https://www.scmp.com/rss/33/feed Style news, features and blogs to help you create your perfect home en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Rebecca Lo Rebecca Lo Norman Foster is in high spirits as he strolls into a meeting room on the 15th floor of the HSBC Main Building on Hong Kong’s Queen’s Road Central. Flying into the city the previous evening, the 90-year-old British architect is in town to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a project that catapulted his firm from small-scale UK residences to global skyscrapers, airports and stadiums. In 1979, Foster and Partners won an international competition to design the fourth iteration of the Hongkong and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/interiors-living/article/3349891/how-norman-foster-sees-his-hsbc-building-40-years-after-hong-kong-icon-was-born?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/interiors-living/article/3349891/how-norman-foster-sees-his-hsbc-building-40-years-after-hong-kong-icon-was-born?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 23:15:15 +0000 Chloe Loung,Charmaine Yu Chloe Loung,Charmaine Yu A deadly blaze that ravaged a four-decade-old housing estate in Tai Po and killed at least 128 people since Wednesday has once again cast a spotlight on one of Hong Kong’s most iconic yet contentious construction features: bamboo scaffolding. While the cause of the fire – which consumed seven of Wang Fuk Court’s eight blocks, all of which were undergoing extensive renovation – is still under investigation, focus will be on what caused the ferocious flames to spread so quickly, including the mesh... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3334352/should-hong-kong-abandon-bamboo-scaffolding-after-tai-po-fire-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-culture/article/3334352/should-hong-kong-abandon-bamboo-scaffolding-after-tai-po-fire-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 08:57:31 +0000 Rebecca Lo Rebecca Lo At the inaugural exhibition of the Tzu Chi Environmental Action Centre in Hong Kong’s Tai Wai neighbourhood in 2021, one particular installation stood out: a school of more than 100 suspended sharks made from wood that had been entirely salvaged. It was an effective and subtle way to convey the message from its creator, Lam Che, that trees and sea creatures share space with those who use and discard them with little thought. Lam, who is in his mid-60s, began salvaging fallen trees and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/interiors-living/article/3314141/how-sustainable-wood-furniture-maker-hong-kong-turns-fallen-trees-unique-pieces?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/interiors-living/article/3314141/how-sustainable-wood-furniture-maker-hong-kong-turns-fallen-trees-unique-pieces?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jun 2025 04:45:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A log burns in the hearth in the artfully lit drawing room. The armchairs look plush and inviting. Glasses and a bottle of wine stand ready as a grandfather clock keeps time. It is all straight out of a glossy magazine, and yet every carefully crafted item in the room could fit into the palm of one hand. “I love Victorian [19th century] houses and always wanted to live in one but it never happened,” laughs doll’s house enthusiast Michele Simmons, admiring the cosy miniature scene by historical... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311798/dolls-house-hobby-has-mental-health-benefits-even-if-prices-make-it-far-childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311798/dolls-house-hobby-has-mental-health-benefits-even-if-prices-make-it-far-childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 May 2025 20:15:07 +0000 A new school in Ireland is training up a fresh generation of thatchers in a bid to save the country’s disappearing thatched roofs, an iconic feature of the Irish landscape. In a hall in Portnoo, students at the Donegal Thatching School clamber over practice roofs under the watchful eye of Brian Lafferty, one of Ireland’s last master thatchers. “That’s it, start at the eaves and work from there,” says the still sprightly 72-year-old, peering upwards as a student lays and fixes batches of flax... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3305776/cherished-irish-tradition-roof-thatching-dying-out-new-school-aims-fix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3305776/cherished-irish-tradition-roof-thatching-dying-out-new-school-aims-fix?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 20:15:08 +0000 Samsung Electronics customers who used to rely on their Galaxy Watches to find misplaced phones can now also locate their devices with the company’s latest fridges. The latest Bespoke AI-powered refrigerator line-up features a nine-inch (23cm) home screen that allows users to simply say, “Hi Bixby, find my phone”, and the enhanced assistant – capable of recognising the voice of individual family members – will ring the correct device. Customers can also activate the home air conditioners or... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3304520/samsungs-latest-ai-powered-fridges-can-find-misplaced-phones-and-control-home-appliances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/gadgets/article/3304520/samsungs-latest-ai-powered-fridges-can-find-misplaced-phones-and-control-home-appliances?