Industrial revolution

Many home owners express a desire for something different when remodelling their living space, but rarely do they have the courage, or the confidence in their designer, to make it happen. American businessman Ken Sheffer decided not to be swayed by the designer looks spawned by interior maga-zines. With architect Kent Lui, he set out on a quest for originality.

'I'm affected by hotels because I spend so much time in them but they help you to understand how comfortable a place can be when everything is in the right spot,' says Sheffer, a trade and investment consultant who travels about 220 days a year. When briefing Lui, he described his ideal apartment as modern, New York-ish and 'most of all ... completely usable'. He didn't want anything just for show; convenience, ease of use and function were essential.

'I wanted stone, metal and wood - I'm not really interested in soft, feminine touches. They don't appeal to me,' he says.

Sheffer admits there was plenty of experimentation and as ideas came thick and fast, the concept of using 'streetscape' materials developed. Sheffer recalls visiting Hong Kong as a boy, long before moving here in 1995.

'I was attracted by the container ports, the buildings with glistening windows at night, even the jackhammers ... it's a city that's moving forward constantly,' he says.

As a result, his 2,600-square-foot apartment in Mid-Levels has an urban appeal and is a prime example of industrial chic with its exposed concrete bricks and rusted metal fittings. Sheffer was attracted to the apartment's linear progression from the front to the back of the building; it was not a large cube divided into quarters. As well as offering city and mountain views, this configuration provides efficient cross-ventilation, which is fortunate because Sheffer dislikes air-conditioning. His windows are fitted with dark grey mesh roller blinds that double as mosquito screens (by Silent Gliss, www.silentgliss.it), which were ordered and fitted by the contractor Full Rich Engineering.

Despite the apartment's openness, Sheffer believes that space should be ordered.

'In many Hong Kong apartments the front door opens directly onto the living room. I don't like the feeling of that - it's as if you walk right into someone's life,' he says.

It is clear that Sheffer is not technologically challenged. The apartment is wired with 30 Bose speakers (there are three in the ensuite bathroom) and six wall-mounted plasma screens. Three desktop Apple Mac computers at his workstation, which adjoins the dining area, form the nexus of the entertainment system. In his previous flat, Sheffer had numerous photographs framed and hanging on the walls, but when he moved into his new flat he scanned his photographs so they could be displayed on six screens throughout his new home, including a 42-inch screen in the living room and a 30-inch screen in the master bedroom.

Sheffer can not be accused of playing it safe and Lui provided plenty of encouragement. The decision to use mosaic grids - a wall finish normally reserved for bathrooms and industrial stairwells - to delineate the office from the dining space was a brave, but successful one.

'I wanted a red backdrop and we tried paint and wallpaper before Kent had the idea of a mosaic ... it doesn't shout at you whereas paint does,' Sheffer explains.

Similarly, the concrete brickwork was originally envisaged in a whitewash finish but Lui convinced Sheffer to leave it bare. 'It brings the outdoors in,' says Sheffer.

Elements are left in their original state or weathered to create a tarnished patina - for example, the rusted walls pay homage to Sheffer's first impression of ship containers - and, unlike minimalism, things are not masked from view. 'I think minimalism is in some ways bogus ... people don't live minimalist lives,' says Sheffer. He does not believe in hiding anything: 'I like to be able to see everything that's going on in my life.'

1. The living and dining areas are united by bare concrete brick walls. The former is dominated by a cream Lazy Working Sofa designed by Philippe Starck for Cassina ($37,680 from Nu Concepts, tel: 2801 7338) and complemented by the Tavolo Con Route coffee table on wheels, by Gae Aulenti for Fontana Arte ($8,860 from Nu Concepts). At the far end of the room Lui constructed a 75-millimetre-thick concrete shelf clad in sandblasted aluminium tiles (from Full Rich Engineering, tel: 2565 6677) to house Sheffer's collection of Korean celadon pottery. The triptych of paintings is by Singaporean artist Tung Yue Nang from the Eagle's Eye Art Gallery in Singapore (tel: 65 6339 8297).

