Bold colours make Hong Kong holiday home memorable
Husband and wife team of designers seized the opportunity to go wild in a company-owned Lantau Island hideaway
There’s no denying the allure of vibrant colour, particularly when it comes to making an interior statement. But it takes confidence, careful planning and a real eye for design to make a dramatic palette work. Step forward husband-and-wife team Frederic and Catherine Bourquin, of Atelier B, who were commissioned in 2013 to renovate a 2,450 sq ft company-owned weekend house on Lantau Island.
Although their budget was minimal, the Bourquins, who have lived in Hong Kong for 22 years, were given free rein to come up with a fresh, fun and functional concept for the four-bedroom, four-bathroom house. The result is a riot of strong, bright colours most people would shy away from but which works perfectly here.
“We love colour and find it very difficult to live in or create very neutral environments,” says Catherine, originally from England. “A holiday house is the perfect opportunity to do something a bit bolder than, say, for a regular family home.”
Complemented by pale French oak vinyl flooring and white detailing, shades of blue dominate – from the almost life-sized, azure ceramic hippo that greets visitors at the Bleu de France front door to the cobalt ceramic tiles in the outdoor kitchen. A sky-blue feature wall is paired with a hot-pink sideboard and dining chairs while, in the living area, the same shade of blue acts as a backdrop for buttercup-yellow cupboards.
Upstairs, the base and half the posts of the four-poster bed in the master bedroom have been painted a slightly brighter blue, giving the traditionally shaped piece of furniture a contemporary twist. And how else to get from ground to first floor in this fairy tale house than via a spiral staircase coloured a gorgeous turquoise?