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 05:15:07 +0000 During a family trip to Alameda, California, in the early 1980s, we were lounging after breakfast in my aunt’s house when a tall Eurasian lady entered nonchalantly through the back door and made herself at home. She introduced herself as Auntie Mamie and proceeded to share stories about her memories of Hong Kong. It was not until many years later that I realised this woman was Mamie Ho, cousin of Stanley Ho, the late tycoon and owner of Macau’s Hotel Lisboa. I never realised how significant a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3300033/shades-vegas-macau-pleasure-palace-hotel-lisboa-focal-point-city-55-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3300033/shades-vegas-macau-pleasure-palace-hotel-lisboa-focal-point-city-55-years-ago?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Feb 2025 09:15:09 +0000 Au revoir, American Riviera Orchard. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has rebranded her fledgling company to As Ever just weeks after restarting her social media life under a new handle on Instagram. Meghan teased American Riviera Orchard in 2024 with jars of preserves. The new company has a fresh website she unveiled this week with a rare photo of three-year-old Lilibet, her youngest child with Prince Harry. Lilibet is seen frolicking on a well-manicured lawn with her mother. View this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3299408/meghan-duchess-sussex-unveils-new-lifestyle-brand-ever-instagram-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3299408/meghan-duchess-sussex-unveils-new-lifestyle-brand-ever-instagram-video?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2025 05:53:45 +0000 Vacant commercial spaces are being turned into guest accommodation in the central Japan city of Shizuoka, offering visitors an alternative to conventional lodgings and helping revitalise the local economy. “Birupaku”, a term combining the Japanese words for “building” and “accommodation”, refers to guest lodgings created within existing commercial spaces. Unlike traditional hotels, these Birupaku facilities do not provide meals and encourage guests to dine at nearby restaurants and engage with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3298210/city-japan-near-mount-fuji-turns-empty-commercial-spaces-lodgings-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3298210/city-japan-near-mount-fuji-turns-empty-commercial-spaces-lodgings-tourists?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 04:45:08 +0000 Dubai is adding a new round of ostentatious mansions and penthouses – some fitted with cinemas, spas and private lifts – as developers in the United Arab Emirates city court multimillionaires from around the world. These ultra-luxury homes are being priced anywhere from US$60 million to more than US$120 million as house-hunters from Europe, Asia and the Americas swoop in. The trappings are increasingly extravagant, even by the standards of an emirate renowned for its love of glitz. One builder... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3297319/crazy-new-dubai-mega-mansions-cater-their-super-rich-owners-wild-requests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3297319/crazy-new-dubai-mega-mansions-cater-their-super-rich-owners-wild-requests?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Feb 2025 03:15:08 +0000 By now, you may be familiar with biophilic design – the idea of integrating nature into design to enhance our connection to the environment. Sustainability, wellness and harmony are usually part of the deal. Some architects and home designers are using one particular biophilic element to striking effect: trees. We have already seen public spaces around the globe incorporate trees in remarkable and beautiful ways. The Ford Foundation in New York boasts a 12-storey-high atrium filled with... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3295153/trees-star-these-stunning-homes-and-buildings-architects-designers-go-bark-ing-mad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3295153/trees-star-these-stunning-homes-and-buildings-architects-designers-go-bark-ing-mad?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jan 2025 08:15:08 +0000 There’s a lot to be said for the work/play energy of a studio or other small flat during the day. But how do you bring that energy down to get a good night’s sleep? With electronics, cookery, clothes and books all in one space, it can be a challenge to create a restful refuge. Design and sleep experts provide these five tips. 1. Prioritise a sleep space, starting with the bed Everyone needs a good sleep to stay healthy. “The primary rule, maybe the only rule of small space design, is people... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3271639/5-ways-get-good-nights-sleep-if-you-live-studio-or-small-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3271639/5-ways-get-good-nights-sleep-if-you-live-studio-or-small-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:15:08 +0000 In Hong Kong, where tradition and modernity intersect, the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui remains an important part of life for many. Thierry Chow, a feng shui designer and the daughter of Hong Kong feng shui master Chow Hon-ming, blends principles of the age-old art with modern design to enhance workspaces. “The common things between feng shui and design are that feng shui talks a lot about nature, the environment, and people,” she says, noting the two disciplines share an emphasis on... