How to make a rental flat feel like home: antiques, art and plenty of colour, says a Hong Kong banker
Having moved frequently over the years, Caitlin Walker knows just what’s needed to make her mark on a property
Although South African Caitlin Walker, along with her husband Jonathan, has hopped around the globe, moving from one rental property to another, she works hard to ensure that each location feels like home.
“Living in a place as if you’re only there on a temporary basis is awful because you never get that sense of home,” says Walker, a banker who moved to Hong Kong 11 years ago. “I can’t live as if I’m about to move on. I got to the stage where I didn’t want to buy one more thing from Ikea just to make do, so I now buy pieces that I love and have meaning.”
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The couple’s 2,300 sq ft, three-bedroom flat in Mid-Levels is filled with an eclectic mix of old and new pieces that reflects who they are and where they have been. There is a chest made by Walker’s father for her when she got married; a wooden box once used for storing eggs, inherited from her grandmother; and a painting that her parents bought as a gift for her newborn daughter – a thoughtful alternative to all the soft toys a baby usually receives.
“The vintage silverware comes from my aunt. She hates cleaning silver so she gives me a piece every time she sees me,” says Walker. “Whenever I look at it, I think of her.”
Most of the furniture, such as the sofa, dining table and beds, was bought in Hong Kong but the artwork, ceramics and other decorative details were accumulated “along the way”, particularly from her homeland.
“South Africa has huge artisanal creativity. You can get some beautiful but quirky handmade things there that don’t cost the Earth,” she says. “It isn’t always easy finding them but that is what makes something a real treasure when you do. Many of the artists, for example, aren’t commercial and don’t market themselves.”
Walker used to run a lifestyle store in Wong Chuk Hang at a time when many international companies didn’t ship to Hong Kong. Although the business is no longer part of her life, her love of interior decor is. She admits she makes a beeline for homeware shops on her travels, notably Liberty, in London, Britain, where she lived before coming to Hong Kong.
Walker is also attracted to Scandinavian design but says she never knew why until she read that there are many similarities between Nordic and African styles. The geometric rugs and cushions in her home hint at both.
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“I also love Ibizan aesthetics and I think that’s because of the Spanish island’s proximity to Morocco, and Africa,” she says.
The outdoor area is just as stylishly influenced by Africa, albeit with a more colonial look. Along with a retro-looking ceiling fan, lush plants, wicker furniture and a barbecue for traditional South African braais, Walker has used images of tropical flora and fauna on soft furnishings to create a calm nook that seems a world away from the city below.
The flat being a rental, practicality was key. The couple installed track lighting along the long, narrow corridor, so it wouldn’t be dark and gloomy. And because paint and wallpaper were not options, Walker requested white walls, which allowed her to indulge in colour elsewhere. Think splashes of hot pink, teal and emerald green alongside dusty blue and mustard yellow on furniture, furnishings and art.
“You can have great fun playing around with contrasts and layering various shades,” Walker says. “Tropical colours work well in the Hong Kong environment, too.”
The master bedroom is tonally more subdued than the living area while the daughter’s room pays homage to pink.
Expressing a desire to buy more art, Walker admits that her flat is full to bursting. But she has the perfect solution – a recently purchased holiday home in South Africa, guaranteed not to have a single piece of flat-packed furniture in sight. ■
Tried + tested
Window dressing A cut-out in the wall between the entrance hall and the living area opens up the former, preventing it from being dark and enclosed, and offers Caitlin Walker alternative shelf space.