A Hong Kong property agent finds a hidden gem inside an ordinary looking complex
Three small, dingy Mid-Levels flats lay vacant for years until Claire Price saw their potential and returned them to their original state as one home
There is nothing particularly special about the Mid-Levels complex that houses Claire Price’s 1,200 sq ft flat. The height of modern living in 1959, it boasts a facade little changed since last century. Step through her front door, however, and the contrast is stark. Coupled with the physical aspects – a spacious open-plan kitchen and living area, tall windows and 3.3-metre-high ceilings that give the flat a loft-like vibe – is a strong sense of character and comfort.
Price, who lived in Hong Kong for 18 years before moving to Portugal at the end of last year, says she has a penchant for older buildings and was on the hunt for somewhere to renovate.
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“I was showing the property to clients in 2017 but it was way beyond what they were prepared to take on,” the Briton recalls, referring to her former job with Habitat Property. “It hadn’t been lived in for six years and was properly dingy […] Although it had originally been one flat under one title deed, it had been chopped up into three small flats so it was almost impossible to feel the space.”
Price’s clients passed but she couldn’t get the building out of her mind, so she took a leap of faith and bought it. Although she wanted a single, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, she couldn’t quite figure out the layout so enlisted French architect Damienne Joly, of Atelierd&l.
Working around structural pillars, Joly knocked down interior walls until the flats were merged and all the rooms could be accessed under one “roof”. She kept both entrances, however, so now there is a front door with a hall and a back door.
“It looked a mess when we demolished the interior but the true space was revealed and it was quite striking, even with all the rubble and exposed wires everywhere,” says Joly.
Price gave Joly a list of her design wishes but was open to ideas, such as placing the main bedroom at the back of the flat, which was much quieter.
Price was hands-on throughout the renovation process, which took seven months, even travelling to Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, to hand-pick tiles for the kitchen, bathrooms and hallway to ensure uniformity and quality.
“It was stressful choosing and then importing them but worth the effort,” says Price. “They are of a much higher quality than those found in Hong Kong – plus they add character and colour. The ones in the hall were inspired by the original 1880s tiles that you can still see in the [Saigon Notre-Dame] cathedral and [Central] Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City.”
The island doesn’t read as one huge piece but offers more of a yin-yang effect, with the materials interlocking, balancing and complementing each other
Another conversation piece is the three-metre-long island in the living space. Price had hankered after an island big enough for friends to congregate around for drinks but was keen to avoid a “huge slab effect”. Joly came up with the idea of mixing materials, combining marble and coloured cement, separated by a thin strip of brass. Together with the black-framed windows and simple pendant lights, the effect is elegant with an understated industrial edge.
“The island doesn’t read as one huge piece but offers more of a yin-yang effect, with the materials interlocking, balancing and complementing each other,” says Joly. “I proposed cement because it would be strong enough to support the marble without having to be overly thick.”
This is not your regular cement, however. Hong Kong-based artist and muralist Elsa Jean de Dieu added colour to the material to give it an almost mottled finish.
Price’s brief was for the flat not only to accommodate her style and art collection but also to be practical and liveable. Furniture from previous homes filled the rooms.
I like older buildings with character and similarly want my home to be interesting and cosy. I’ve got such a mix-and-match of things
“I like older buildings with character and similarly want my home to be interesting and cosy. I’ve got such a mix-and-match of things – I’ve had the sofa for 12 years, for example, and I bought the antique dining table and chairs more than 20 years ago in Toulouse [France], where I used to live. I literally plonked it all in and, amazingly, it fit.”
With the flat now tenanted, Price is settling into a new life near Lisbon.
“It was time for a new chapter for me and to go back to Europe, with its beautiful architecture and old-world charm,” she says.
Some things never change.
Hall detail The black steel and fluted glass doors were designed by Joly and made by Atelierd&l for HK$12,000.
Main bathroom The hexagonal wall tiles were HK$38 per square foot from Hop Hing Lung Material (235 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2511 3013). The encaustic cement floor tiles were US$20 per square metre (excluding shipping) from Viet Tiles.
Tried + tested
Totally floored Textiles in the kitchen can get dirty easily so Damienne Joly created an alternative runner made out of patterned encaustic tiles (US$20 per square metre from Viet Tiles), which are embedded into the wooden flooring. They lift the look of the kitchen and are practical.
