Minimal, but modern: an open-plan Hong Kong apartment’s balcony provides a dining area with a view for the entire family to enjoy
- A couple, parents to two young children, chose to downsize to a 770 sq ft flat in Happy Valley for its potential for alfresco living
- The home’s small living room feels large thanks to the balcony, which provides an open-air dining area, and the large windows set the tone for its minimal design
Needing more space is a familiar cry among families as they grow. Quite the opposite, the Desautel-Mais of Happy Valley, on Hong Kong Island, desired less.
“We’ve lived in much bigger apartments,” says Diane Mai, a homemaker. “But we’re trying to downsize, buy less and be more environmentally conscious.”
Having rented modern high-rise flats since moving to Hong Kong from Britain in 2010, the couple – Frenchman Phillippe Desautel, who works in finance, and China-born Mai, the parents of two young children – wanted something with more character in the first home they would own.
The outdoor space of their last rental flat, in Tsing Yi, west of Kowloon, sparked their love for an alfresco lifestyle. So a balcony was a must.
The flat’s large windows set the tone. “We wanted the design to be minimal, but with a modern industrial twist,” Mai explains. “Anthony understood us very well, and gave us a design to suit our taste.”
