Space To Grow: While not grand in dimensions, this Kowloon apartment lacks nothing in design elegance or desirability

When it comes to living in Hong Kong, space is always at a premium. With soaring property prices, more and more people are looking for smaller, more efficient living spaces that can cater to their family’s growing needs. Home to a couple and their newborn baby, this King’s Park Villa apartment in Ho Man Tin fits the bill by utilising its maximum capacity. It has been carefully designed as an ideal environment for a small family and their ever-changing lifestyle.

The interior experts at Taste Design were entrusted with realising the owners’ dream home and so began a six-month labour of love. Comfort and utility of space were the main focus when reconfiguring the layout. The mood has been kept natural and elegant, encompassing all the necessities while avoiding any kind of visual clutter. Thus, the apartment, which spans 1,258 square feet over one floor, can adapt promptly to the changing dynamics of a new family.

Upon entering the flat, a warm-themed, spacious living room bedecked in neutral tones welcomes you through a retractable glass partition between the foyer and the lounge. A long, slim cabinet of dark wood is placed beside the main door, matching its colour and allowing handy placement of keys and other essentials for expeditions outside.

Two large floor-to-ceiling windows brighten the living-cum-dining area. One of these is curved, which presented a major design challenge, but was successfully overcome by a seamless blending of the rounded area into the uniform straight lines of today’s residential architecture. The window curvature serves as an attractive backdrop for two bright blue contemporary armchairs placed at right angles to the far end of a comfy grey sofa. Light-hued floor-to-ceiling curtains match the room’s overall colour palette and cover the window frames to give a sense of extra volume to the walls.

The sitting area is maximised with a tidy arrangement of loose furniture including the square armchairs, sofa, two round textured poufs and a central coffee table of inter-layered circles. Soft lighting and carefully curated décor create an ambience of calm and tranquility.

A gleaming round dining table topped by a lazy Susan and surrounded by curved upholstered dining chairs is placed in front of the other wide window, allowing plenty of light while eating. The use of metal and marble throughout the space not only adds to the aesthetics but also hints at the practicality and longevity of the owners’ choices. A wooden feature wall behind the dining area breaks the visual monotony; shelves on each side flank a concealed storage cupboard and display artistic and whimsical collectibles, many with an animal theme.

A collage of striking photographs adds contrast and interest on the adjacent wall, while an eye-catching chandelier constructed from gold and silver shards hangs overhead, adding to the warm glow of this cosy spot for family meals. Beside the main living space is an enclosed kitchen, where wooden cabinets and marble tiles on the walls and floor echo the general preference for natural materials. There is ample space for cooking, laundry and storage, while a bedroom and bathroom off the kitchen provide privacy for the family’s helper.

A wide marble hallway leads past another glass partition to the rest of the home. On one side is a study lined with shelves of books and framed photographs. A pair of desks affords ample space for the couple to sit and work quietly side by side. Since it faces the guest bathroom across the hall, the study can be turned into a convenient guest room when needed.

Next comes the nursery with lively pastel wallpaper and a cot surrounded by baby toys for a joyful vibe. Once again, discreet inbuilt storage has been designed to enhance the utility of the room and keep it clutter-free.

The door to the master suite is right next to the nursery for quick access when the baby wakes up at night. Here, a simple décor enhances the space, with storage neatly offered within a low white cabinet underneath the TV wall facing the bed. A feature wall of contrasting dark wood is unconventionally an extension of the dressing table rather than behind the headboard of the bed. The entrance to the walk-in closet also blends into the dark panelling, while the closet itself is an extension of the bathroom wall.

The ensuite bathroom is rather irregular in shape, but the designer has masterfully utilised this unique triangular layout by making the smaller end into a walk-in shower. It is a compact, bright space with a pale wood floor and off- white textured walls that almost have an outdoor bathing feel, reminiscent of villa accommodation in Bali.

Size does matter increasingly in Hong Kong living, but with clever design and a creative meld of elegance and practicality, even the less generous proportions of newer residential buildings can be transformed into ideal and adaptable homes for growing families.

