature theme
Architecture graduate stamped her mark on contemporary-style 2,100 square foot space to create an integrated family home, writes Adele Brunner
House hunting can be time-consuming and often fruitless - unless you're Jude Bailey and have that rarest of treasures in your corner: an estate agent who knows exactly what you're looking for.
"There were a number of properties on the market but my agent told me he had only one house he was going to bother taking me to view. This was it," she says.
It was love at first sight. Two years ago, Bailey and her two children, Max and Tia (now aged 12 and 10, respectively), moved into the 2,100 sq ft village house in Sai Kung after she had made a few alterations.
A new-build when she bought it, the contemporary-style house had been finished to a basic level, with flooring, a fitted kitchen and plumbed-in bathrooms, but it was essentially a blank canvas. To some this would have seemed daunting, but Bailey - an interior architecture graduate who moved to Hong Kong from her native England 18 years ago to work for a design company - says it was her idea of heaven.
"Nobody had lived in the house so it was in a bit of a state but that allowed me to stamp my mark on it," she says. "There were blank walls and, strangely, no front door. Apart from doing a few things to the kitchen, such as adding a backsplash, altering the hob and extending the island, the most I had to do structurally was add built-in storage, because there was none anywhere in the house. This was great because I got to install cupboards and cabinets exactly where I wanted and needed them. I love having a place for everything."
"I also liked the idea of having a lawn but couldn't be doing with all the upkeep grass would need or the mud in the rainy season," says Bailey. "I found some very realistic fake grass - we've often had film crews here because they can't find grassy gardens in Hong Kong and this looks so real. Funnily enough, wild clover has grown into the lawn at one end, and I haven't pulled it out because it makes it look even more authentic."
Although most of the family's furniture came with them when they moved, "We had a different design brief in my former house," says Bailey.
"There was a distinct separation between where the children hung out and rooms that were more for me and my ex-husband. For example, we had a basement playroom and den specifically for the children that led out onto the garden, and this is where Max and Tia spent a lot of their time. I wanted this house to be more integrated, with spaces that flowed into one another. I wanted something stylish yet cosy and comfortable that suited all our needs and that we would use together."
When it came to the decor, Tia provided the inspiration. She wanted a nature theme - her room is lime green and white, with a grass-like rug and ivy entwined around the ceiling light, a style that has filtered down to other parts of the house. There are tree and floral decals on walls and windows, tree-shaped wooden stands for bags and clothes, and cushions featuring tree motifs. Huge bifold doors in the living area, which leads onto the garden, are often pulled back, blurring the lines between indoors and out.
Along with juggling the demands of two children, and designing and making jewellery, Bailey runs BANG, a fair-trade company that sells biodegradable bags made by Bangladeshi women.
With such a busy schedule, it was important for her to live in a calm environment and this is reflected in the palette of neutrals with which she has decorated her home. The serenity is broken only in Max's room, which pays homage to Liverpool Football Club, with its bold red-and-white colour scheme and a large wall sticker of the club badge. The bunk bed comes with an integrated wardrobe, shelves, an extra bed for sleepovers and a full-sized punching bag that echoes the sporting theme. It is the perfect bolthole for a boy on the cusp of his teenage years.
Bailey, too, feels as though she has found her home from home.
"We lived in Sydney for two years and when we came back here we knew we didn't want to live centrally. It was either going to be Stanley or Sai Kung - and we chose Sai Kung. I am so glad we did."
Styling: David Roden
Walk-in wardrobe The dressing table and mirror were designed by Jude Bailey and made by her contractor. The Fritz Hansen Series 7 chair (HK$5,500), by Herman Miller, came from Aluminium. The Portis shoe rack (HK$149.90), under the dressing table, and the Molger bench (HK$299) were from Ikea.
Max’s room Beside the bunk bed, designed by Bailey, is a punch bag found at SK Outdoor & Sport (Sai Kung Building, tel: 2791 0106) and Bailey’s old boxing gloves. The red shelves came from Ikea.
To showcase her Edge of Desire jewellery and prevent finished items from becoming entangled, Jude Bailey designed attractive wall-mounted necklace stands, which she made with spray-painted MDF (medium-density fibreboard), an engineered wood made of sawdust. Each cost about HK$400.