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3270965/feng-shui-masters-guide-making-your-office-more-productive-and-why-balance-key?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3270965/feng-shui-masters-guide-making-your-office-more-productive-and-why-balance-key?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2024 04:13:11 +0000 In 2020, when the world was in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cliff Tan entered a quarantine hotel in his native Singapore. At the time, the architect had 50 followers on TikTok. When he emerged two weeks later he had more than 100,000 followers on the social media platform. Today, it is about 2.9 million, together with almost 800,000 followers on Instagram (@dearmodern) and 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. “When I came out of that quarantine hotel room I was a different person,” says Tan... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3270502/viral-tiktok-videos-singaporean-architect-bring-feng-shui-whole-new-audience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3270502/viral-tiktok-videos-singaporean-architect-bring-feng-shui-whole-new-audience?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jul 2024 23:15:08 +0000 The work-from-home phenomenon has led to people forging a different kind of relationship with the places they live in. Although lockdowns in the pandemic triggered a feeling of claustrophobia and a manic desire to get outside, many of us ultimately decided that we actually liked our homes, and were happy to spend more time in them. According to The Future of Wellness 2024 Trends, a report from United States-based non-profit organisation the Global Wellness Institute, this has resulted in people... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3268227/home-design-after-pandemic-focuses-self-care-using-art-ai-and-smart-devices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3268227/home-design-after-pandemic-focuses-self-care-using-art-ai-and-smart-devices?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jun 2024 10:15:08 +0000 Customers have multiple ways to broadcast satisfaction with service these days, whether it be through website reviews, social media recommendations or word-of- mouth referrals. Vanny Luk Wing-sang took an entirely different approach to endorsement, however. Soon after moving into the 1,296 sq ft (120 square metre), two-bedroom apartment in Pok Fu Lam on Hong Kong Island that Hong Kong-based Hintegro redesigned last year for her and husband Tommy Yeung King-leong, who is in the hotel industry,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3266300/mid-century-modern-design-meets-eastern-thinking-future-proofed-hong-kong-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3266300/mid-century-modern-design-meets-eastern-thinking-future-proofed-hong-kong-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jun 2024 03:15:07 +0000 YMCA Bridges Street Centre is a 106-year-old, red-brick edifice that stands at the end of the 300-metre-long thoroughfare in Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island that gave the building its name. While few buildings in Hong Kong can lay claim to that lifespan, fewer still have continuously served the same purpose for that amount of time. The Bridges Street Centre is special in that sense. For as long as it has been standing, it has provided space for Hong Kong’s social development and welfare. The... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3263874/serving-people-hong-kong-106-years-ymca-bridges-street-centre-sheung-wan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3263874/serving-people-hong-kong-106-years-ymca-bridges-street-centre-sheung-wan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 May 2024 04:45:08 +0000 A property featuring peeling plaster, floor-to-ceiling mould and an interior devoid of character would deter most potential buyers. Add to this a comparatively remote, rural location on Lantau Island and any long-term urban dweller might break out in hives. Yet when DanNi Zhao and Frédéric Rolli, former residents of upscale Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, discovered the abandoned 700 sq ft (65 square metre) flat, with a rooftop of the same size, in a village house in Mui Wo, they saw treasure... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3262853/traditional-chinese-design-turns-abandoned-rural-hong-kong-apartment-quirky-home-full-character?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3262853/traditional-chinese-design-turns-abandoned-rural-hong-kong-apartment-quirky-home-full-character?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2024 05:15:12 +0000 A kindergarten might not ordinarily spring to mind when designing a home for a couple without children. Nevertheless, the three “fur babies” of David Yu and Amy Chan were prime considerations when planning the renovation of their 800 sq ft (74 square metre) Sham Tseng flat, in Tsuen Wan in the New Territories. And Alvin Cheng Ka Heng, creative director at MAD Studio, saw behavioural similarities between energetic preschoolers and frisky felines. “We design a lot of projects for kindergartens and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3261976/minimalist-open-plan-perfect-cats-hong-kong-home-bespoke-feline-furniture-and-hidden-storage-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3261976/minimalist-open-plan-perfect-cats-hong-kong-home-bespoke-feline-furniture-and-hidden-storage-space?