A retired couple return to Hong Kong to create their dream home after 20 years in Britain
By filling their flat with treasures old and new, a designer helped a retired couple, who had spent the past two decades away, ease into their new life
When a retired Hong Kong couple decided to return home after more than two decades in Britain, they wanted to live in a flat that felt as familiar as if they had never left. It helped that they were bringing back a rosewood dining table and chairs they had owned since they were first married, more than 25 years ago.
“They purchased them when they were in the UK,” says interior designer Max Lam Tsz-hong, who redesigned the 900 sq ft, three-bedroom flat in Kennedy Town that the couple had bought before they returned to Hong Kong last year. “It was meaningful to them to keep the table and chairs. When they showed them to me, I thought their condition – the form and colour – was nice, minimalistic.”
The clients had also amassed a large collection of artworks and curios on their travels, as well as heirlooms, which Lam showcased against a neutral, beige backdrop.
“The clients are over 60 and most older clients like a traditional style, but when we talked with them they were open-minded,” he says. “They accepted a contemporary style to mix with their signature pieces.”
In the living and dining room, the result is a serene space punctuated by the rosewood furniture. Two brass strips run across the ceiling of the living room, connecting the windows to a false ceiling that masks air-conditioning ducts above the dining area. The clients’ treasures are displayed on a backlit bookshelf, whose frame and shelves consist of green and black metal of varying thickness. “The mix of thin and thick metal adds layers, so the bookshelf doesn’t feel bulky,” says Lam.