The couple’s main request was to reorient the layout of the 2,100 sq ft apartment to take full advantage of the green mountain views at the back. To capitalise on these vistas, Bell demolished every possible internal wall, then moved the living areas to the back of the property and relegated the three bedrooms to the front, which overlooks an urban landscape.

Janice also wanted to split the sleeping quarters – the master suite, the bedrooms of her two sons, three-year-old Ollie and Nattie, one, and her helper’s area – into three almost self-contained units, which could be closed off from the rest of the home for privacy. To retain the illusion of open space, however, Bell introduced rippled glass doors, to allow in more light. Sealing strips and 12mm-thick panes provided soundproofing.

“Janice recently hosted her close friend, model Rosemary Vandenbroucke’s, hen night, and she shut Yan and their two sons away for the night in the boys’ quarters,” says Bell. “Apparently neither party was bothered by the other – and I suspect that one of the parties was fairly loud.”

The iron-framed doors and windows throughout the home are reminiscent of early 20th-century Hong Kong architecture, and have become Bell’s signature features. He fell in love with them after restoring several tong lau – old tenement-style buildings – in Sheung Wan.

Life in the raw: updating a tong lau apartment

“Rather than mouldings and panelling on the walls, I tried to give the apartment a more Hong Kong-relevant, period feel,” he says. “These doors and windows are custom made, as we hope to preserve a disappearing trade. Some of the metalworkers are the old Hong Kong artisans who made the original tong lau windows.”

Bell initially made his frames in black as a nod to industrial chic but over the years he has spotted some painted in bright greens, reds and creams.

“I thought it would be nice to bring back colour to the ironwork but, opting for a more elegant solution, I borrowed the heritage green from window frames and shutters I had seen in old European cities,” he says.

“Janice loved the idea. She also has a penchant for celadon green, which fitted well.”

Designers take from the past for the city's future

Although the Chias are Malaysian, a European flavour pervades the flat. The Scandinavian furniture in the living areas came from the couple’s previous home. And Janice had seen a light oak, chevron-patterned parquet floor in a 19th-century Parisian apartment that she wanted to replicate. Because it had to be precisely laid, it took a month to complete, using laser spirit levels to ensure each block was perfectly straight.

Creating the master bathroom, which exudes Parisian glamour, was a similar labour of love. The marble tiles came in slightly different tones and had to be organised so that the shades and direction of the marbling were continuous. Bell and his assistant took photographs of each floor tile, transferred them to a computer, then rearranged them digitally until they fitted, like a virtual jigsaw puzzle.

“The bathroom floor is one of my favourite aspects of the apartment,” says Bell. “I’d never used such bold contrast in marble before, but I think I was still able to retain an essence of elegance while adding a certain wow factor.”

Bell procured a lot of the furniture from overseas – but not always from places you might expect. For the French chandelier and mirror in the master bathroom, for example, he trawled antiques stores in Paris but couldn’t find what he wanted. He ended up buying the Bohemian crystal chandelier in a shop near his Bangkok apartment and found the French mirror in Australia, after sourcing it online from an antiques store.

The renovations took almost a year to complete but the Chias are one happy family – even if Bell did forget to add a key element to Ollie’s room.

“The boys’ rooms are just meant to be fun and Ollie’s love of the cosmos inspired his starry ceiling,” says Bell. “But his first comment was, ‘Where’s the moon?’ I simply forgot it!”  

Styling: David Roden

Kitchen The marble counter (HK$380 per square foot) came from Kong Shing Marble (221 Kwan Tei North Village, Fanling, tel: 2674 3360) and the special-edition Mater A/S stools in dark-stained oak (HK$8,220 each) came from Manks. The painting, by Nguyen Van Cuong, came from Thanh Mai Gallery (11 Tràng Tien, Hoàn Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam, tel: 84 4 3938 6304).

Living area The pigeonhole shelving (HK$48,000) was custom made by Winspeed Engineering (6/F, Block B, Tsun Win Factory Building, 60 Tsun Yip Street, Kwun Tong, tel: 9034 9504). The Favn three-seater sofa (HK$71,050), Stingray oak veneer rocking chair (HK$35,360), yellow Ro easy chair (HK$23,600), Large Mill coffee table (HK$14,450) and round Mango Bowl side table (HK$4,090) were all from Manks. The Chobi woollen rug (HK$17,850) was from Al-Mubeen Carpets.

Dressing area The custom-made dressing table (HK$10,000) and iron-framed doors (HK$26,000 per set) were built by Winspeed Engineering. The white leather Eva swivel chair (HK$9,999) came from Aluminium (36 Cochrane Street, Central, tel: 2546 5904) and the 19th-century blackwood mirror (HK$6,000) was bought from Art Treasures Gallery (42 Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2522 1138).

TRIED + TESTED