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2024 03:15:09 +0000 Think of Hong Kong’s most renowned buildings and chances are something designed by a famous overseas architect comes to mind. IFC? Cesar Pelli. Bank of China Tower? I.M. Pei. HSBC Building? Norman Foster. Raymond Fung Wing-kee wants to change that. His book, Untold Stories: Hong Kong Architecture, sheds light on 70 local buildings and urban spaces designed by Hong Kong architects. It has been a long time coming. “I had the idea in 1977 or ’78 when I came back from the States,” he says. “I was so... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3261745/70-extraordinary-hong-kong-buildings-and-urban-spaces-designed-local-architects-feature-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3261745/70-extraordinary-hong-kong-buildings-and-urban-spaces-designed-local-architects-feature-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2024 23:15:17 +0000 Visiting Kai Tak for the first time can be a bewildering experience. An entirely new neighbourhood has emerged after years of walled-off construction on the site of Hong Kong’s former airport, studded with gleaming landmarks such as Airside, a shopping centre developed by Nan Fung and designed by Norwegian architects Snohetta. But deep inside this slick mall is Gate33, an art space that reflects the older, more familiar parts of the city that surround Kai Tak. That is especially true in its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3260120/hong-kong-story-typography-exhibition-explores-old-kowloon-communities-around-gleaming-new-kai-tak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3260120/hong-kong-story-typography-exhibition-explores-old-kowloon-communities-around-gleaming-new-kai-tak?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2024 04:45:23 +0000 Hong Kong business owners Raymond and Christina Chiu have close family ties to a certain high-rise development in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. Since the building was completed in 2006, the couple, their two now-adult daughters and Raymond’s parents had all bought flats in the multi-tower estate, choosing to live close to each other but independently. After the elderly couple died, Raymond and Christina were preparing to move into their apartment, and opted for continuity and consistency with their... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3259590/not-what-you-see-what-you-feel-timeless-luxury-2000-sq-ft-hong-kong-apartment-couples-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3259590/not-what-you-see-what-you-feel-timeless-luxury-2000-sq-ft-hong-kong-apartment-couples-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Apr 2024 03:25:38 +0000 Their daughters may be aged just four and five, but Eva Lee, a nurse, and Patrick Tam, a doctor, gave them a big say in the decoration of the family’s new home in Ho Man Tin, in Kowloon, Hong Kong. As for themselves, the couple wanted Chill Interior Design to provide overall sophistication. The young family were moving from a much smaller home, where everyone had been packed into one bedroom. Now with two bedrooms and two bath­rooms, the 1,000 sq ft (93 square metre) flat offered the opportunity... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3258502/barbie-dreamhouse-inspired-hong-kong-family-home-packed-hidden-storage-feels-just-right-when-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3258502/barbie-dreamhouse-inspired-hong-kong-family-home-packed-hidden-storage-feels-just-right-when-you?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 03:15:15 +0000 Hong Kong’s split personality – so urban and yet so close to nature – is one of the things that make the city special. These contrasts, and the balance between them, inspired the design concept for British designer Ella Bridgland’s latest project: transforming a 1,100 sq ft apartment in Mid-Levels from outdated to outstanding. Her client, a young professional, wanted a tranquil home environment to offset his busy lifestyle and a welcoming space for entertaining friends. Although the property had... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3257978/chic-urban-pad-thats-also-comforting-and-inviting-its-mix-textures-invoking-nature-hong-kong-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3257978/chic-urban-pad-thats-also-comforting-and-inviting-its-mix-textures-invoking-nature-hong-kong-high?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Apr 2024 03:15:13 +0000 In 2001, Katie de Tilly opened her art gallery at 10 Chancery Lane in SoHo, on Hong Kong Island. In 2002, she had her fourth child. In 2003, she and her investor husband, Georges, game for another challenge, bought a house on top of a hill in the New Territories. It was just after the Sars epidemic, when the public debate was whether property in Hong Kong was a wise investment. What some of their friends wondered, however, was how the highly sociable de Tillys were going to manage in such a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3256055/art-part-furniture-hong-kong-family-home-remote-hilltop-house-unmatched-views-and-rooms-inspire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3256055/art-part-furniture-hong-kong-family-home-remote-hilltop-house-unmatched-views-and-rooms-inspire?