Clever design strategies to cover up unsightly items
Unsightly but necessary items such as air conditioners can be a visual nightmare, but clever design strategies make such problems disappear
There's always one area of the home that looks a bit unsightly. Kitchen bins, for instance, will never be something you show off. Neither will a water heater. And while such things can often be tucked away in a cupboard, there are other essentials that seem almost impossible to hide.
"Air conditioning units are a constant source of difficulty in Hong Kong," says Bun Ho, design director of local interiors firm Su:b Design. "People want to hide them, but they have to have a physical presence in the room or else they're completely redundant. We frequently deal with split air conditioning systems and they are particularly troublesome. Not only do you have the main unit but you also have the piping that leads outside."
Ho says the only real way to deal with an unsightly air conditioner is to create a suitable cover that makes it blend with its surroundings. Although covering a split air conditioner may impede performance, if you can't install a more complex system, it's an unfortunate trade off if you're determined to disguise it.
The philosophy is sound and, if Su:b Design's recent project in Tin Hau is anything to go by, clearly effective. Ho says: "This particular apartment was around 1,100 sq ft. We approached the project with the concept of reducing the number of visible elements in the space. From obvious unsightly features like the air conditioning units to things that would normally be left exposed, such as shelving, our aim was to conceal as much as we could. What was left, then, was a modern looking, functional space."
To fully realise this minimalist look, Ho's team carefully planned the interior layout. Once storage, shelving and air conditioners were in place, they used a uniform pattern of white panelling on the interior walls.
Because every panel looked the same, this let them disguise what was a solid wall and what was hiding something. This was particularly effective on the air conditioners. Here, a single panel covers the main body of the unit but the air flows through a hole cut in the same style as the regimented divisions between each panel.
Ho's team also hid a bed. When not in use, it folds up into a wall. In fact, the only break from the white panelling is a wall that appears to be a feature mirror. It's actually a sliding panel with shelving hidden behind.