You're kidding!

Discovering they had a baby on the way, one couple had no time to lose in turning a newly purchased Mid-Levels apartment into a child-friendly home.

It is said that moving home is one of life's three biggest traumas, alongside the death of a loved one and divorce. But that is an understatement for Samantha O'Meara, who discovered she was pregnant shortly after she and husband Christopher bought a flat in Mid-Levels. The happy news started the couple on a frantic race against time to refurbish and furnish their apartment before the arrival of their first baby, Oscar.

'I was due in October [2005] and wanted to get in here two to three months before the baby was born,' says O'Meara. 'Because of all the stress, my baby was born five weeks early. I'll never do it again.'

Although the urgent project was a mammoth task, the couple, both bankers, pulled through. As planned, in August 2005 they moved into their new home, a pleasant mixture of contemporary and antique elements complete with child-favourable features. The secret? A reliable

and capable contractor, according to O'Meara. 'The contractor was very good,' she says. 'He knew our time problem and he was very hardworking, organised and efficient. That really saved us.'

In hindsight, luck was also crucial. After the couple took possession of the 3,000 sq ft apartment in April 2005, they had difficulty finding a contractor to renovate it.

The flat needed a major facelift to rid it of what O'Meara describes as a 'cheap and nasty' design. 'A couple of contractors said they couldn't do it. They needed six months,' O'Meara says. Eventually, through interior designer Mabel Lee, of BSD (tel: 9239 2649), they found Rayman Yeung of Yick Tai Engineering (tel: 2789 9883). The contractor promised to get everyone in his firm on board and complete the renovation of the three-bedroom flat in four months. 'He was very confident about it so we were happy,' says O'Meara.

During that time a cubicle in the kitchen and one in the master bathroom were knocked down to 'capture the full effect of the space available'. A wall that dominated the flat was demolished. Then a number of child-friendly features were installed. They include a see-through glass panel on a swivelling kitchen door and cabinet doors that open with a push and can be locked.

Although the couple had enlisted Lee, O'Meara was involved in the design and came up with a host of ideas. For instance, she designed the drawers in the kitchen to provide easy access to everything she needs when she cooks and she insisted on a pantry by the refrigerator so bags of shopping can be put away efficiently.

The biggest challenge, according to Yeung, was the countertop in the kitchen, for which O'Meara wanted a white colour scheme because, she reasons, 'if it's white, you can easily see when it's dirty'. Yeung managed to source composite Italian stone, which O'Meara likes because it is impermeable. But shaping it proved tricky. 'Sam wanted to have each corner cut at a 45-degree angle. I also think that would have created a perfect look. But it was very difficult to do the cutting. We tried and tried and broke many pieces,' Yeung says.

With each passing day, stress descended because the couple were keen to ensure the flat was not only ready but free from any paint and new-furniture fumes that might cause their baby discomfort. 'Sam was under a lot of stress and so we had to follow things up very closely,' says Yeung. 'At least once a week, we cleared a small area in the flat and sat down with them to tell them what we were up to and what problems there were,' he says.

For all the anxiety, O'Meara says the undertaking was enjoyable, particularly because she and Christopher combined their tastes to create a fusion style both relish. 'We're very different in what we like and I think that has really helped. He's more of a minimalist and I like a combination of things. He'd come up with some ideas I thought were stupid, and he thought my ideas were stupid. Eventually we came up with things that worked for both of us,' she says.

1 The O'Mearas' penchant for fusion can be detected in the living room, which features an elongated cabinet hiding audio-visual equipment. The cream suede sofa cost HK$50,000 from Simply Sofas (8/F, Horizon Plaza, 2 Lee Wing Street, Ap Lei Chau, tel: 2525 2672) and the coffee table cost HK$7,000 from Matahari (11/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2814 9038). The fan was sourced from Life's A Breeze (10/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2572 4000) for HK$3,200.

2 The white of the sleek kitchen adds to the sense of space. After a lengthy search for a suitable countertop, the O'Mearas were offered composite stone from Italy, which is non-porous and stain and scratch resistant (HK$868 a square foot, sourced through Fortune Building Material, 191 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2511 0321). The cupboards (HK$73,000) were custom made by kitchen designer Ease Kitchen (311 Lockhart Road, tel: 2519 7668). The ceramic tiles have textured lines that provide a non-slip surface (HK$6,600 from Sun Ho Building Materials, 169 Lockhart Road, tel: 2519 9876).

3 The spacious, 230 sq ft balcony was a key reason the O'Mearas bought the flat: their dog needs the room. The pair of art-deco chairs cost about HK$6,000 from Indonesia and the Chinese antique tables were inherited from Samantha's grandmother. Yick Tai Engineering (tel: 2789 9883) sourced the ceramic tiles (HK$45 each) from Spain.

4 The rosewood cabinet in the dining area is pivotal in setting the traditional tone of the room. It is an antique that Samantha inherited from her grandmother and one of several of her keepsakes. Although they are a departure from the contemporary tone that dominates the flat, Christopher agrees they must be preserved.

5 The nursery is bright and colourful, with alphabet tiles from Toys 'R' Us (various locations; www.toysrus.com.hk). Oscar's cot is from Bumps to Babes (21/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2552 5000). The artwork was sourced through Picture This (suite 603B, Office Tower, 9 Queen's Road Central, tel: 2525 2820).

6 A cubicle that blocked some of the light in the master bedroom was torn down, resulting in a spacious and airy bathroom with twin sinks (HK$3,000 each), designed by Giulio Capellini and sourced through the Professional Depot (371 Lockhart Road, tel: 3106 6008). The cabinet beneath was custom made by Yick Tai Engineering and cost about HK$11,000.

7 The dark wood furniture and the blue abstract painting, by French-born Australian artist Christine Maudy, give the master bedroom a conservative yet modish look. The handmade bed cost about HK$15,000 in Indonesia and the dressing table cost HK$5,000 from Tequila Kola (1/F, Horizon Plaza, tel: 2877 3295). The floor is covered with natural oak that cost HK$75 a square foot through Yick Tai Engineering.

tried & tested

keep it clean

Wiping away the grease and dirt that accumulate around an oven can be a nasty chore. The O'Mearas' solution is a piece of crystal glass, the back of which has been painted white to match the colour scheme of the kitchen. 'It's very easy to clean and wipe,' says Samantha O'Meara. 'You won't get oil spoiling the surrounding.' A plus is that marker pen can also be erased easily. 'I often write my shopping lists or messages for my maid on the glass,' says O'Meara. The material was sourced by Yick Tai Engineering and cost HK$130 a square foot.

Styling: Gloria Wong