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Mar 2024 04:45:13 +0000 What do you picture at mention of the word “library”? Mountains? Rivers? Trees? Rice paddies? Correct. At least in the case of shimmering new knowledge repository the Beijing City Library – which is where you’ll also find the planet’s largest library reading space, ratified by Guinness World Records. At 21,809 square metres (235,000 square feet), the cavernous expanse incorporates the dominant section of a building that might look intergalactic to some of its target audience: all sorts of people... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3255336/worlds-biggest-library-reading-space-beijing-was-inspired-nature-and-designed-be-place-where?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3255336/worlds-biggest-library-reading-space-beijing-was-inspired-nature-and-designed-be-place-where?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Mar 2024 05:15:10 +0000 Incorporating a client’s favourite colour into a contemporary interior scheme can prove challenging for a designer. Happily for Christy Tang Ka-ki, creative director at MT Design, the preferred hue was avocado – a colour not only currently on trend, but also known for its soothing qualities. As London-based cultural historian Kassia St Clair writes in her 2016 book The Secret Lives of Colour, avocado is universally “shorthand for nature”, and following a ubiquitous reign in the 1970s, the author... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3254646/minimalist-hong-kong-apartment-has-avocado-shorthand-nature-colour-choice-renovation-plays-french?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3254646/minimalist-hong-kong-apartment-has-avocado-shorthand-nature-colour-choice-renovation-plays-french?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 03:15:10 +0000 In a world where speed and convenience have become a siren song to consumers, there’s a movement toward buying more mindfully, sustainably, slowly. You’ve heard of slow fashion. Slow food. Slow travel. Now, when it comes to the home, there’s “slow decorating”. A reaction against rooms filled with mass-produced “fast furniture”, slow decorating embraces a more deliberate approach that prioritises a personal connection to the things we live with. It might mean giving new life to heirloom or found... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3254472/how-slow-decorating-new-sustainable-home-trend-fighting-against-fast-furniture-ikea-encompassing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3254472/how-slow-decorating-new-sustainable-home-trend-fighting-against-fast-furniture-ikea-encompassing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Mar 2024 10:15:18 +0000 To future-proof living arrange­ments for her parents as they enter their ninth decade, Chris Wu asked LittleMORE Interior Design to tailor for them a perfect retirement home. Although both are fit and healthy, their daughter is mindful that their needs may change. Their 48-year-old, 510 sq ft (47 square metre) apartment in Tai Hang on Hong Kong Island, bought in 2023, came with some “remarkable features” – notably, abundant natural light and serene city views. It is also close to Wu’s own... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3253593/perfect-retirement-home-510-sq-ft-hong-kong-apartment-renovation-bauhaus-approach-designed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3253593/perfect-retirement-home-510-sq-ft-hong-kong-apartment-renovation-bauhaus-approach-designed?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 03:21:25 +0000 “What is home?” In the past few months that question, printed on the side of an Australian museum’s cloth bag, has followed me around literally and in my head. (Un)settled, with a new Sydney address, I find myself ruminating on my changed circumstances and about familial duty as well as final destination. My “homebound” answer, however, has much to do with a blue, two-storey village house in Sai Kung, in Hong Kong’s New Territories. In the early noughties, that 1,200 sq ft (111 square metre)... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3252769/no-place-home-hong-kong-villages-blue-house-has-evolved-times-remains-place-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3252769/no-place-home-hong-kong-villages-blue-house-has-evolved-times-remains-place-return?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Feb 2024 03:15:12 +0000 Some hotels move you to tears. Some leave you wistful; others blissful. So if you are told your hotel has been designed with buckets of Emotionalism, you might start searching for an adjective. You will also be missing the point – if only partly. Emotionalism in architecture: philosophy; movement; dream. It is founded on human emotions – with a name like that, what else? – but it is also a slippery intellectual concept. So when you check into The Blue, in Taipei, you are checking into not just a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251911/taiwans-capital-lies-hotel-so-captivating-city-paused-moment-blue-has-been-designed-emotionalism-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251911/taiwans-capital-lies-hotel-so-captivating-city-paused-moment-blue-has-been-designed-emotionalism-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Feb 2024 04:45:17 +0000 Travelling along Victoria Road by Mount Davis in Sai Wan is a treat for the eyes. The