A Moroccan design fantasy comes true in Hong Kong
This 4,000-sq-ft holiday home on Lantau Island wouldn’t look out of place in Marrakesh thanks to an interior of exotic motifs, textiles and colours
Accommodation can make or break a holiday. You can visit an idyllic location but if the property you’re staying in is disappointing, chances are you won’t revisit.
This was the situation Frederic and Catherine Bourquin, of Atelier B, wanted to avoid, when they were commissioned to refurbish a company’s 4,000-sq-ft weekend holiday home in Mui Wo, on Lantau Island, in 2014. It would be the second home the husband-and-wife team would refurbish for the same client; the first had a distinctive, retro Chinese feel, with walls and furnishings in a riot of colours.
“The client loved what we had done with the house next door and wanted us to recreate the same vibe,” says Catherine, a British designer. “However, we were told that the end users of this [second] house would be primarily local and we felt they might not think that 1970s Chinese décor was particularly exotic. Plus, it was more fun for us to look into another scheme.”
The concepts they came up with were “retro Cote d’Azur villa” and “Moroccan fantasy”. The Bourquins preferred the latter; fortunately, so did the client.
“One of our biggest challenges was sourcing the ‘Moroccan’ furniture, lighting and accessories,” says Catherine. “Originally, we had planned a shopping trip to Morocco. However, due to family and work constraints, that trip did not happen, so we ordered everything online through two Moroccan specialists in Britain.”
