A New York loft in Hong Kong – how a creative couple nailed the look

Stencilled on a wall in this gloriously spacious home are words to live by: “F*** it, let’s go to New York”. Those seven words and three stars perfectly encapsulate the cheerfully irreverent attitude of the creative couple who live here, and of the Manhattan-style loft they have created in a 2,600 sq ft former warehouse in one of the grittier parts of Hong Kong.

With its high ceilings, light-filled open spaces and manually operated lift gate, it could be a loft in downtown New York, if it weren’t for the distinctly Hong Kong view through the long wall of windows.

“We met four or five designers and Vince and Elaine were the only ones who wanted to keep it open,” Erica says. “The others wanted to turn the space into a conventional three-bedroom apartment and I wasn’t feeling it. We didn’t aim for a loft, but it worked out this way. We were totally on the same page and it made it very easy to work together.”

Lim and Lu visited a few properties with their clients, including former offices, before settling on this space. It was wide open with just one structural wall, which is now in the bedroom, and a rundown toilet area. With just the couple and their three dogs and two cats to accommodate, Lim and Lu suggested simply dividing the space into public and private areas.

An open-plan kitchen, a dining and living area, and a studio sprawl across the brightly lit front of the apartment, with a semi-open-plan bedroom, en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe, and a separate storage room occupying the more shadowy, private spaces at the rear. Half-glass, half-steel sliding doors separate the two areas, allowing daylight into the windowless back half of the apartment.