Hong Kong is ranked as one of the costly actual property markets on this planet. Through the years, this truth has translated to many Hong Kongers having to adapt to smaller dwelling areas which may be extra reasonably priced however are sometimes outdated or lower than perfect when it comes to their structure and performance.
And as any designer will let you know, awkward layouts are a problem (learn: ache) to cope with. Daphney Ho, an area self-taught inside designer who’s the top of F.A.L. Works, managed to beat the idiosyncrasies of her 516-square-foot (48-square-meter) condo in Kwun Tong, an iconic industrial space in Kowloon that has been remodeled right into a enterprise district. In redesigning this small condo for herself and her husband, Ho has succeeded in creating an area that now feels each trendy but natural, sensible, and versatile. We get a tour of how Ho provides a breath of recent air to a as soon as dim and outdated condo through By no means Too Small:
Ho explains that this condo dates again at the least 30 years and had not been renovated because the earlier proprietor moved in within the Nineteen Nineties. When she and her husband bought the property, it felt gloomy and run-down. However Ho knew that the two-bedroom condo had potential, regardless of its bizarre diamond-shaped structure, and was a well-located condo as a part of a non-public housing property:
“The property was constructed to produce residency for the rising inhabitants in Hong Kong. It’s typical that these personal property embody leisure membership homes, purchasing centres, supermarkets and eating places. It offers all the pieces a household must dwell right here.”
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Ho took the minimalist strategy in overhauling the area, opting so as to add curves and arches to mitigate the cumbersome, angular structure. She additionally selected lighter-toned supplies that might assist brighten the quarters, and swapped out swinging doorways for sliding ones that might assist save area.
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To start out, Ho demolished the wall between the principle bed room and toilet to extend the dimensions of the lavatory and rearranged the ground plan to separate the lavatory in order that the bathroom and bathe had been separate from the sink. That transfer was impressed by the Japanese strategy to rest room design, which is arguably extra sanitary and cost-effective as a result of a couple of particular person can use the identical toilet for various issues.
One enters the condo right into a small open alcove area of types. It is outlined by a change in ground elevation; after taking off one’s footwear and utilizing the versatile pegboard to hold one’s coat, one then steps up onto a platform that serves to delineate the principle dwelling space. A lot of the condo’s partitions and ceilings are coated with shikkui, an ecological, non-toxic lime plaster that’s made with hydrated lime, hemp fiber, and seaweed glue and is utilized in Japan.
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The entry space can be the place to retailer one’s footwear, as seen on this shoe cabinet that really types a part of the couch in the lounge.
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In the lounge space, there’s a giant custom-made sofa. Its sizeable depth implies that it could function a daybed or an additional place for an in a single day visitor. Storage drawers are additionally cleverly tucked beneath, making it a multifunctional piece.
Behind the couch is a built-in area of interest for displaying objects, which Ho designed to cover an present beam that caught out.
The bay window—a kind of iconic options of Hong Kong residences—has been remade as a spot for houseplants to take a seat. That ledge now continues nearly seamlessly to type a floating storage beneath the wall-mounted tv, clad with rattan-style cupboard doorways that appear to be common these days. With out the legs, the storage unit seems lighter and frees up extra ground area.
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The eating nook is designed as a welcoming area that does not take up an excessive amount of ground space, due to its curved upholstered bench with hidden storage, spherical desk, and a few foldable chairs for friends. There’s a mixture of open and closed storage to steadiness accessibility and decreasing muddle. A rattan-faced snack cupboard occupies one nook, offering a spot to retailer a water jug and teas.
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The kitchen is kind of small and has an odd, pentagonal form which Ho stored. Nonetheless, she manages to maximise the counter area by including overhead cupboards and by including a intelligent vertical pull-out cupboard for lengthy objects like brooms and mops.
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Again into the principle dwelling space and previous the arched doorway, we’ve got two rooms and a beneficiant toilet on the opposite facet of the condo. The 2 rooms are hidden behind three sliding doorways with fluted paneling, which helps disguise the gaps between them.
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The master suite is giant sufficient solely to suit a mattress. Ho purposely made the bed room smaller to make extra space for the Japanese-inspired toilet. There may be extra cupboard space hidden beneath the mattress’s raised platform.
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The lavatory is the true gem on this scheme; with its pale materials palette and strategically positioned lighting, it feels so luxurious and enormous—sufficiently big for extra cupboard space hid between these sliding doorways.
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The separation of dry and moist areas is vital right here: by placing the bathroom and bathe in their very own enclosed rooms, a couple of particular person can use this space concurrently. Right here is the bathroom room.
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The bathe room evokes a Japanese-style bathtub, all the way down to the sturdy aomori hiba wooden overlaying the bathtub rims and ground. Like a conventional Japanese bathtub, the bathe is exterior of the bath, because the {custom} is to rinse off earlier than stepping into the soaking tub in order that one just isn’t marinating in a single’s dust within the bathtub.
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Lastly, the additional room is utilized by the couple as a house workplace and dressing room, although seemingly it is versatile sufficient to be transformed into different makes use of if obligatory.
As this intelligent renovation undertaking exhibits, even small and awkward layouts in older residences will be tackled gracefully to create a very new area that serves its inhabitants nicely. To see extra, go to F.A.L. Works.