Inside a Hong Kong micro flat that shows how to make the most of a small space
An urban apartment’s size didn’t stop its occupant from populating it with all of her favourite things
“Cosy”, in real-estate speak, often means someone’s renting out their broom cupboard. In Anne Choy’s 300 sq ft Wan Chai flat, the word has warmer connotations.
Filled with her collections of designer furniture, objets, books and wine corks, her new home is comfortable and doesn’t cramp her style. It also offers her an enviable work-play-rest balance – she walks to her office, returns for lunch with her cat and enjoys the city’s conveniences: the tong lau walk-up is moments from unique shops and cafes, but in a traffic-free enclave.
“Small flats are a given [in Hong Kong],” Choy says, revealing that five years ago she lived in an apartment nearby that was even smaller. However, that 250 sq ft studio unit was so tiny she would catch her knees on furniture and tight corners.
In her new home, roughly the size of a standard 40-foot container, the chance of the odd bump remains (the ceiling and my head came to blows while I was testing the staircase). But Choy says: “I’m more careful now, so it’s fine.”
Clever design helped. That means furniture is curved where body parts may get in the way and, for maximum efficiency, walls are well used and storage space specially designed for non-negotiable items.
Separate areas are also delineated. For example, the queen-sized loft bed inhabits a blue zone (the darker colour also enhances sleep, according to Choy’s interior designer, Glory Tam Chi-kiu, of Mister Glory), and, beneath it, a 170cm-tall walk-in wardrobe keeps clothes and other belongings out of sight. Then there’s the staggered staircase, which offers storage and saves crucial inches.