Inside a luxury real estate developer’s art-filled Hong Kong home

Having renovated one home in London, England, Luke Fehon could have been forgiven for taking the easy route and simply duplica­ting its interior in his Mid-Levels flat. But even though the co-founder and chairman of luxury developer Fuin Real Estate chose to work again with the creative force behind his British pad – London-based Dutch designer Rients Bruinsma – that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I believe that a home should not only reflect the people who live in it but also have a sense of place,” says Fehon, an Australian by birth, a New Yorker by upbringing and a Hongkonger at heart. “I didn’t want this apartment to look and feel as if it could be anywhere, without any context. Hong Kong is a modern, vibrant city and yet it is steeped in tradition. I wanted to merge the two.”

Because the 3,230 sq ft apartment, which takes up an entire storey, was new, the project was more cosmetic than struc­tural. Bruinsma left the kitchen and four bathrooms untouched but turned four bed­rooms into two, including the vast main suite, which boasts a luxurious dressing room. He also improved the wall treatments.

Thanks to the wonders of modern tech­nology, the design process, which took six months in total, was a breeze. Bruinsma visited the apartment three times but otherwise he and Fehon worked via video calls.

Says Bruinsma: “We finished most walls with specialist paint: we applied a coat of gloss wax to make them look like stone – a bit like Venetian stucco but without the busy spatulato [a polished plaster finish] effect. We panelled the TV den in grey oak so it became more cosy and we installed dressing room cabinets in one bedroom.”

This “wardrobe”, a gorgeous walnut-lined cocoon, made by local craftsmen, is as stylish and sophisticated as the rest of the apartment.