The Hong Kong home where every day feels like a holiday

“It’s so not Hong Kong.” That backhanded compliment, often used, unfairly perhaps, to describe unusual homes in the city, is perfectly apt in the case of Rebekka Kristin’s two-bedroom Sai Kung flat.

The property has the feel of a French cottage, with Scandinavian touches, in a bucolic environment. In addition, the layout is atypical: the main bedroom is part of the open living area, and closed off only with glass bi-fold doors. Then there’s the bathroom, which feels as though it belongs on a boat.

The 700 sq ft scenic ground-floor apartment is special for another reason: upon its purchase, Kristin’s family and friends all pitched in to refurbish the dark, unloved unit into a pretty, welcoming flat that screams “holiday”. It is listed on Airbnb, the website through which Kristin, an Icelander, rents out her home when she and her three-year-old daughter, Briet, are out of town.

However, despite looking as though it was designed to be a holiday home, the flat, she says, was revamped exactly to suit her style. It was also renovated on a tight budget.

Having a builder for a father helped. As did the fact he had already come to Hong Kong, to renovate the homes of Kristin’s brother and sister, also Sai Kung residents.