appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Oliver Giles

It seemed simple on paper. A young couple with two children, a two-year-old and a six-month-old, asked Max Lam Tsz-hong to modern­ise their 1,400 sq ft, three-storey house in Yuen Long. The property didn’t require reconfiguring, just brightening up. So far, so good.
But when Lam, of Max Lam Designs, visited the house, he realised it wouldn’t be that easy.
“The previous owner had lived in the house for 20 to 30 years,” he says. “Inside, the decor was old-fashioned and it was very, very dark. It felt like there wasn’t enough air in the house.”
Dream Hong Kong weekend retreat blends modern and rustic seamlessly
At least the space was well planned. The ground floor includes a foyer, a storeroom and a small toilet as well as an open-plan kitchen and a dining area that leads out on to a 600 sq ft terrace. Above that are the living room and an en-suite master bed­room. On the top level are the children’s room, a bathroom and an en-suite guest room.
Determined to let in extra light, Lam began investigating where he could add windows to the house. He discovered a disused water tank on top of the staircase house on the roof and removed it to install a skylight.
“A skylight would bring light down into the centre of the house,” he says. “It even made the space feel more airy.”
Lam added another window by the top of the stairs, just below the skylight, and replaced the handrails with clear glass panels, allowing light from the roof to filter right into the living room.
Installing glass where the staircase had been walled off had another, unintend­ed, effect. “The kids can see when mummy is coming downstairs and turn the TV off before she gets there,” Lam says.
The bookshelf is an optical illusion; it extends the height of the space. It draws your eyes upwards and also draws attention to the internal window on the staircase
Max Lam
The designer didn’t want the artificial light to feel a poor second to the enhanced sunlight. “We used a mixture of decorative lighting, down spotlighting, wall lighting,” Lam says. “This means the lighting can serve different purposes. The owners often invite family and friends over for parties, so they like to have lighting modes. It can be bright, or party mode, or romantic.”
Because the couple work from home, it was important for some rooms to be as multi­functional as the lighting.
Hong Kong extreme makeover has glass wall bathroom as flat’s focal point
“In the bedroom and living area we installed desks and in the dining room there’s obviously a big table,” Lam says. “And there’s space for the kids to play alongside them in all the rooms.”
The owners also requested that Lam connect the ground floor with the 600 sq ft garden, which originally felt detached from the house.
“We heightened part of the garden wall, so it was the same height as the kitchen wall,” Lam explains. “This gives more privacy, but we then covered the external wall in the same tiles we used in the kitchen. The tiles are perfectly aligned, so it all feels like one space.”
Lam repeated this trick with the flooring, using the same floor tiles in the kitchen and dining room as on the terrace steps outside.
In this spacious Hong Kong flat, less really is more
In the living area, Lam added a dramatic open-front, built-in cabinet.
“The bookshelf is an optical illusion; it extends the height of the space,” he says. “It draws your eyes upwards and also draws attention to the internal window on the staircase.”
Lam’s innovative renovation of the house won him an award in this year’s A’ Design Competition, which is for designers who want to highlight their work to attract the attention of the media and buyers.
“All I wanted was for the house to feel more spacious, lighter, airy,” he says. “I think it’s worked out well.” ■

Exterior To conceal a door to a storage room on the left of the entrance, interior designer Max Lam clad the ground floor of the house in wooden panelling (HK$350 per square foot).

Hallway The orange Ogi Armchair (HK$17,580) and print (HK$1,800) were from BoConcept. Lam custom built the cabinet (HK$12,000) and mirror (HK$3,800).

Kitchen and terrace The white floor tiles in the kitchen and on the terrace steps (HK$80 per square foot) were from Pacific Collection. Kitspert built the kitchen for HK$120,000, excluding appliances. The bar stools came from the clients’ previous home. The white Konstantin Grcic Chair_One (HK$3,000) was from Magis. The glass dining table (HK$11,690) and Ottawa grey dining chair (HK$4,989) were from BoConcept, which was also the source for the Adelaide grey chairs (HK$4,247 each) and coffee tables (HK$1,589 and HK$1,499) on the terrace.

Living room Lam designed and installed a bookshelf (HK$42,000) that draws attention to the height of the ceiling in the living room. The sofa (HK$38,735), rug (HK$9,000), coffee tables (HK$3,699 each) and Imola chair and ottoman (HK$39,258 for both) all came from BoConcept.

