A Curated Hong Kong Flat with a Feline Touch

After a two-year search, a Hong Kong couple finally found a rare, light-filled flat - and transformed it with calm, clever design

Some people discover their dream home by chance. For Jeff Chan and Liz Leung, it took two patient years. Living in a rented flat in Jardine's Lookout, they were determined to stay in the neighbourhood and had even pinpointed the building they longed to call home. Yet, week after week of scouring estate agency windows yielded nothing, and they nearly gave up hope. At the end of last year, however, their persistence paid off: a 1,200 sq ft apartment in their coveted block came onto the market.

"We knew what we liked and didn't want to compromise," says Chan. The appeal was clear: "We love older buildings as they tend to be more space efficient with high ceilings and a lot of windows."

Their new home, now almost 50 years old, offered an added luxury - every room faces the harbour, bathing the interior in natural light. That includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

As legal professionals with a shared passion for timeless design, the young Hong Kong couple envisaged a minimal home that echoed the comfortable chic of a Parisian apartment but without any starkness. To realise this vision, they enlisted interior designer Amy Butler of House of Butler, whose Ibizan sensibility and abhorrence of clutter made her the ideal collaborator.

Butler began by gutting the flat. Her first major intervention was to open up the enclosed kitchen and borrow space from an awkwardly placed guest bathroom that stuck out a few feet from the front entrance. This move carved out room for a spacious dining area, separated from the new kitchen by a sleek black-framed sliding glass door.

"At first, we were worried whether the loss of bathroom space would make it feel too small," says Leung. "Now that we live with it, we don't notice it. We are so glad Amy guided us towards that decision because we love entertaining and otherwise wouldn't have had a dining room to accommodate our long table."

Butler's design is defined by its graceful flow and thoughtful curves. She rounded walls to create soft transitions, a motif echoed in custom-made furniture. And, to maintain the minimalist aesthetic, provided discreet storage in the hollow spaces between the ceiling beams. The Calacatta marble-clad kitchen presented its own challenge: odd beams made the installation of a traditional wall-mounted extractor fan impossible. Butler's solution was a cylindrical model from Italy, usually used above a kitchen island equipped with a hob.

"Even the construction team, who didn't know how to solve this challenge, was impressed," she recalls.

Maintaining the light and sense of openness was paramount. Instead of doors that would block sightlines, Butler lined the wide doorway between the living and dining rooms with the same marble that features in the kitchen, a clever idea to frame and connect the spaces.

Another creative solution is found in the main bedroom. A feng shui master cautioned against the bed's placement right next to the en suite door, but the layout offered no alternative. Rather than constructing a clunky semi-partition, Butler came up with an elegant fix: brass rods secured to the ceiling from which linen curtains hang down to the floor, creating a variation on a four-poster bed. The curtains satisfy the feng shui requirement when drawn and effortlessly enhance the Parisian aesthetic.

"The bed can be changed or moved easily if needed and the long curtains soften the look of the room," says Butler, who took six months on the renovation.

The home is a masterclass in curated living - even the couple's pet cat was chosen because it coordinates perfectly with the decor. Against a backdrop of fresh white walls, matt brass finishes and herringbone floor tiles that feel wonderfully woody underfoot, furnishings have been selected with care. Key pieces from the couple's previous home - a dining table, a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk used as a side table and retro-style chairs - lend character. Butler's custom-designed cabinets with rounded corners add depth and softness while investment in quality light fittings and smart-home technology provide the final, polished layer.

The result is a home both serene and deeply personal, a successful partnership between client and designer, as Leung and Chan say.

"In the evenings and weekends, we don't want to go out any more as we love being at home so much," says Chan. "We see ourselves living here for a long while."

After a two-year search, one can hardly blame them.

Living Room

• Dixon sofa, by Nookliving
• Nula wall lights, by Heathfield & Co
• Turning coffee table, by Audo Copenhagen, from Homeless
• Pierre Jeanneret chair reproductions, through Taobao

Living Room Alcove

• Tulip table, by Eero Saarinen for Knoll, from Mohd
• &Tradition Drawn chair reproduction, through Taobao
• Window seat, designed by House of Butler and made by A&A Contracting (anacontracting@gmail.com; tel: 9661 5030)

Dining Area and Kitchen

• Drop mini chandelier, by 101 Copenhagen, from Luminesy
• Vintage-look elm dining table, through Taobao
• Chairs, by That Cool Living
• Side cabinet, designed by House of Butler and made by A&A Contracting
• Flooring, from GPM Flooring
• Vase, from Zara Home
• On wall, The Frame TV, by Samsung
• Kitchen, also designed by House of Butler and made by A&A Contracting
• Polar Island rangehood, from Falmec

Dining and Living Areas

• Side cabinet, designed by House of Butler and made by A&A Contracting
• Mirror and stone plinths, through Taobao
• Palati sconces, from Visual Comfort
• The Frame TV on stand, by Samsung

Bedroom

• Bed, designed by House of Butler and made by Today Furniture

Bathroom

• Bathroom, designed by House of Butler and made by A&A Contracting
• Flume Wall Light, by J Adams & Co Lighting
• Sanitaryware, from Meir

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