Photos: Taste Interior Design Ltd.

Spacious Elegance: Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home

Living in grand style and luxury in Hong Kong’s Ultima 2 residence by Sun Hung Kai Properties, situated within the Ho Man Tin district, is most ideal and desirable for a number of compelling reasons

For a very long time, the area enjoys the prestige of being a typically quiet and idyllic upmarket residential district that is barely 10 minutes by car or train to Central business district. For fine dining, shopping, leisure and entertainment, Ho Man Tin’s location offers unparalleled convenience. Its residents can simply hop onto a car and in five minutes or so get to nearby Tsim Sha Tsui, which hosts an array of Michelin-starred restaurants and a good number of luxury hotels and shopping malls that feature a wide and varied selection of the most famous and prestigious international product brands.

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (2)

Since space is an ultra expensive and rare commodity in Hong Kong all the time, having a spacious home in Ho Man Tin is a valued badge of prestige for the well-heeled who can afford to own an apartment in the district. The featured apartment at the Ultima residential complex treats its resident and family members to an extravagant 2,596sq.ft. interior space, highlighted by an impressively spacious living and adjoining dining areas, complemented by an equally spacious 1,691sq.ft. terrace. Ultima was developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s premier developer of the most luxurious and prestigious residential complexes.  

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (6)

The resident often invites friends for intimate gatherings, and this served as a chief consideration to set up a spacious and most glamourous home in a choice location within spitting distance of Hong Kong’s principal urban districts. Spending quality time with the children in a most comfortable and cozy environment is equally of a very high premium to the homeowner. All these directives were fully heeded by Hong Kong-based firm Pure AW’s Designers, which was awarded the commission to revamp this spacious luxury abode.  

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (5)

From the very start, the homeowner specified as top priority the creation of “a comfortable and sustainable design” for family members, “while meeting their different requirements, including their preferred color themes and usage of different areas.” The master’s bedroom is cozy and cool comparable to accommodation in an upmarket hotel as it meets the requirements and stringent standards of luxury. The resident gets the desired warmth and coziness in the bedroom as wood veneer, employed on the wall of the walk-in closet, matches the Chinese-styled antique furniture.

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (4)

In the living and dining areas, use of resin materials as featured wall provides a grand and clean atmosphere in both areas as the imaginative design enables the kitchen and washroom doors to be kept cleverly hidden. A close look at the unparalleled feature walls enables the viewer to recognise a unique pattern that is tailor-made for the upmarket residence.

“Ultima offers one of the very best locations across Hong Kong to set up a luxurious residence”

How best to achieve the design requirements  posed considerable challenges to the interior designer, but they were by no means insurmountable as the latter was given lots of leeway. The most challenging part in the design mandate was how to move the luxurious kitchen cabinet from one side to another while keeping intact the original structure and materials, and ensuring various electrical appliances were unaffected. Maintaining the original condition of the kitchen cabinet required meticulous care. Among the homeowner’s other major design requirements were the  addition of an oblique panel with specific elements at the foyer for a more welcoming entrance.

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (7)

The location of the living and dining rooms was also interchanged, but the pantry cabinet’s location in the original layout of the kitchen was kept intact. The two bedrooms on the 31st floor were also partitioned by wardrobes instead of a traditional partition wall.

Spacious Elegance Sophisticated style highlights this Ho Man Tin home gafencu magazine my space living ultima residence (8)

Achieving a harmonious and seamless fusion of the outdoor and indoor areas required a healthy dose of creativity and imagination. Some plants and outdoor furniture were set up on the terrace to match with the overall interior design. By interchanging the location of the dining and living areas, the homeowner’s family and friends get to enjoy their meals while savouring panoramic views of Ho Man Tin and nearby districts after the dining area was set up close to the terrace.  

Spaciously grandiose and warmly welcoming, this Ultima residence in Ho Man Tin boasts a wholly welcoming appeal. Pair that with its convenient up-market address, and what you get is the epitome of a modern luxury Hong Kong home.    