road’s proximity to the sea and a rare absence of high-rises by the coast offer a view of Victoria Harbour that feels boundless. The University of Chicago’s Hong Kong campus, which opened in 2018, is a perfect spot to take in the view of rolling waves. But don’t let the tranquillity fool you. Just over 80 years ago, this is where the imperial Japanese and the British colonial armies fought one of the earliest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251806/how-hong-kong-university-campus-reveals-darker-past-war-and-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251806/how-hong-kong-university-campus-reveals-darker-past-war-and-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Feb 2024 04:45:09 +0000 Having a home on a high floor with a harbour view is the holy grail for many a Hongkonger but architectural designer Gary Chang Chee-keung, founder of EDGE Design Institute, believes you should never underestimate the charm of a mountain view. When asked to redesign a 1,800 sq ft (167 square metre) flat on a low floor in a complex in Jardine’s Lookout in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, he took the intense vegetation, which the property overlooks, as the central theme for his design. “I’m not... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251563/empty-nesters-home-renovation-art-deco-touches-exploits-tree-setting-create-restful-interior-natural?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251563/empty-nesters-home-renovation-art-deco-touches-exploits-tree-setting-create-restful-interior-natural?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:15:11 +0000 Great things often stem from simple beginnings. American interior designer Jocelyn Liipfert Lam, of LIIPSTIIK, adopted a line as the driving force behind the design concept for her most recent project, a 2,100 sq ft (195 square metre) village house in Shui Hau, on South Lantau in Hong Kong. While spending time getting to know her clients and discovering the type of interior they envisaged for their home, she was struck by one of their art pieces – a single-line drawing by Aung Myint, the father... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3249579/hong-kong-village-house-given-balinese-vibe-japanese-wabi-sabi-touches-and-scandinavian-style?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3249579/hong-kong-village-house-given-balinese-vibe-japanese-wabi-sabi-touches-and-scandinavian-style?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jan 2024 03:15:08 +0000 In the cult British television series Grand Designs, presenter Kevin McCloud followed the progress of high-end construction projects, adding colour and drama by noting the usual hitches, delays and cost overruns. More than a showcase for wow-factor architecture, the series offered insight into the emotional roller coaster owner-builders go through while doggedly pursuing their dreams. In 2021, the then 30-year-old Russian property developer Felix Demin had an idea to build a Grand Designs-worthy... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3249693/it-was-nightmare-why-worlds-first-luxury-villa-plane-bali-was-so-tough-build-according-russian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3249693/it-was-nightmare-why-worlds-first-luxury-villa-plane-bali-was-so-tough-build-according-russian?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jan 2024 23:15:09 +0000 Mercifully, no one was at home when Typhoon Mangkhut ploughed into the Southern district seaside residence that Georgina and John Boyle had bought a year earlier, destroying the first-floor main bedroom. The couple had been living elsewhere at the time, unable to justify remodelling the Chung Hom Kok show house they had chosen not for its interior decor, which wasn’t to their taste, but for its location to the south on Hong Kong Island and its views. That intense 2018 storm provided the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3248761/beautiful-durable-couples-design-brief-seaside-house-produces-light-airy-hong-kong-family-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3248761/beautiful-durable-couples-design-brief-seaside-house-produces-light-airy-hong-kong-family-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Jan 2024 03:15:10 +0000 “No other place in the whole island represents the trouser-wearing, cricket-watching modern Sri Lankan like Galle Fort,” says tour guide Shanjei Perumal, founder of Galle Fort Walks. Perumal leads his guests along the ramparts of the 17th-century Unesco Heritage site, which overlooks the Indian Ocean in southern Sri Lanka, and through its narrow, cobblestone streets, past sun-dappled, bougainvillea-draped walls and serendipitously placed bicycles that make for irresistible photo... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3248897/galle-literary-festivals-art-trail-features-exhibitions-open-houses-and-artists-tours-and-turns-sri?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3248897/galle-literary-festivals-art-trail-features-exhibitions-open-houses-and-artists-tours-and-turns-sri?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jan 2024 01:45:17 +0000 For a renovation of the first home they bought together, Anna and Emmanuel Fan had their heart set on modern American country-style decor. That might have worked for the duplex that was the couple’s first choice, but not for the triplex they ended up buying after the first transaction fell through. While there was plenty of space overall in the 2,380 sq ft four-bedroom, three-bathroom Mid-Levels apartment, YC Chen, founder of design studio hoo, suggested that its narrow floor plate would be... