Retrospective: Antique collectors a living history in old houses the
At the end of a deep lane on Yuyuan Road stands a townhouse that is a century old, both in structure and interior decor.
The owners, freelance designer HT Sun and his wife Teng Yue, have eschewed the popular trend of outfitting vintage houses with modern interiors. They prefer to live surrounded by the era when the house was constructed.
Their home exemplifies the Chinese Art Deco style, with antique furniture and daily ware the couple collected from every corner of Shanghai. Some furnishings were salvaged from old communities in the throes of demolition; others were bought in secondhand stores.
“We are both fascinated by the design of antiques, especially desks, chairs and screens,” said Teng. “It seems that designers back then had more userfriendly ideas, which contemporary designers could learn from.”
Before settling down in Shanghai, the couple studied and then worked in the United Kingdom for about 10 years. They weren’t interested in vintage culture until they returned to Shanghai and had a chance acquaintance with Li Minglu, the previous owner of their townhouse, who died at the age of 93 in 2021.
“The townhouse is actually part of Li’s mansion,” Sun told Shanghai Daily. “The family had six children, and the parents gave each of them one of six interlinked houses. You can still see the letter ‘L’ for Li inscribed on the gable of the townhouse.”
Nowadays, most of the Li clan has dispersed overseas and various families reside in the six houses.
The townhouse Sun and Teng now own has always been well preserved and maintained. Li often returned to Shanghai from the United States in his later years to check up on its maintenance.
When he met the couple, he regaled them with the history of the mansion and stories of his family. He finally sold the house to them, safe in the knowledge that it would be in good hands.
He certainly sized up that situation well. Sun and Teng have retained the original wood floor, Chinese Deco-style arcade and mosaic tiles. Their addition of items such as antique fireplace screens, ceiling lamps and vintage clocks has enhanced the period aura.
“We used to bicycle around city to look for period pieces in neighborhoods condemned for demolition,” Sun said. “The best time was at night, and the best place to find such treasures were the corners that streetlights didn’t reach. But, in recently years, it’s getting harder to find anything.”
Collecting what many people regard as junk is hobby of the few, but the couple nonetheless found people of similar age and interests. One of them is photographer Hass Zhang, whom they met through common friends on secondhand websites.
The photographer now runs a private studio and gallery in King’s Lynn Apartments, a British neoclassic-style apartment building constructed in 1929, in Xuhui District.
He, too, has designed the interior of his home in retro style, with Art Deco furniture, old photos, antique picture frames and daily paraphernalia from the early last century in Shanghai.
His collection of antiques has become an inspiration for his photo creations. For example, his photography installation series “Moonshot” is