How Hong Kong designer created a sense of the unexpected in an Ap Lei Chau apartment
- Meeting all of the style requirements of a couple and their grown up children was an exercise in harmony for artist Andrew Tsui
- ‘Balance and compromise were key throughout the process – nothing too minimal, too edgy or too traditional, he says’
When renovating a home, it can be relatively easy for parents to steer younger children towards the decor that they want.
Once said offspring are adults, with strong opinions of their own, it can be much trickier – especially when one of the “kids” has a background in architecture.
This was the situation for Hong Kong couple Kolin and Cindy Cheung when they bought a 1,800 sq ft flat in Ap Lei Chau for their family of four. As they have two children in their 20s, whose decorating style bears little resemblance to that of their parents, they enlisted interior designer and artist Andrew Tsui to come up with solutions that would unite their design differences and avoid family conflict.
“It’s natural to have your own ideas about interior design but they all wanted different things,” explains Tsui, creative director of A Project Interior Design, Bad Boy Andy wall art and Be Nuts art toys. “Kolin and Cindy prefer a simple but sophisticated style while their children love fun and trendy interiors. Balance and compromise were key throughout the process – nothing too minimal, too edgy or too traditional.”
As the lady of the house wanted to showcase her collection of decorative accessories in mixed metals, Tsui came up with a neutral background scheme, which also met with the approval of the Cheungs’ stylish son and daughter.
