Family home becomes timeless living space in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels through use of natural light, hidden storage, bespoke furniture and curved corners

Although an exciting process, renovating a property takes time and energy. However, in mid-2019, soon after building a holiday home from scratch in Niseko, Japan, Hong Kong couple Jonathan and Elizabeth Li started revamping their three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island.

Instead of opting for an easy, cookie-cutter approach, they went off piste as far as their own style was concerned, undeterred by the myriad design decisions they would have to make all over again.

“Our place in Niseko is very wood-driven, as were our previous apartments in Hong Kong, and we wanted something different for this place, including the incorporation of colour,” says Jonathan. “We aren’t fans of warm colours but we didn’t want the apartment to look too cold either.”

To turn their ideas into reality, they enlisted the help of friend and architect Liz Lau Win-wa, of design studio LAUD, who immediately gutted the 2,000 sq ft (186 square metre) space. While Elizabeth’s favourite colour is baby blue, Lau steered the couple towards deeper tones to make more of a statement.

The navy they eventually settled on features on kitchen cabinets, a geometric wall in the main bedroom and on the inner and outer walls of Jonathan’s study, which is situated off the dining room.

“The apartment has a lot of natural light so we had the luxury of using dark blue in the living area and master bedroom, which we balanced with lighter wood floors, grey marble and white walls,” says Lau. “We wanted to add a certain flair, but it had to be comfortable to look at and live in because it’s a home and not a hotel.”