SERENE SCENE
This elegant family home perched atop the Mid-Levels is a true labour of love 這家坐落於中半山的優雅住宅絕對是以愛建成
“My wife and I had been looking for a new place for a long time until we came across this apartment,” describes Henry Chuang of the instant affinity he felt towards the bright and airy family home, perched high up in a residential complex on Seymour Road in Mid-Levels.
It’s certainly not hard to see why. A palpable sense of calmness washes over every corner of the 1,600sqft apartment – a covetable quality in this bustling city that has just as much to do with the complex’s configuration as it does the home’s elegant design approach. “The building has three units on each floor, but there are no common walls between the units,” explains Henry. “We are right below the fire barrier level, so there’s no one on top of us. The place is very quiet.”
The tranquil environs provided the ideal setting for Henry – who himself favours a sleek, minimalist decorating style and was involved in the renovation and construction business for several years – to create his dream family home. The aim was a space that would be a calming sanctuary primarily inhabited by Henry and his wife, yet complete with all the touches for whenever his son, who works overseas, comes home to visit. “I read all kinds of magazines on interior design and architecture,” he enthuses. Henry also enlisted the help of Louie Shum, chief designer at House of Beast, a Hong Kong-based design firm with which he had previously worked on several other projects.
As such, several major reconfigurations of the apartment’s layout were needed to accommodate the diverse needs of the family. A wall in the study (Henry’s favourite room, replete with Ligne Roset's bed-sized “mahjong sofas”) was moved to enlarge the second guest bedroom, a bedroom was transformed into the wife’s closet and the helper’s bathroom was opened up to create the current four-bedroom, four-bathroom layout. “One requirement of my wife is that each room has its own bath or shower,” explains Henry.
“SOMEHOW WHEN I LOOK AT IT, IT GIVES ME A SENSE OF PEACE”
HO≤E JOURNAL
「我和太太花了不少時間物色新居，直至找到此處。」Henry Chuang形容自己首次到訪現居時，已立時愛上了這個位於中半山西摩道住宅大廈的高層單位，一切也是如此明亮通風。
要是你能親身到訪，也定能馬上體會到Henry愛上這單位的原因：1,600平方呎的空間裡洋溢著寧靜致遠的氛圍，在這繁華大都市就更顯難得，大廈的結構和單位高貴的設計方式也同樣厥功至偉。Henry解釋：「大廈一梯三伙，但單位彼此並非相連。我們樓上就是防火層，無人居住，所以非常安靜。」
靜謐的環境為Henry提供了創造夢想家園的理想背景。他個人偏好時尚、簡約主義的裝修風格，曾從事翻新和建築工程數年。這次首要任務就是為他跟太太創造寧靜舒逸的居住環境，同時包含設計細節，讓他在海外工作的兒子隨時回家探望留宿。Henry興奮表示，自己看過了各式各樣的室內設計和建築雜誌，最後決定聘用香港設計工作室House of Beast的首席設計師Louie Shum活現理想效果，雙方過去已合作過好幾次！
為滿足家庭成員的不同需要，家居格局也因而作了重大改動。書房是Henry最喜愛的空間，裡面放了一張睡床大小的Ligne Roset「麻雀梳化」，而為了加大第二客房的面積，便把書房其中一面牆縮後
Once the structure was perfected, next came the interiors – and Henry knew exactly what he wanted. “I am basically a minimalist in design,” he says, explaining that he envisioned a timeless, clean and collected space with a hint of elegance. Together with the House of Beast team, he harmonised streamlined, functional furniture with a colour palette rich in light greys and taupes, featuring materials such as oak and white marble – as found on a centrepiece feature wall that anchors the dining room. “I also don’t like things laying all over the place,” says Henry. “In that respect, there are plenty of full-height build-in cabinets in the apartment.” These considerations have elevated the expansiveness of the sun-drenched open living, dining and kitchen spaces that overlook the harbour.
一尺；其中一個房間變成了Henry太太的衣帽間，同時為傭人提供浴室，建成現時四間套房的格局。Henry解釋：「太太其中一個要求就是所有房間也要有自己的浴室。」
單位結構完成後，接下來就是室內設計，Henry非常清楚自己的要求：「基本上，我就是個簡約主義者。」他心中構想的是永不過時、井然和歸一的空間，同時帶高貴氣派。在House of Beast團隊的協助下，他訂製了和諧、流線型而不失功能性的傢具，主色調為淺灰和褐灰色，物料主要為橡木和白雲石，飯廳中的鎮宅特色牆正是一例。Henry表示：「我也不喜歡東
Some of Henry and his family’s most treasured memories were created in these particular rooms, whether that be “heavy cooking” in one of two cooking areas that has a door to the patio, sharing meals around the Pukka dining table, or minor baking and entertaining guests in a secondary cooking area that faces the dining room. Henry, who is fond of handmade and unique pieces, also displays his favourite relic in the living room: a red Buddhist wood panel from Tibet that is a salvaged door from a monastery, its colour and details still vivid from subsequent restoration. “Although I’m not Buddhist, somehow when I look at it, it gives me a sense of peace,” he says – and this quality clearly radiates throughout the rest of the home. //
西到處放，故訂造了大量高身入牆櫃。」這些巧思讓這眺望維港兩岸、充滿日光的開放家園顯得更開闊。
這些空間正是Henry和他家人創造大量珍貴回憶的地方，包括附設大門通往露台的主廚房，讓一家圍著Pukka餐桌用膳，又或到飯廳對面的副廚房烤烤東西、款待客人。Henry鍾愛手造和獨一無二的珍品，他心愛的藏品可見客廳四周：從西藏帶回來的紅木佛像板畫，其實是從一家僧院救回來的木門，復修後的顏色和細節依舊靈動。「雖然我不是佛教徒，但每次看著它，心中也是一片安逸平和。」這氣場也處處流露於家中每一角落。//