A Hong Kong lawyer transforms two flats into luxury duplex for family of six

Survivors of onerous renovations often emerge from their ordeals wearier but wiser. Ryan Chow, the hands-on client who “micromanaged” his own residential project in Mid-Levels, still sighs between sentences when he describes the experience. But in painting a larger picture, the lawyer is also palpably proud.

The overhaul proved challenging because it in­volved converting two flats into a luxurious duplex. Taking 20 months because govern­ment approvals were needed for structural changes, it also cost three times the inten­ded budget, owing in part to unforeseen obstacles. But, as he and his wife are now happy to say, they met their primary object­ive, which was to create a home comfort­able enough for their family of six: the couple have twin daughters, aged eight, and two sons, 14 and 15.

“The needs of the children were the main motivation for the project,” says Chow. “The older ones are now teenagers and have more preferences when it comes to their bedrooms.”

The boys had no choice but to share a bedroom in their previous home, a rental unit the family had moved into when they outgrew their own flat.

So in 2017, when the opportunity arrived to purchase the unit directly below the one they owned, they snapped it up. Chow then asked interior designer Bun Ho to create a home of 2,530 square feet by connecting the floors. Having worked on three other projects for his clients, the Not Only Design founder is regarded as a family friend. This time, however, his became a remote role: after the concept stage, Ho emigrated with his family to Australia.

Unlike his clients’ previous modern, minimalist flats (including the original upper-floor apartment of the new duplex), this time they wanted a mixture of classic and contemporary styles. And space for all was crucial, although the girls continue to share a room (they’re scared of monsters).