CORE Ideals
The new CORE by Equal showroom combines decades of expertise with an undeniable sense of style.
Interiors company Equal Limited has led the market in Asia for 25 years. For the last two and a half decades, it’s sourced and providing hardwood flooring and kitchen solutions from Europe for clients across Asia—from grand hotels such as the Banyan Tree, Macau, the Upper House and the Shangri-La in Beijing, Manila and Cebu; to offices for multinational corporations such as BNP Paribas or McKinsey & Company; shop spaces for Burberry, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin and Lane Crawford; and residential properties and clubhouses including Highcliff, the Cullinan, the OPUS, Castle One by V and the brand new Swire residential project Alassio. But now Equal wants to take the expertise it’s developed over decades of design and countless projects, and apply it to the family home. That’s why it’s launched CORE by Equal, a showroom and consultation space in the heart of Happy Valley that has been created not only for designers or architects, but for anyone who wants to breathe new life into their home.
Kitchen Innovation
As a general rule, Hong Kong kitchens are never very large: they often seem more like an afterthought than an essential element. But for many the kitchen is the heart of the home, and a beautifully designed kitchen brings the entire home to life. CORE by Equal is the exclusive Hong Kong representative for Binova, an Italian kitchen brand with 60 years of experience. Every Binova cabinet is crafted by artisans in Italy, a testament to the firm’s family origins. But this is no staid company: Binova’s cabinetry is simultaneously innovative and valuedriven, featuring subtle touches designed with both aesthetics
and people in mind. They offer a huge range of materials and finishes, and with fully customisable construction, there’s no space that can’t be made beautiful. It’s this thoughtful, elegant design that makes Binova a wise choice when you’re taking your kitchen from drab to glam.
Finer Flooring
Just as with sterile kitchens, too often in Hong Kong we put up with sub-par quality flooring, from cold tiles to over-glossy parquet. But a beautiful floor can instantly elevate your house from living space to genuine home. For more than 20 years, Equal has specialised in engineered hardwood flooring: a technique in which different varieties of wood are layered on top of each other, topped with a beautifully finished hardwood. Engineered flooring offers the stunning finish of solid wood planking, with a multitude of benefits perfect for Hong Kong living. The varying kinds of wood in each layer allows the boards to expand and contract evenly during temperature and humidity fluctuations, making for a more stable, even floor. This is particularly important in Hong Kong, where the high levels of humidity can easily lead solid wood flooring to warp and bend. Engineered flooring is also easier to install, and can be sanded and re-finished over its lifetime.
The European Touch
Equal is the city’s sole supplier of leading European flooring brand BOEN. BOEN’s legacy dates back as early as 1641, and the sawmills of southern Norway. These days it offers engineered hardwood flooring in multiple kinds of wood, exporting its European know-how across the world. CORE by Equal also offers flooring from brands including Château by Adler, which specialises in planks with widths of up to 350mm and lengths of up to five metres; and Mafi, which offers flooring which makes the natural cracks and knots in the wood a standout feature, by filling them with vibrant and customisable colours. A brand new addition to the CORE by Equal range is 100% Spanish engineered hardwood flooring brand STP. The company specialises in unique patterns that are a cut above standard planking: Avant-garde designs are hand-crafted to fit your space, with options ranging from linear geometry to organic, flowing lines to shapes which evoke an elegant, oldworld glamour. With 25 years of experience in flooring and kitchens, CORE by Equal has the expertise—and the style—to turn your house into a home.