A Hong Kong flat gets an extreme makeover: ‘if a home has style, it doesn’t matter how small it is’

French interior designer Peggy Bels is a master at turning spatially challenged flats into chic urban bolt-holes. When a client bought this 550 sq ft property in Sai Ying Pun, it was a typical Hong Kong flat, with two tiny bedrooms, a small bathroom and a kitchen that was effectively a hotplate in the corridor. Bels knocked everything down and started from scratch. She reconfigured the layout, creating one bedroom with a decent-sized en-suite bathroom and making everything else (apart from a helper’s room) open plan.

“The layout plan of a small flat is crucial because you need every centimetre to work for you,” says Bels.

Reluctant to wall in the bedroom, because that would have affected the light, she created a glass partition between it and the living area, which gives the flat depth and makes it seem larger. Bels incorpor­ated black frames into the partition and sprayed all window frames in a matching matte lacquer.

“The black frames the view and makes the flat feel more contemporary,” Bels says.

A predominantly monochrome palette throughout the flat adds to the modern, minimal look. White walls would have looked cold and stark, so Bels and her client opted for a concrete finish, which feels surpris­ingly warm. Five layers were applied to achieve the desired effect. To prevent it from appear­ing too industrial, she teamed the concrete with brass detailing, which appears as skirting under black cabinetry in the bedroom and kitchen, and on lighting.

“Cement can sometimes be too raw, so the brass makes the apartment feel elegant and more feminine as well as adding understated colour,” says Bels.