Bohemian splendour in a remote Hong Kong island home

Few commutes can compare with that of jewellery designer Janeth Weil, who lives in the remote village of Luk Chau, on Lamma Island. The 15-minute speedboat ride from Aberdeen Harbour across one of the world’s busiest shipping channels is a trip she has been making for nearly 20 years.

The 2,800-sq-ft, five-bedroom, four-bathroom home is an amalgamation of two village houses, with two roof decks surrounded by an extensive outdoor terrace, bringing the total area to more than 5,500 sq ft. With its own dock, small stretch of sandy beach and uninterrupted views of the sea, it is a haven of secluded tranquillity.

Despite the seafront location, the original property was surrounded by a high peri­meter wall that made it look like a Chinese courtyard house, says Weil, who left the Philippines for Hong Kong in 1995.

The first thing she and her then husband did was demolish the barrier and open the house to the scenery. The home has since gone through two major renovations, the last one undertaken seven years ago, when Weil dispensed with “99.9 per cent” of her possessions and redesigned the interior.

Two fireplaces were removed, staircases reconfigured, new windows installed and the kitchen and bathrooms extensively reno­vated. The project took more than a year and Weil rented a neighbouring house for the duration. Given the remote location and difficult access, it proved to be a costly and logistically challenging project, she says.