A couple sees their new home turned into a sanctuary that has the space for entertainment and relaxation.
The pandemic has brought about many changes in our lives, reshaping our concept of home and how we use our spaces is one. When a couple decided to makeover their newly purchased home on Old Peak Road, interior designer Tommy Choi’s ingenuity was put to the test.
“This isn’t our first time working together so we know the clients well and understand what they need,” Choi says. “Because of the pandemic, the couple is inviting friends over more often, and given they live with a toddler and a pet, space is a big part of the brief.”
The 2,270 square-foot abode is housed in a residential building built in the late 1980s and blessed with a square and practical backbone. Choi adjusted the layout slightly by placing the former maid’s room into the kitchen and storage room so the property delivers as the family needs it to.
Now it’s home to a spacious living and dining room, a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a study and a guest room, with lots of floorspace for the little one and the four-legged friend to roam around as needed. A thoughtful detail has gone into the pet-friendly ceramic tiling that’s stain and water-resistant: the radiant floor heating means no more shock of waking up to icy floors.
According to Choi, the dwelling has to fulfil two main functions: entertain friends and family, and everyday living. That the couple has a penchant for cooking and occasionally hires private chefs at home explains the phenomenal dining area-cum-open kitchen that is literally a chef’s dream come true.
Geared with an oven and induction stove, the dining area doubling as a bar top/chef table gives the cook plenty of headroom to prepare a variety of Chinese and Western cuisines, not to mention the perfect place for after-dinner banter. As the living and dining area exists under the same roof, the pendant lamp from In-es.artdesign, suspended above the dining table, visually splits up the two zones.
For Choi, the décor has achieved exactly the effect he intended. “Treading somewhere between sterile and over-the-top opulence, we went for a modern French style which translates into warm hues and clean lines,” he says.
It takes dexterity and practice in restraint to add just the right doses of richness and splendour so it impresses whoever walks through the front door, and still feels like somewhere you want to spend time. Some of the design details such as splashes of gold plating, artistic wall coating, posh marble, and statement lighting fixtures from the likes of Tom Dixon and Lee Broom, have immeasurably improved the ambience. While the chic minimalism feels right at home, some of the white blank spaces are there by design.
“The husband has a huge collection of red wine, cigars and drawings. Instead of overwhelming the spaces with patterns and colours, we included blank spaces like the white walls in the living room and the display shelf in the study to display the fine collection,” Choi explains. “Whether you’re entertaining, eating or just relaxing in here, the home just works so well.”
To say the family has found the sanctuary they needed under the new normal wouldn’t be an overstatement.
