Silk wallpaper, Taobao stools: Hong Kong apartment’s mix of luxury pieces and everyday items shows a design fan unafraid to break the rules
- Carmen Li applied what she was learning on an interior design course to the renovation of her flat – and the result is a calm but colourful two-bedroom home
- A mix of expensive pieces and made-in-China items fill the 1,500 sq ft space, with touches that break design school rules such as sliding doors to save space
For publisher and entrepreneur Carmen Li, the decision to get involved with the “fun part” of renovating her 1,500 sq ft (139 square metre) flat in Jardine’s Lookout on Hong Kong Island – devising the floor plan, choosing the colour schemes and furniture – took a more serious twist when the long-term design fan realised how much she did not know.
“We’d had the flat for a few years while we were living in Clear Water Bay. But I’d decided to move back into the city with my son, Vincent, just the two of us,” Li says.
“I was working on the project with a friend, Clement Cheng [of Clement C Studio]. He was going to deal with the technical and structural issues and I was doing the fun part. But I soon realised interior design was more technical than I thought; the contractor was asking things like where the back end of the air con was going to go, and I didn’t know. So I decided to learn.”
Taking advantage of a lull in business during the pandemic, and having already closed her monthly gourmet magazine, Crave, Li embarked on a two-year course in interior design, taught partly by Hong Kong-based interior designer J.J. Acuna, with whom she later did a three-month internship.
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It was a steep learning curve, with coursework fitted in around running her business, 21 Concepts – recently rebranded as a multidisciplinary publishing, online content and interior design studio – and the renovation.
“It was overwhelming at first,” she says of the course. “Then I had a light-bulb moment. I see similarities between magazine flat plans and floor plans: both are about pacing, rhythm, structure.”
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Li was learning on the job, putting her studies into use as she and Cheng reworked the flat’s floor plan around the specific requirements of mother and son.
“I didn’t want either of us cooped up alone in a bedroom. So we opened up the whole flat, turned it from three bedrooms into two, to maximise the living space and allow us to communicate easily – even when we were both studying,” she says.
“I had a little desk space built in the dining area, and although we opened up the kitchen, we actually made it smaller to create a big laundry and helper’s room behind it.
“It is perfect for the two of us – I don’t entertain much, and now Vincent is 11, he doesn’t like my cooking any more!”
The result is calm but colourful, with nods to Paris’ Haussmann flats in the faux fireplace and its flanking pillars, over-mantle mirror and modern Louis XVI chairs.
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One wall is covered in a Chinoiserie design of birds, butterflies and peonies, hand-painted on emerald silk, by French company de Gournay.
“I splurged,” Li says of the gorgeous wallcovering. “It’s timeless and it’s cheerful. I wanted colour – and, you know, I nearly always wear black – but when it comes to interiors, colour really affects your mood.”
The dining chairs, brightly upholstered in lime and teal velvet, and counter stools in joyful bubblegum pink stand out against the grey panelled cabinetry of the kitchen and study nook. The desk and its surrounding cupboards are rare examples of built-in furniture.
“I prefer loose furniture, it has more character and it’s easy to change it up,” Li says. “It’s the high-low fashion idea, a mix of expensive pieces and made-in-China. So I went for a Kelly Wearstler ceiling lamp and Jonathan Adler sconces – and stools from Taobao.
“Originally, we had an L-shaped sofa, but I found we were constantly lying down, especially when we were working from home. So I replaced it with furniture that makes you sit up, and now we watch less TV.”
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Li and Cheng used a similar palette of materials throughout the home, including more hand-painted de Gournay silk wallpaper – in a life-size wisteria print – in the main bedroom.
White subway wall tiles appear in the kitchen and in both the family and en suite bathrooms, where they contrast with matt tiles in similar colourways, but different patterns.
Having learned the rules, Li is not afraid to break them. Take the sliding door to the walk-in wardrobe in the main bedroom, for example. “The design school was very against sliding doors – and I know they can be problematic,” she says. “But sometimes it’s about making the most of every last inch of space.”
Living area
A bedroom and part of both the kitchen and family bathroom were sacrificed to maximise the communal living space. The velvet sofa, from Timothy Oulton (timothyoulton.com), is brightened with a scattering of cushions from Designers Guild (designersguild.com) and Indigo Living (indigo-living.com), where homeowner Carmen Li of 21 Concepts (21-concepts.com) also found the swivel armchair (just visible).
The striped velvet stools were from Tequila Kola (tequilakola.com). The Carrara marble coffee table, tulip dining table, modern Louis XVI dining chairs and built-in hardwood desk and bookshelves were all designed by Li and Clement Cheng, of Clement C Studio (clementcstudio.com). The rug was from Miss Amara (missamara.hk) and the Utopia ceiling pendant from Kelly Wearstler (kellywearstler.com).
The artwork propped up on a sideboard came from a shop since closed. From left: 0:30:31, by Mina Katsuki (minakatsuki.org); Monkey, by Travis Louie (travislouieart.com); Untitled, 2001, by James Nares (various); Desert in Rome – Fontana di Trevi, by Genaro Bardy (genarobardy.com); and Effervescence, an NFT by Matthew Stone (matthewstone.co.uk).
Living area detail
A section of wall covered in Earlham hand-painted silk from de Gournay (degournay.com) makes a dramatic, colourful backdrop for a Trellis-textured cupboard from a shop that has closed. A matching sideboard is positioned behind the sofa.
Dining area detail
“I never really believed in feng shui, but when I was told not to have any fire elements in the flat, I thought, ‘Why risk it?’” Li says of the decision to use a slab of Carrara marble instead of a fireplace within the bespoke fire surround. The faux fireplace and pillars were designed by Li and Cheng and custom made.
The pieces on the mantelpiece were accumulated over the years, including a Love Handles vase by Anissa Kermiche (anissakermiche.com), crystal candleholders from Rosenthal (rosenthal.de), gilded crystals and antique Chinese horses, from Taiwan.
The Primrose mirror was from Anthropologie (anthropologie.com). The Brass Hand wall sconces were from Jonathan Adler (jonathanadler.com).
Main bedroom
“I chose the wallpaper because I love wisteria, and I miss being surrounded by trees in Clear Water Bay,” Li says. The Wisteria hand-painted silk wallpaper was from de Gournay.
The Belgian linen tufted headboard and bed were custom made by Red Cabinet (now closed), in Ap Lei Chau. The leather-panelled dressing table with brass legs, bedside cabinets and green stool were all designed and custom made by Li and Cheng. The lamp was from Zara Home (zarahome.com).
Family bathroom
Kitchen
The open-plan kitchen is the “perfect size” for two. Behind the mirrored door is a large laundry and helper’s room. Li and Cheng designed the dove-grey cabinetry, quartz worktop and pink velvet counter stools. The subway wall tiles were from Anta and the water dispenser from Pottery Barn (potterybarn.com).
Tried + tested
In the bay window in Vincent’s room, Carmen Li and Clement Cheng designed a reading nook – a special request from her son.
They installed tufted bench panels on the windowsill and one wall where he can get comfortable and bury his nose in a book. And when he looks up, he can see Victoria Harbour through the side window.
The fabric was from Zu Design (zudesign.com.hk) and the cushion was from H&M Home (hm.com).
