Why less is more in this Hong Kong apartment

Little did Deborah Guttieres know when she signed up for an interior-design course last year that she would be able to put her new skills to the test so soon. Within a few months of starting at the Hong Kong Design Institute, she moved with her financier husband from their sprawling 3,000-sq-ft Repulse Bay flat to a new home on Bowen Road.

“We are renting, so there’s only so much we can do to the place. It was the view that won us over,” says Guttieres, who has lived in Hong Kong for about five years since leaving France.

Floor-to-ceiling windows wrap around the dining and living rooms, affording knock-out views of the harbour and across to Kowloon. But because the two-bedroom flat, at 1,800 square feet, is significantly smaller than their previous home, they had to sell some furniture and put other pieces in storage. Some tough decisions had to be made – such as leaving out her husband’s piano – but Guttieres was keen to keep the apartment uncluttered.

“I like the minimalist look. In Hong Kong, there is so little space for living and by not crowding it with things it feels bigger,” she says.

In keeping with the aesthetic, she opted for creamy white walls accented with bold hues, particularly red. The only big changes the couple made to the flat were to add a large shoe cupboard beside the front door and additional wardrobes to the bedroom.