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3248131/perfect-us-hong-kong-triplex-apartments-modern-nordic-design-wins-over-clients-initially-set?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3248131/perfect-us-hong-kong-triplex-apartments-modern-nordic-design-wins-over-clients-initially-set?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Jan 2024 03:15:15 +0000 The renovation of Chris Yim’s two-bedroom Mid-Levels flat, on Hong Kong Island, was a bit of a chain reaction. One idea led to another and what started out as a fairly restricted brief for interior designer Amy Butler, of House of Butler, eventually snowballed into a full-blown makeover – and a wonderful friendship. After Yim’s tenants vacated the 760 sq ft (71 square metre) flat, he decided to move back and enjoy a quieter side to Hong Kong than his then location in Central district. He felt... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3247226/white-white-minimalist-hong-kong-home-dream-living-space-two-bedroom-flat-both-designer-worthy-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3247226/white-white-minimalist-hong-kong-home-dream-living-space-two-bedroom-flat-both-designer-worthy-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jan 2024 03:15:10 +0000 The Union Church has existed in Hong Kong for nearly 180 years, and in that time, it has called five buildings home. The first opened in Central district on Hollywood Road in 1844, followed by one on Staunton Street in 1866 and then Kennedy Road in 1890. That last church was destroyed during World War II and its replacement, completed in 1949, met the wrecking ball in 2017. Now, after six years of construction, the latest iteration of the church has opened with architecture that is decidedly... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3246843/hong-kongs-newest-skyscraper-church-look-inside-union-church-and-its-contemporary-design-gives-nod?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3246843/hong-kongs-newest-skyscraper-church-look-inside-union-church-and-its-contemporary-design-gives-nod?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jan 2024 05:15:10 +0000 Spaces for daydreaming and classes among trees: school was never like this, back in the day. However, that’s the reality for students at Huizhen High School in Ningbo, a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The innovative campus design of the boarding school, completed in May 2022, won World Building of the Year 2023 at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore this month. In contrast to China’s “efficiency first” education model, Hangzhou-based Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245220/world-building-year-2023-how-architecture-chinas-award-winning-school-campus-helps-students-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3245220/world-building-year-2023-how-architecture-chinas-award-winning-school-campus-helps-students-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Dec 2023 10:15:12 +0000 “The Housing Authority will build a new estate on Clearwater Bay Road, with accommodation for 43,500 people in 7,630 flats,” reported the South China Morning Post on May 3, 1960. “It will be one of the largest domestic housing schemes in the Far East when it is completed at the end of 1963 […] “Eight 20-storey blocks, as well as an interconnecting seven-storey building raised on stilts will be constructed on a 27-acre site at the junction of Clearwater Bay Road, Choi Hung Road and Kun Tong... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3244138/when-work-one-hong-kongs-most-instagram-friendly-places-choi-hung-estate-was-announced-and-day-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3244138/when-work-one-hong-kongs-most-instagram-friendly-places-choi-hung-estate-was-announced-and-day-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Dec 2023 03:15:17 +0000 You might assume it would be easy for an architect to design his own home, but the way Georges Hung Huai-che describes it, he had so many ideas it was hard to settle on a final concept. He and his wife, Page Richards, an academic and artist, even lived in the 500 sq ft (46 square metre) apartment in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island for three months before renovating so they could play around with various schemes and work out what to prioritise. “By living here first, we were able to see how we... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3244061/he-made-minimalist-airy-hong-kong-home-tells-story-architect-wanted-authentic-timeless-design-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3244061/he-made-minimalist-airy-hong-kong-home-tells-story-architect-wanted-authentic-timeless-design-and?