A place to call home

An accommodating landlord gave a homeware entrepreneur freedom to stamp her inimitable mark on a 2,630 sq ft Mid-Levels family flat.

American-born Jennifer Margolin had just completed the finishing touches on her Old Peak Road flat when she was notified that complexwide renovations were imminent.

Although she and her family initially thought they could stick it out, constant jackhammering for months on end eventually defeated them and Margolin, her husband, Andrew (a financial services executive), and their now 14-year-old daughter, Madison, decided their only option was to move.

The silver lining to this particular cloud was finding the 2,630 sq ft MidLevels apartment they currently call home, a rental treasure in an almost wholly owner-occupied block. “We really lucked out,” says Margolin, founder and CEO of high-end floristry and gift delivery business Bydeau. “This apartment is open and bright, with wonderful high ceilings and crown mouldings – and our landlord has been amazing. He repainted all the rooms in the colours we chose before we moved in, in October 2021, and let us install our own lights. It is the first place that we’ve been able to hang our bedside lamps, properly wired in, since we arrived in Hong Kong nine years ago.”

Rather than being restricted by the limitations of a rental property, Margolin got creative with it to achieve a warm, welcoming and calming home that worked for her family’s lifestyle.

Although the flat has four bedrooms, they needed only two on a daily basis so she turned the main bedroom, off the living area, into a television room and adapted a fourth bedroom into a multipurpose space, complete with TRX exercise straps, anchored firmly to the ceiling, an office corner and a sofa bed.

“The bedrooms are all fairly spacious and it made sense to turn the largest one into a comfortable den,” she says. “The other bedrooms [and two further bathrooms] are situated off a corridor beyond the dining area so we can close the door when we are entertaining and give our daughter peace and privacy.”

Filled with beautiful, quirky keepsakes, Margolin’s home reveals

TELEVISION DEN

LIVING ROOM

The armchairs, designed by Margolin and made

by Artura Ficus, were upholstered with fabric by

Kelly Wearstler (kellywearstler.com). The purple sofa

came from Lucia Tait Tolani (luciataittolani.com)

and was reupholstered by Permanent Resident

(permanent-resident.com). The tall vase came from

a vintage shop in San Francisco years ago. The gold

pendant light by Gervasoni (gervasoni1882.com)

and white CB2 side table between the armchairs

were sourced by Foster-Adams; the Calabash vase,

by Lobmeyr, on the side table was from Belevivi

(belevivi.com); and the round rug came from

Ruggable (ruggable.com). The coffee table was

designed by Foster-Adams and made by Artura

Ficus. The shelving came with the flat. On it are a

vintage horse sculpture bought in San Francisco,

urns from Tree (tree.com.hk), abstract sculptures

from Taobao (taobao.com) and a knot sculpture

from Lulu and Georgia (luluandgeorgia.com). The

white chair was from Bowerbird Home (no longer

open) and the cushion from Lulu and Georgia.

Next to the chair is a side table from Tree and

on it is a gold plant pot from Bydeau (bydeau.com).

Under the chair is a Moroccan runner from Callixto

(callixto.com). On the balcony are chairs from One

Kings Lane (onekingslane.com) and a table from

Patio Mart (patiomart.co).

The horse photograph came from Hudson Grace (hudsongracesf.com),

in San Francisco, and the small sideboard beneath it was from Indigo

Living (indigo-living.com). The L-shaped sofa was from HD Buttercup

(hdbuttercup.com) and the cushions are a mix, with some made from fabric

sourced by Foster-Adams and others from Lulu and Georgia, also the source

for the pendant light and main rug. Under a leather armchair from Stockroom

(stockroom.com.hk) is a KHK-26 small rug by Kahoko from Belevivi. The white

footstool under the window was from a shop in San Francisco and the blue

painting is by Scottish artist Hayley McCrirrick (hayleymccrirrick.co.uk). The

coffee table was designed by Margolin and made by Artura Ficus. The blue

glass dish came from Dinosaur Designs (dinosaurdesigns.com.au). The wicker

stools and wicker sideboards were from Taobao and the lamp was from Serax

(serax.com). On the sideboards are a gold sculpture from Indigo Living; a

white sculpture from McGee & Co (mcgeeandco.com); and amber balls from

Sue Fisher King (suefisherking.com). To the far left of The Frame television

by Samsung (see Tried + Tested) is an artwork (top left) by Margolin’s friend

Niya Jaymee (instagram: @niyajaymee). Above the TV is a terracotta custom

piece by Bethany Marie (bethanymarie.co/shop).

wall light from RH (restorationhardware.com)

(lightcookie.com). The tall wicker plant holder

was found at the Yue Kee Rattan Factory

(yuekee.com) and the sideboard came from a

second-hand store in San Francisco and was

relacquered. The sculpture was from West Elm

(westelm.com) and the rug from Ruggable.

