Bespoke furniture, statement lighting give Hong Kong duplex with a sea view the wow factor
- Designer Ana Foster-Adams helped a couple transform their 2,000 sq ft rental flat with statement lighting and artisan items from around the world
- Curved pieces such as a semicircular sofa balance out geometric lines in the living room, and walls were kept neutral so they didn’t compete with the view
A long ferry ride can be an ideal time for catching up on texts and emails but, as Gigi and Roman Hunter found, it pays to take a screen break.
Travelling back to Hong Kong’s Central district from a trip to Lamma Island, they spotted a cluster of flats overlooking the water near Kennedy Town at the western end of Hong Kong Island and felt they would make an ideal location for a home.
Since the couple were looking to move, they did some digging and found an old online listing for the development. They contacted the property agent but were told that units in the complex rarely came up. Two weeks later, the same agent called to tell them a tenant was breaking his lease and asked whether they were still interested. They signed immediately.
At 2,000 sq ft (186 square metres) and with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a rooftop, their new duplex was larger than their previous flat. The couple needed to buy more furniture, but their tastes differed and they soon realised they weren’t cut out for interior design.
“We aren’t very artistically minded and didn’t know where to start. I’m not a Pinterest person at all – I don’t have the patience and even if I did, I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” confesses Gigi, who grew up in Hong Kong. “If we’d furnished our apartment ourselves, it would have been nice and comfortable but very safe design-wise.