Pretty much everyone dreams of spending their retirement years somewhere truly special, a luxurious sanctuary where their years of labour will be rewarded. While, for many, it may remain an elusive idyll, one retired Hong Kong couple may have secured just such an idyllic home, courtesy of a luxury apartment in Kowloon Tong’s Pearl Court complex. To ensure their retirement retreat meets their expectations in every way, they have also commandeered the services of two of the city’s leading interior designers – Alain Wong and Ada Cheung of Comodo Interior and Furniture Design.

Nestled in Beacon Hill in Kowloon Tong, Pearl Court’s setting is far removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown Hong Kong, with a genteel suburbanity permeating throughout the neighbourhood. The sense of discreet refinement only intensifies when you cross the threshold of this spacious 1,846sq.ft apartment, which comprises two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study, a living room, ample storage space and a state-of-the-art kitchen.

With the newly-retired owners keen to devote their energies to their burgeoning fine art collection, the design brief was to accommodate their interests at every turn, creating a space that was part luxury residence, part gallery, and part secure storage. To deliver on this, the design team opted to create a wide aisle distance between the shared spaces – notably the living / dining room – and the bedrooms and study, with the result being the kind of enhanced wall estate required to do justice to their cherished purchases.

As well as display areas, these art collectors also required ready access to secure storage. While the price paid for this was the loss of a guest room, the integration of automated shelving and retrieving facilities were essential given the residents’ advanced years. In another bold move, the designers converted part of the existing living room into a second bedroom. Not only did this create a cozier communal space, it also allowed a number of structural supports to be discreetly recessed as part of the feature-fitted wardrobes.

Wherever possible, the designers also took full advantage of any pre-existing nooks and recesses, typically bedecking them with shelving or display spaces as a way of optimising the number of show points for the owners’ many artworks and literary resources.

Moving on to the bedrooms – in the specified separate his-and-hers varieties – the focus is solely on comfort. The headboards in each bedroom are finished in veneer and light grey fabric, creating a rich, warm restive ambience. A more elegant touch, meanwhile, comes courtesy of the wood-textured wallpaper, replete with bronze and steel detailing.

The study room, by contrast, is notably more frugal, with its minimalistic aesthetics allowing the space to truly breathe. It does, however, contain artfully hidden resources, with a folding guest bed tucked away within an apparently nonchalant storage space.

This minimalist approach extends to the bathrooms. While incorporating elegant overtures – note the marble-top counters and oversized bathtub – these are spaces that are in tune with the needs of its post-retirement residents. This sees bright lighting and support bars all deployed, but in a way that never lets their utility disrupt the rooms’ understated contours.

In the end, Pearl Court’s triumph, of course, lies in the undoubted delivery of a residence that functions as both a lively art gallery and an opportunity to live artfully.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay
Photos: Comodo Interior and Furniture Design