Margolin filled the shelving unit already in the flat

with decorative objects, including a brass Chinese

engaged, silver family heirlooms and a Tiffany &

Co clock (tiffany.com), another family heirloom.

room at the end of the corridor is a grey chest

of drawers, custom made by Red Cabinet, and

a lamp from Tang Tang Tang Tang (both now

closed). The wicker bin was from Tree. The

plant pot was found at Wah King Garden Arts

(wahking-garden.com) and the sofa bed

was from Ovo (ovo.com.hk). her love for design and entertaining.

That interest spawned the multi-vendor homeware platform Belevivi, which she co-launched recently to bring luxury brands and independent designers to Asia.

“I often feel Hong Kong lacks access to the sort of unique designs that my friends in the States and Europe are constantly discovering and buying,” she says. “Belevivi showcases beautiful things from all kinds of places – Morocco, Austria, Italy and Denmark – and Sasha [Dennig] and I are hoping the site will grow to become the Farfetch of homeware.”

A fan of repurposing where she can, Margolin reused furniture from her previous homes, in Hong Kong and California. Interior designer Ana FosterAdams had helped with her former home and most of the pieces she had sourced (such as the L-shaped sofa in the TV den) slotted straight into the new flat. Others, such as the purple crescent sofa and armchairs, were given a new lease of life with reupholstering.

Along with all the window treatments, Margolin also had several pieces custom made, including the circular coffee table and the stylish mahjong table. Crafted out of pale wood with a navy-blue top, its minimal design looks stunning surrounded by four Philippe Starck Ghost chairs.

“I play mahjong every Tuesday but I don’t like those typical fold-up tables,” she says. “I wanted something easily accessible for my weekly games that would double up as a regular side table and not look ugly or out of place.

“I love nice things and yet I won’t get upset if someone spills red wine on a rug, for example. I want guests to feel comfy here and come away having had the best time.”

LIVING ROOM DETAIL The mahjong table was designed by tenant Jennifer Margolin and made by Artura Ficus (arturaficus.com). The Ghost chairs are by Philippe Starck (starck.com) and the raffia wall lamp was sourced by Ana FosterAdams Interior Design (anafosteradams.com). The flower artwork was a gift from Margolin’s mother-in-law.

DINING ROOM The dining table, which came from Bloomingdale’s (bloomingdales.com), was a wedding present. On it is a green Murano glass jug by Emporium Murano, stemmed wine glasses and Green Leaves table mats by Bydeau Home, Ichendorf Milano wine glasses, scalloped-edged plates by Chabi Chic, Byblos bamboo flatware by Capdeco, a Yara white tablecloth by Callixto and vases from Bydeau Flowers, all available from Belevivi. The dining chairs were from Taobao, the artwork was from PB Studio (thestore-london.com), the and the pendant lamp from Light Cookie bowl that was given to Margolin when she got

CORRIDOR Rugs from Ruggable and globe lights from One Kings Lane decorate the corridor leading from the dining room to the bedrooms. The art includes, from foreground to background, a work by Gray Malin (graymalin.com), a gift from Margolin’s father-in-law, and one from iDecorate (idecorateshop.com). In the multipurpose

San Francisco. MAIN BEDROOM The teal bed was custom made by a shop since closed. The bedside tables were designed by Foster-Adams and made by Artura Ficus. The Fortuny sconces and chair came from Sue Fisher King. The chests of drawers were from Horchow (horchow.com) and the vintage illustrations above were from the childhood home of Margolin’s mother-in-law. The lamps and the ottoman at the foot of the bed came from Shenzhen Design Center (szdesigncenter.com). The bookshelf was from Pottery Barn (potterybarn.com). On the wall by the window is a vintage photograph of Margolin’s grandmother as a child; the other artworks were found in a vintage shop in

TRIED+TESTED The big picture show Jennifer Margolin has always loathed the look of a blank television screen, so opted for The Frame by Samsung (samsung.com) in her family room. It displays the image of her choice and, when not in use, looks like a regular artwork in the centre of a gallery wall.