Flexible and smart design makes the most of light-filled Hong Kong apartment created by combining two units
- Creating one home from two units took a lot of designing, but the solution makes optimal use of the light and air flow at both ends of the apartment in Western
- Styled in blue and green, the three-bedroom apartment for a couple, their toddler and two cats shows a clear division between entertainment and private areas
It took three months and 14 drafts to get the design exactly right for this 1,600 sq ft (149 square metre) apartment renovation in the heart of Western district on Hong Kong Island. “We started with a choice of three options and then went into a lot of redesigns,” explains its lead designer, Emma Maclean of EM Bespoke.
Situated in an older building, the flat was originally two units – one larger than the other – which were to be combined into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, plus helper’s quarters. With the possibility of integrating other neighbouring units in future, the design needed to be smart and flexible.
Maclean, who usually works on commercial projects, called in a regular collaborator, architect Raffaella Bernasconi, director of Bernasconi Design, to help with the design process. “Residential projects take a lot longer [than commercial ones], and we complement each other well: Raffaela is great on the technical side; I’m on client liaison; and we work together on planning the scheme, materials, colours …” Maclean says.
The biggest decision for the clients – a couple with a toddler, two cats and plans for another baby – was the alignment of the open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas to take best advantage of the flat’s double aspect. It has a long balcony at the back and, at the front, access onto a cantilevered eave over the building’s entrance.
The use of blue on the cabinets imparts the space with energy and dynamism
“The clients had to choose between an axis that would have placed all the living areas on either the front or back of the space, or one that gave the living areas access to both [aspects],” Maclean says.
In the final arrangement, the living area at the front of the building flows past the front door to the dining area and kitchen at the back, maximising light and air from both sides of the building. Both the kitchen and the master suite open onto the back balcony, which Maclean calls “an oasis in the heart of the city”.