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Catherine Shaw

Text Catherine Shaw / Styling Anji Connell / Photography David Wong
 
Event planner and designer Emanuela Santi knows how to throw a party. She organised supermodel Naomi Campbell's 40th birthday bash five years ago and, more recently, the amfAR Aids-research fundraising gala at the Cannes Film Festival.
So it's no surprise that her 700 sq ft apartment, tucked away on a narrow Mid-Levels lane, is decorated with not only eclectic items collected from around the world but also intriguing props.
"My personal life and work are interchangeable," says Santi, who began her career in the fashion industry, working for Hugo Boss followed by Lane Crawford.
In 2011, with her now business partner, Stefan Santoni, she set up creative consultancy Tuff Consult. Santi is also the co-founder of accessories brand Susanna Valerio, named after her Italian designer mother.
Santi's rented apartment features a central open-plan living area with a separate compact kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom. The vibrant colours and imaginative settings of her events are echoed in this cosy retreat through a series of decorative pieces, including a rug picked up in Mumbai, India, a trio of vintage Moroccan mirrors, small side tables from Egypt and a custom-made lacquered coffee table from Vietnam.
Her favourite spot is the deep windowsill in the living room.
"I have all the things I love [on it], from Ming-style vases that I used to decorate my brother's wedding table, to my books and anything that inspires me."
The apartment is the smallest space she has inhabited, but, Santi says, the only challenge has been finding enough storage for her extensive wardrobe: one wall of the bedroom is lined with closets bursting with clothes, shoes and handbags.
The designer says many of the props from her events, which clients have left behind, double as decorative pieces in her office and home.
"I hate wastage and many of these pieces are extraordinary one-offs that remind people of a special occasion."
For daily inspiration, Santi turns to photographer and storyteller Tim Walker.
"His set designs transport you to a land where reality and fantasy are blurred. That is what I strive for."
For Santi, this philosophy often translates into repurposing old objects in interesting ways. For instance, an antique three-tier cake stand has been transformed with a cascade of grapes while a 2.5-metre-high mirror, propped against the wall, hides daily clutter tucked away behind it and acts as a large mood board when Santi works from home.
"I have to be somewhere completely quiet to think. I stick pictures and other inspirations directly onto the mirror," she says.
Santi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and lived in Cairo, Egypt, before moving to Hong Kong in 1991. The globetrotter is a self-confessed magpie and her apartment is a treasure trove of objects: the surfboard propped up against a wall in the bathroom is a case in point.
Her bedroom, however, is a departure from this style, featuring a soft grey wall and a matching grey-and-white striped headboard.
"My mother and I painted [the headboard] in one afternoon," she says.
The small galley-like kitchen showcases a dash of theatrical creativity, with its retractable Chinese red linen and black lacquer dividing screen and artful arrangements of decorative plates with jewel-like faceted glassware by Mario Luca Giusti.
"I'm a producer," Santi says. "In the parties and events I [organise] it is my responsibility to create a fantasy, but the most important thing is to imbue a space with life. And that is exactly what I have done at home."
 

Window/work area The deep window ledge displays a vintage cake stand that Emanuela Santi picked up for about HK$1,800 in Marrakesh, Morocco. The two Ming-style vases were table props for Santi’s brother’s wedding. The traditional paintbrush (HK$500) was found at a stall on Upper Lascar Row. The vintage typewriter and sterling-silver vases were gifts. On the side table is a red vase (HK$11,000) from Baccarat (various locations; www.baccarat.hk) and a collection of candles (from HK$900 to HK$1,100 each) from Diptyque (IFC Mall, Central, tel: 2521 6799).

Living area The open-plan entrance, living and kitchen areas are delineated with key pieces that create distinct areas. The red linen-andblack lacquer room divider cost HK$2,000 and was custom made as part of a series for an event, as was the gilded mirror. The coffee table (HK$10,500) was found at SV Casa (9/F, 88 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan, tel: 2327 9066). On the coffee table are two red lacquer book boxes (HK$1,500 each from Lane Crawford, IFC Mall, tel: 2118 2288), which Santi uses to store receipts, and a seated Buddha, which was a gift from her brother. The tea light (HK$900) came from Diptyque and the candleholder at the forefront was bought in Paris, France. The black vertical bookshelf (HK$9,500) was from atelier a (www.ateliera.it), in Italy. On the top shelf are two Japaneseinspired vases (HK$8,500 each) designed by Susanna Valerio for Lane Crawford. The Chinese trunk (HK$6,700) was from Chine Gallery (42A Hollywood Road, Central, tel: 2543 0023). On the wall are two Moroccan tablets (HK$1,200 each) that Santi picked up in Marrakesh. The Audrey Hepburn picture on the trunk came from Picture This (Prince’s Building, Central, tel: 2525 2803).

Living room Colourful cushions (HK$1,500 each, from Lane Crawford Home Store, Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2118 2288) accessorise a sofa (HK$9,000) from Ikea (various locations; www.ikea.com.hk). The Indian rug was bought in Mumbai. The Tin Tin poster came from Dafen Art Village (www.dafenvillageonline.com), in Shenzhen. The trio of prints above the sofa was a gift from Santi’s grandmother and the landscape images were painted by Santi’s grandfather. The traditional Chinese birdcage was a prop from an event. Similar versions cost about HK$600 at the bird market in Mong Kok (www.bird-garden.hk). The circular table was created by Santi’s mother, who designed a contemporary base to match a serving tray sourced from the Khan el-Khalili market, in Cairo, Egypt. The folding stool was bought years ago in Bangkok, Thailand. The blue and white ceramic stool (HK$2,000) came from Indigo Living (various locations; www.indigo-living.com).

Bedroom The bed (HK$7,500) came from Tequila Kola (various locations; www.tequilakola.com). Santi designed and made the Venetian-style headboard. The cushions are from C&C Milano (www.cecmilano.com) and cost from HK$990 to HK$2,800 each. The blue-and-white ceramic side table from Indigo is similar to the one in the living room. The wire-and-red linen lantern was a prop from one of Santi’s events.

Bathroom Santi stores her Australian Duranbah surfboard in the bathroom. The two Moroccan mirrors were picked up in Marrakesh. The blue-and-white ceramic stool is the same as before.
 

Adding volume Emanuela Santi sourced the Navigator collection library bookshelf wallpaper (HK$1,600 for 10 metres) from Rockett St George (www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk). The optical illusion of a vintage bookshelf adds a sense of depth to an otherwise small and confined kitchen space.



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In eclectic Hong Kong flat, event planner makes feature of her props 

5 BathroomSanti stores her Australian Duranbah surfboard in the bathroom. The two Moroccan mirrors were picked up in Marrakesh. The blue-and-white ceramic stool is the same as before.

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A party planner has salvaged mementos from her events to create a space that both amuses and inspires


A party planner has salvaged mementos from her events to create a space that both amuses and inspires.


In eclectic Hong Kong flat, event planner makes feature of her props

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A party planner has salvaged mementos from her events to create a space that both amuses and inspires

A party planner has salvaged mementos from her events to create a space that both amuses and inspires