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Dec 2023 04:45:11 +0000 Given all the recent hype about the predictive capacity of AI – artificial intelligence – of course machines would weigh in on the next big thing in home interiors. Say hello to Superdwell, an AI-powered online interior design platform built by Finland-based British techpreneur Tom Puukko. It’s tipping that soft forms, biophilic design and colour (neo-neutral and bold accents) will top the trend table in 2024. It’s no surprise that the integration of technology ranks highly (in sixth place) in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3244027/interior-design-trends-2024-tech-towels-terracotta-bold-marble-faux-nature-curves-experts-and-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3244027/interior-design-trends-2024-tech-towels-terracotta-bold-marble-faux-nature-curves-experts-and-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Dec 2023 20:15:08 +0000 Along a narrow path through a centuries-old village sits a grey-brick house with granite blocks around the doorway. Built in 1927, this relatively grand construction recalls one of Hong Kong’s far-flung New Territories villages, decades past their prime with a few remaining elderly residents. But this is Ngau Chi Wan, in northeast Kowloon, still conveniently located for residents working in the city. Through the house’s open doorway, in a subdivided flat, Chun Man, an infant boy, lies asleep in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:15:14 +0000 It’s after school on a weekday and Sai Kung’s three Perry children are out playing, somewhere. Mother Jenny isn’t fussing over their whereabouts, explaining, “I’ll just message the community WhatsApp group and say, ‘Can someone send my kids home for dinner?’” Space and a neighbourly atmosphere were prerequisites for this British-Chinese family who will “always call Hong Kong home”. The village house they bought in 2019 had both in spades. In a private villa development built in the early 1990s,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3242523/enlarged-windows-glass-bricks-and-balustrades-allow-light-flow-through-hong-kong-village-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3242523/enlarged-windows-glass-bricks-and-balustrades-allow-light-flow-through-hong-kong-village-home-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 03:15:17 +0000 Spacemen have visited Sai Kung. Repeatedly. Led by Alan Cheung Kwok-lun, their mission was partly to assess the spatial impact of a host of artworks now gracing several outlying islands. While these works might not carry the shock value of the infamous Monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey, some of them are undeniably otherworldly. Cheung, co-founder of the Sheung Wan-based One Bite Design Studio, is curator of the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival, now in its second of three planned annual... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3242286/18-captivating-artworks-4-islands-hong-kong-festival-draws-visitors-lives-and-histories-sai-kungs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3242286/18-captivating-artworks-4-islands-hong-kong-festival-draws-visitors-lives-and-histories-sai-kungs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Nov 2023 04:45:16 +0000 “I love this building, I’m sentimental about it,” says Mark Cho Ying-cheng one recent afternoon in Central’s Pedder Building on Hong Kong Island. He is sitting on the fifth floor, to where The Armoury, the menswear store he co-founded with Alan See in 2010, has relocated from the third floor. Behind him, over cloth bales of sumptuous quality, Pino Luciano from Neapolitan tailors Orazio Luciano, who is in town for a trunk show, confers discreetly with male customers. (Women are catered for but... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3241604/slow-and-low-key-bespoke-hong-kong-shopping-centre-pedder-arcade-adds-touch-london-sophistication?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3241604/slow-and-low-key-bespoke-hong-kong-shopping-centre-pedder-arcade-adds-touch-london-sophistication?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 23:15:07 +0000 In Konstantin Bessmertny and Gala Bessmertnaia’s Macau bedroom, there’s a small black-and-white photograph taken 35 years ago in Kazakhstan on their wedding day. It’s probably the simplest artefact in a vivid house: it shows two young people dwarfed by what looks like an ocean. “The desert,” explains Gala, who grew up there, when Kazakhstan was still part of the Soviet Union. Konstantin’s childhood was spent in Siberia, in the border city of Blagoveshchensk, whose inhabitants had a ringside view... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3240883/my-heart-here-unlovely-empty-house-macau-turned-creative-couple-stunning-retreat-filled-art-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3240883/my-heart-here-unlovely-empty-house-macau-turned-creative-couple-stunning-retreat-filled-art-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Nov 2023 03:15:09 +0000 Walk around British designer Alexander Lamont’s showroom in Bangkok’s Warehouse 30 complex, and you might find yourself puzzling over the materials used to create some of his beautiful objects. Those buxom rings wrapped around his Bristol Vase? They look like wood, but they’re actually parchment. The delicate-looking exterior of that Pointillist Vessel? Not preserved jackfruit, but irregularly shaped verdigris bronze beads, which are heavier than lead. In stroking tabletops and brushing your... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3240049/alchemy-alexander-lamont-designer-whos-reimagined-luxury-sophisticated-casual-era-seen-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3240049/alchemy-alexander-lamont-designer-whos-reimagined-luxury-sophisticated-casual-era-seen-mandarin?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Nov 2023 04:45:18 +0000