Back in 5 years ago, Hong Kong lawyers Raymond and Joyce pinned an interiors project by Hintegro that they saw on an English newspaper, but the couple was yet to have a plan to renovate nor purchase a property. A serval years later, the couple decided to own a two-bedroom, two-bathroom Mid-levels apartment so they recalled and reached out to Hintegro to make their dream place happened.

At a casual chat, Joyce says “I must admit that our design brief was vague, we only showed Keith a few favourite projects from the new clippings, and we knew we like Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics but that was all.” Despite this, Hintegro was able to come up with a design scheme that the couple was happy with, in consideration of creating an untypical Hong Kong 1,166 sq.ft home for the young couple returned from Australia.

Integrating the kitchen and dining area for better interactions
Due to the structural limitation of the 50-year-old building, the floor plan had to be kept as original. One of the main considerations was whether to open up the kitchen for an integrated space. Worrying the cons like leaking the cooking smoke and smell, Hintegro counter proposed to build a sliding window that can be closed to keep all the cooking work contained within the kitchen, but still allows interactions between the kitchen, living and dining area, in particular to look after their 4-year-old boy Ethan.

Co-created furniture by Hintegro, local carpenter and the client
One of the highlights in the dining area is the rounded walnut dining table. Designer Sunny and carpenter Ken Chow of Yat Muk co-designed and handmade the dining table with Joyce’s input. The legs of the circular table were designed to cater the maximum comfort of everyone sitting around it and the table itself was formed with minimal wood wastage.

“I wanted to support the young generation of craftsmen in Hong Kong and create a very personal piece. It is designed to fit in anywhere and will be hopefully passed on to Ethan and generations.” says Joyce.

An untypical Hong Kong living area to encourage conversations

The couple craved for a brighter wall colour in the living area to add a mid-century modern mood. After a few attempts of blue, green and other colours, Joyce remembered a touch of yellow in a Scandinavian café, that prompted a catchy lemon yellow was in place in the living area. As an amateur vintage furniture collector, Joyce also sourced a vintage armchair by female Danish designer Grete Jalk from a shop in Taiwan, which she placed either side of the Samsung The Frame TV screen. Unlike typical Hong Kong homes, the couple wanted to encourage interactions and conversations at the living room, instead of just sitting together to watch a screen on a cabinet.

The balcony near the living room is one of the favourite corners for family times like ‘alfresco dining’ and ‘beach party’. To balance safety and aesthetics, Hintegro strung transparent and thin wires which is typically used to keep pets and kids safe in apartments, meanwhile allowing light and fresh air to circulate and doesn’t ruin the beautiful views.

Midas Touch in Master Bedroom with Japanese-inspired Bathroom
In the master bedroom, Raymond and Joyce would like to add some blue tone, so Hintegro proposed painting the wall near the headboard in navy blue as a touch but not too overwhelming. At the entrance to the walk-in closet on the right, Sunny added a little twist with an arched sliding door. In the master bathroom, it presents an elegant and calming vibe with the sky blue featured tiles, accessories in copper colours like the Hansgrohe shower and faucet, and a custom-made masonry bathtub inspired by Japanese onsen.

A Forward-thinking Kid’s Room
In order to cope with different stages of Ethan, the kid’s bedroom is in open plan without any built-in furniture for now. Meanwhile, Hintegro came up with several floorplans to depict how the room might look in 5, 10 and 15 years and incorporated spare plug sockets for future studying areas.

Corridor as a travel memory lane
Connecting the kitchen from the front door to the heart of the apartment, the corridor was inspired by functional mudrooms, with spaces for wet umbrellas, bikes and shoes. Floor tiles were laid to facilitate cleaning, with a rectangle of mosaic tiles emulating a decorative runner and brightening the space. The couple first met the colourful coat hooks in an Airbnb in New York and took a picture for home ideas. Now they are in place in their new home adding some fun and colours for a family with a kid.

Team:

Design & Build: Hintegro 

Designer Director: Keith Chan

Designers: Sunny Lai, Rebecca Yu

Scope of Work: Design and Build

Photographer: Keith Chan