2. Ken Sheffer walks down the hallway from the kitchen. The stone grey, self-levelling epoxy cement floor (imported from Fosroc in Britain; www.fosrocuk.com) was installed by Full Rich Engineering and cost $30 a square foot. The wired glass and Cortan steel-framed partitions in the hall provide a screen between the master and guest bedrooms (built by Full Rich Engineering to the architect's specifications). The panels are backlit with fluorescent tubes and the wall is painted celadon to radiate a soft hue.

3. In the kitchen, a 900mm by 900mm Carrara marble breakfast bar is mounted on a stainless-steel frame (made by Jia International, Redana Centre, 25 Yiu Wa Street, Causeway Bay, tel: 2832 5000). The aluminium Navy Connections Series 1006 stool is from Emeco ($5,250, from Dentro, Tai Sang Commercial Building, 24 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2866 8829). The steel-fronted and frosted-glass Wow kitchen cabinets can be ordered from Jia International.

4. The hallway is defined by a rusted wall made from Cortan steel sheets (5mm thick), bought through Full Rich Engineering, that were dipped in acid to create a tarnished effect. The surface was then finished with a clear, matt lacquer to protect it. Sheffer's study is conveniently tucked along the window edge of the dining area and hidden by four sliding wired-glass panels when he entertains. The mosaic tiles are from Art Tile ($160 a square foot; 175 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2507 2270) and the white lacquered Tavolo dining-table is by Angelo Mangiarotti for Cappellini (www.cappellini.it; $74,000 from Nu Concepts). The aluminium Emeco Stacking Chairs are from the Navy Connections Series ($5,100 from Dentro) and the Pipe Sospensione 'chandelier' arrangement is by Herzog and De Meuron from Artemide ($4,600), originally designed for the Prada store in Tokyo.

5. The floor-to-ceiling headboard in the master bedroom is feng shui inspired and sculpted from copper sheets beaten into convex circular motifs (custom-designed by Kent Lui ([email protected]) and built by Sign House in Shau Kei Wan (tel: 2896 0313; $230 a square foot). The aluminium Tolomeo bedside lamp was designed by Michele de Lucchi/Giancarlo Fassina for Artemide (www.artemide.com; 1/F, Ruttonjee Centre, 11 Duddell Street, Central, tel: 2523 0333; $1,900) and the red, striped reed mat at the foot of the bed is from Lotus Arts in Kualur Lumpur. The Papillona floorlamp was designed by Tobia Scarpa for Flos (50 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2801 7007; www.flos.net) and costs $4,770.

6. A library alcove is fitted with Cortan steel-framed bookcases with wired glass shelves custom-designed by Lui and made by Full Rich Engineering. The classic 1934 Zigzag chair designed by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld is produced by Cassina (www.cassina.it; $12,760 from Nu Concepts) and the Segno red leather armchair is by Cappellini ($28,650 from Nu Concepts). The Super Guppy lamp, designed by Marc Newson, was ordered from Idee in Japan (www.idee.co.jp; $15,000).

7. The front door is made from solid oak planks with iron crossbars and was built by Full Rich Engineering. The reproduction art deco console (from Artura, 29 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2527 2893) is not of the obvious era for such a modern home but suited Sheffer's tastes. He started collecting clocks 20 years ago when he was looking for the perfect alarm clock. 'Instead of throwing them out when I get a new one, I keep them all.' Some of the older ones are from Hudson, New York; Sheffer's home town, which has become the vintage furniture capital of the northeast United States.

Tried and tested: CLUTTER BUSTER

Architect Kent Lui devised a hanging system in the master bedroom that can house an array of items - belts, bags, clocks, watches, mobile phones, clothes, keys and ties.

Ken Sheffer had seen something similar at a Long Island beach house where wooden pegs were used for hanging towels.

In this case, stainless-steel bolts, 1.2 centimetres in diameter, were screwed into the wall in a 26.5cm grid. Lui found the industrial-sized bolts in a Mongkok hardware store.

On a practical level, Sheffer finds the system a useful 'memory wall', reminding him of what he needs to take with him when he goes out. The hanging system also creates a graphic dimension to an otherwise bare wall and, if not a work of art itself, the device can be used to display small pictures.

Stylist Emily Fisher