Master bedroom The bed (HK$15,800) and wall-to-wall desk (HK$22,000) were designed and installed by Lam. The wall lamps came from the clients’ previous home. The desk lamp (HK$3,959) was from BoConcept. The oak flooring (HK$60 per square foot) came from Quick Step.

Master bathroom The hotel-spa-inspired bathroom features a wooden privacy screen (see Tried + tested), counter (HK$12,500) and stone countertop (HK$9,000) all designed by Lam. The wall tiles (HK$80 per square foot) were from Pacific Collection.

Stairwell To ensure sunlight from the skylight reaches the lower floors, Lam replaced a wall in the stairwell with glass. Downstairs, in the living room, are a Cupertino desk (HK$9,199) and chair (HK$2,629) from BoConcept.

Tried + tested
Screen sensation “The couple wanted the master bathroom to feel like a spa,” Max Lam says. “They said they wanted it to feel like they were on vacation in Thailand or Bali.” With limited space to play with, Lam knew he would have to create the spa aesthetic through his use of materials rather than any major bathroom furniture. “I decided not to use a lot of marble or gold or brass, to just keep it clean. There’s a big window in the bathroom. It’s frosted glass, so very private, but I installed a wooden panel along it to make it feel more luxurious and romantic. It still lets plenty of natural light in, but the wood also looks good under artificial light at night.” The wooden screen cost HK$13,000.


This Hong Kong home was designed to be family-friendly without feeling immaculate

Inside Cantopop singer Jude Tsang and property investor Kevin Yeung’s Hong Kong home

Feng shui and art guide a 1,400 sq ft Hong Kong apartment’s redesign

3 eye-catching home decor items from Ginger & Jagger, Panconesi and Marc Newson x Taschen

Hong Kong interior design

How Hong Kong house went from dark and dingy to bright, airy family home

Designer Max Lam employed all the tricks in his arsenal to turn an old-fashioned house in Yuen Long into a home fit for a young family of four

Cohesive Bright Villa courtesy of Max Lam

The terrace blends into the kitchen in this Yuen Long home.

A Yuen Long home designed by Max Lam. Pictures: Max Lam Designs

Dream Hong Kong weekend retreat blends modern and rustic seamlessly

An interior designer snapped up his ideal home and set about creating a space where outdoor living was key

Photography: John Butlin

Home in Yuen Long of Clifton Leung Design Workshop. For Charmaine and DESHOMECLIFTONLEUNG --ONE TIME USE ONLY-- Photo : John Butlin 21AUG17 [FEATURES]

Interior designer Clifton Leung’s home in Yuen Long. Styling: David Roden. Photography: John Butlin. Photography assistant: Timothy Tsang

Hong Kong extreme makeover has glass wall bathroom as flat’s focal point

Tadao Ando-inspired 470 sq ft open-plan apartment in Anglers’ Bay suits open-minded Gimmy Fong, with its walls replaced by sliding panels, open sea views and floor-to-ceiling windows

This handout image shows Floor plan of flat in Anglers' Bay designed by Max Lam of Max Lam Designs, for Charmaine and DESHOMEMAXLAM Credit: courtesy of Max Lam Designs [2017 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE INTERIORS]

--ONE TIME USE ONLY-- This handout image shows Flat in Anglers' Bay designed by Max Lam, of Max Lam Designs. For Charmaine and DESHOMEMAXLAM Credit: Dick Liu [2017 FEATURES POST MAGAZINE INTERIORS]

Photography: Dick Liu

Gimmy Fong’s open-plan home in Anglers’ Bay, Tsing Lung Tau. Photography: Dick Liu

In this spacious Hong Kong flat, less really is more 

Magazines

PostMag

Design & Interiors

Designer Max Lam employed all the tricks in his arsenal to turn an old-fashioned house in Yuen Long into a home fit for a young family of four


How Hong Kong house went from dark and dingy to bright, airy family home

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Designer Max Lam employed all the tricks in his arsenal to turn an old-fashioned house in Yuen Long into a home fit for a young family of four

Designer Max Lam employed all the tricks in his arsenal to turn an old-fashioned house in Yuen Long into a home fit for a young family of four