Inside a French couple’s Lamma Island bolt-hole, which blends seamlessly with the great, green outdoors
Managing the project themselves meant the owners of the flat got the home they wanted – eventually
Having fallen in love with a ground-floor apartment on Lamma Island, primarily for its location and outdoor space, Frenchmen Vincent Sahuc and Jerome Chabert began renovations in July 2018. Since they had a clear idea of what they wanted and were looking to cut costs, they managed the project themselves. But when they moved in, seven months later, their new home still didn’t have a kitchen or a bathroom.
“We bought a place on Lamma because we’d been spending almost every weekend there with friends and loved the natural lifestyle, but at that point we wondered what on earth had possessed us to leave our flat in SoHo,” recalls Sahuc, who has lived in Hong Kong for a decade, working in business development for high-end fashion and jewellery brands. “At one point, we were showering in the garden under a hose – it was cold and not very pleasant.”
Earlier, they had demolished all but a single interior wall in their quest to turn the 700 sq ft, dark and run-down village property into a modern, light-filled bolt-hole. Nevertheless, Sahuc and Chabert, who works in logistics, kept going.
“We are not interior designers – we’d never even renovated a place before – and we didn’t really have a plan. We just knew this place had real potential,” Sahuc says.
The pair decided on a simple layout that would allow them to create an open, airy living space that extended visually and seamlessly into the garden. Out went walls and small windows, and in came floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Chabert and Sahuc enlarged the living area and merged it with the dining room and kitchen. They also created a large main bedroom and a smaller guest room but opted for a single spacious bathroom rather than two tiny en-suites.
“We also swapped the location of the kitchen and bathroom. Originally, the bathroom had windows while the kitchen had no natural light, which didn’t make sense,” Sahuc says.
The pair worked with a local contractor but hired experts from outside Lamma for specialist items such as the terrazzo flooring. When they couldn’t solve tricky design problems themselves, they asked friends working in architecture or interior design for help.
“Our flat bears little marks of our friends [who helped out], which makes it even more special to us,” Chabert says.
Redesigning this place was ultimately such a rewarding adventure that we are thinking of doing another one somewhere else in the world. But first we need to relax
Giving the home additional charm are the furniture, antiques and ornaments on display. These tell stories of the places Chabert and Sahuc have lived in and travelled to, and of families and friends. Apart from floating shelves featuring Sahuc’s collection, there are no mirrors or artwork on the walls.
“The ceilings aren’t particularly high and we didn’t want to draw attention to that by putting things on the walls,” Sahuc says. “We chose low-level furniture and balanced mirrors on sideboards to create an impression of ceiling height.”
There is also an inspiring display of upcycling. A tile and a plastic plant pot make an outdoor coffee table while items such as the sofas and coffee table received a new lease of life thanks to Chabert’s DIY skills.
“I am a dreamer and have lots of ideas that aren’t always realistic. Jerome is very practical and often makes great things out of nothing,” Sahuc says. “We made some mistakes and let’s just say we had ‘passionate discussions’, but ultimately Jerome and I share the same design style. We were both willing to compromise and we also discovered we really complemented each other.
“Redesigning this place was ultimately such a rewarding adventure that we are thinking of doing another one somewhere else in the world. But first we need to relax.”
The Lack shelves (HK$290 each from Ikea) display items bought in Hollywood Road’s antique shops, including statues of a Chinese warhorse and a polo player as well as a water dropper, once used to dilute ink, shaped like a three-legged toad.
Living room detail The sideboard was inspired by a mid-century Danish design in teak in Sahuc’s grandparents’ house in France. Costing HK$3,500, it was made to measure in solid oak through Taobao. It is accessorised with Chinese privet, which grows wild outside, and ornamental objects and antiques.
Kitchen Although the kitchen was installed by a contractor, Chabert and Sahuc did the tiling themselves (the glazed green tiles cost HK$15 each from Omega, 31A Fleming Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2877 0019).
The bronze statue represents the Trimurti, a Hindu triple deity, and was bought in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.
Garden The round Tamburo bamboo seats (small, HK$380; large, HK$1,250) came from Bamboa and the wicker chairs were from Lamma Island Marketplace. The white ceramic lantern was about HK$100 through Taobao and the coffee table was made by Sahuc and Chabert out of a plastic plant pot and a terrazzo tile.
The artificial lawn, in a shade of green called Fall, cost HK$48 per square metre from Aquila Trading (3/F, 31 Caine Road, Mid-Levels, tel: 9027 8026).
Tried + tested
Out of the box Jerome Chabert upcycled an old L-shaped sofa by turning its box-style arm into a separate coffee table. The tabletop is hinged and can be lifted to access items stored below.
To watch a video of Vincent Sahuc and Jerome Chabert’s home, visit scmp.com/postmagazine.
