European living inspired this Hong Kong home’s design – think sliding glass panels and an open kitchen for dinner parties and natural light
- A couple, who had previously lived in England and France, wanted to replicate their European lifestyle of entertaining at home in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong
- They renovated their 1,450 sq ft flat to accommodate a chef’s kitchen and a 12-seat dinner table that helps ‘recreate an intimate restaurant atmosphere at home’
Expecting a 1,450 sq ft (135 square metres) Hong Kong flat to host dinner parties regularly for 12 or more requires creative thinking.
That was the tall order facing the design-and-build team at Hero Design Group, helmed by CEO Ann Chan.
The owners of the flat, both Hong Kong locals, had lived in England and France, and on returning to their roots to start a family wanted to replicate a lifestyle of entertaining at home.
A Mid-Levels neighbourhood where the husband had grown up – and his parents still lived – would provide the platform to meet all their needs: apart from accommodating the family, the flat, beside the verdant environs of the Bowen Road Fitness Trail, would also be an occasional event venue and home office.
The couple, who felt that older-style architecture better suited the internal restructure they wanted, settled on a fourth-floor flat in a mid-1960s building.
In the original floor plan, a series of corridors divided the rooms, taking up valuable space that could be released into an open-plan layout. Removing them as part of a “zero wastage” spatial reconfiguration meant that a dining table could always be set for 12 and expanded into the living area for larger gatherings.