 

Ultima 2 by Sun Hung Kai Properties

Photos: Pure AW’s Designer Ltd

Text: Jun Concepcion   

Home Sweet Ho Man: Love the views, love the location, hate the interior decor? Who you gonna call?

“Ultima” is just a little short of ultimate, which makes it pretty much the perfect name for one of Ho Man Tin’s finest home complexes. Completed just three years ago, this sept-colonnaded residential block is family friendly to the nth and superbly positioned.

To the southeast, the development has truly splendid sea views out across both Kai Tak and Lei Yue Mun, while, in strict contrast, the southwest offers panoramic oversight of the urban sprawl that is Central / Wan Chai, with such international landmarks as the International Finance Centre and the International Commercial Centre clearly discernible. Given its geographical advantages and peerless connections, it’s small wonder that, last year, the complex also became home to the most expensive (per sq.m) parking space in the whole of Asia.

ultima apartment

This accolade came about when a second-floor parking space within the complex changed hands for HK$6 million (US$770,000). The space was sold on the second-hand market for 12 times its original price (HK$500,000) and easily outstrips the price paid for the previous record-holder – an 8.2sq.m space in Sai Ying Pun that had earlier fetched HK$5.18 million.

Despite being set in such a salubrious location, when one particular family chose to relocate to Ultima, not everything – initially at least – was entirely to their satisfaction. Indeed, when Zill Li – a husband and father to two kids – first settled upon one of the development’s larger apartments, he liked pretty much everything, except some aspects of the interior design, preferring a “more connected style” for what was destined to become the long-term family home.

ultima apartment

Realising the family needed a design team that shared its vision of just how the apartment could be judiciously reinvented, Li threw the net wide, determined to only work with a business he felt was truly simpatico. In the end, that search took him right to the doorstep of Clifton Leung Design Workshop, an award-winning Hong-Kong based specialist in interior decor.

Renowned for his ability to seamlessly fuse the functional and the stylish, the challenge for Clifton Leung, the eponymous founder of the design consultancy, was to reinvent the space as a commodious-enough environment for the day-to-day living of a family of four, while also ensuring there was enough storage space for their current and future needs. It was a challenge he savoured, saying: “I prefer to work within smaller spaces. It’s where I can really be challenged and where I can have more fun.”

ultima apartment

Designed to be a home away from home – with the family spending much of its time on the mainland – the brief was to create an apartment that had a hotel-like ambience – both modern and minimalist  in style – while remaining warm and welcoming. Another requirement that needed factoring in was the family’s love of art, particularly as they owned a highly-valuable collection of  their own, which they were keen to display and immerse themselves in on a day-to-day basis.

Thankfully, the design team proved capable of taking all of these requirements in its stride. The success of the minimalist approach, for instance, is now clearly apparent as soon as you set foot in the dining or the living rooms. With the physical barriers between these hub spaces eliminated, natural light flows between the two, while their open-ended continuity embodies both free-ranging warmth and room to flourish and indulge.

ultima apartment

The sheer capaciousness of this co-joined space makes it ideal for forefronting cherished artworks, allowing them to be suitably venerated without being obliged to jostle for wall real estate with consumer electronics items. Maximising the impact yet more, the family’s primary TV set has been recessed at ceiling level, with an adjunct projection facility allowing for programming to be viewed on a discreet drop-down screen.

The same love of flow-through space that characterises the dining / living area is again in evidence in the master bedroom, where a one-time dividing wall with the study has been dispensed with and succeeded by a slidable portal. This acts to unite the two spaces in both function and feel, while opening the area up to all family members.

ultima apartment

The same sense of spatial fluidity – although here mixed with a welcome playfulness – is again on show in the bespoke bedrooms created for the junior family members. Embodying a beguiling, covert clubhouse motif, the entrance to these particular sleeping spaces are secreted behind an unassuming cupboard fascia in the central living room. It’s a fine conceit with which to capture the affection of the younger householders.

The love and loyalty of the more senior stakeholders have, of course, already been secured by the myriad of subtle touches and knowing affectations that have made this transformation so satisfyingly complete and so completely satisfying.

Text: Bailey Atkinson
Photos: Clifton Leung Design Workshop