Even on an overcast day, light pours generously into Catherine Taylor’s home in Stanley.
From her vantage point, the sea and sky appear to merge, giving the sensation that the apartment is floating in mid air. This tranquility is playfully punctuated by a colourful array of decor pieces and contemporary art, which are set against the all-white interiors. Scroll through the gallery below (Photography: Edgar Tapan; Styling: Anji Connell) to experience the elegant design:
Catherine, the founder of Grange Interiors, and her husband Robin happily came back to Hong Kong in 2010. “We made a conscious decision to live in a different location for a new experience. On our wish list was natural light, a nice view and outdoor space,” she says. They worked with Habitat Property, who knew of their previous Hong Kong flats and had a good grasp of their taste.
“We chose it from the UK without seeing it. I love how they found a place with great light and views. I also like the higher ceilings that are consistent with older apartment blocks,” says Catherine.
The apartment’s relaxed location and airy feel is enhanced by a spacious open- plan living and dining room, which is rendered in a complex palette of colours, tones and textures. Here, the mix of modern and vintage furniture reveals the couple’s deep appreciation for beautifully crafted pieces. “We both love going to auction houses and collecting art,” says Catherine. And it definitely shows.
At the far end of the room, a striking, dark green, circular artwork from Studio Rouge is placed above a black cabinet and flanked by vintage peony lamps. Their dining area is noteworthy – a French, vintage, glass chandelier immediately draws one’s gaze upward; Ming chairs and Louis Ghost armchairs from Aluminium surround the dining table; and the table itself is set with beautiful, hand-painted Marie Daâge tableware, available from Grange Interiors.
The living room is where Catherine surrounds herself with comfortable pieces, such as the Flexform sofas from Le Cadre, as well as favourites from her store. She keeps a chair and footstool designed by John Smedley, and cushions from avant-garde Scottish designers Timorous Beasties and Istanbul-based Yastik by Rifat Özbekin.
Catherine also designed the newly renovated kitchen, which is both sleek and functional. The units are white with a grey glass backsplash, and a large cupboard with clear glass doors alows her to display and store her collection of gorgeous tableware.
In the master bedroom, a giant pine tree dominates the view in the main window. Opulent, lime green dupion silk drapes frame the windows, from which one can also take in vistas of the beach and beyond. Peppered around the room are glamourous accents: a purple accent chair from Designers Guild, a vintage starburst mirror, and perfume bottles and boxes resting on the antique French desk that were snapped up at an auction. A nude painting found in Hanoi cements Catherine’s relaxed and beautiful style.
Using Henrietta Spencer Churchill’s Classic Georgian Style as a guide, Catherine decorated her home with symmetry, proportion and balance in mind. This has resulted in a wonderful and warm space that showcases the design aesthetic behind the collections found at Grange Interiors. Now that her passion is her work, Catherine’s only problem “is not taking all the stock home.”
