Sitting Pretty

英式優雅生活

Actress turned politician Erica Yuen lives the life of her dreams in a British-inspired home.情繫跑馬地，Erica袁彌明鍾情英式優雅家居。

The pageant brought her fame, and more importantly, a public voice.參選港姐不單為她帶來名氣，更讓她在社會上獲得話語權。

Actress turned politician Erica Yuen lives the life of her dreams in a British-inspired home.情繫跑馬地，Erica袁彌明鍾情英式優雅家居。

From being an actress, politician and now the CEO of publicly-listed skincare and wellness company, Mi Ming Mart, Erica Yuen has gone through more career transitions in the past decade than most people in a lifetime. With aspirations to be a businesswoman since childhood, Yuen was always fiercely independent despite having older siblings growing up. Having spent her primary and secondary school years in boarding schools, Yuen travelled to the US after high school, where she studied economics and it was also where she perfected her English, preparing herself for the international world of business. Admittedly, Yuen is a person who seeks freedom and control of her own life and she has certainly succeeded with this over the years. When she graduated in 2003, the US was still in recession while Hong Kong's SARS crisis had just begun to subside, so she returned home and became a trainee in an administration department of a telecommunications company. However, after 18 months of rotating through various departments and feeling unfulfilled, she resigned from her job and entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant; believing that it's not only her privilege but also her duty as a Miss Hong Kong Pageant participant to put the spotlight and platform to good use and draw the public's attention to social issues and charitable activities. The pageant brought her fame, and more importantly, a public voice, and it's this sense of responsibility and justice that compelled her to join radical democratic political coalition People Power in 2010. Consequently, Yuen became one of the few political party chairwomen in Hong Kong at the time.

走過娛樂圈，曾當過政黨主席，現為護膚及化妝品零售店彌明生活百貨上市公司Ceo，十年間袁彌明（erica）多次變換人生跑道。這位新時代女創業家，從小就想成為一名生意人，成長時期雖有兄姊陪伴，性格卻非常獨立。小學以至中學時期都在寄宿學校生活，後來往美國升學，修讀經濟系以及練得一口流利英語，都為日後成為商人作好準備。Erica自言追求人生的控制權，03年畢業時正值美國經濟不穩，回港時沙士危機已退，在電訊公司當上見習行政人員，在各個部門匆匆逗留並未為她帶來滿足感，一年半後她辭去工作參加香港小姐選舉，獲得了旅遊大使獎。Erica認為港姐應該好好利用傳媒的關注，透過參與公益事務，令社會大眾留意各種議題。參選港姐不單為她帶來名氣，更讓她在社會上獲得話語權。不平則鳴的個性使她在2010年加入政治組織人民力量，更成為當時政界少數的女主席。 工作上要有話語權，家居生活當然也要一手包辦。Erica現時與丈夫居於跑馬地私人屋苑，2012年正式搬入前，Erica花了整整一年時間看過近100個樓盤，地段主要位於跑馬地和渣甸山等港島地段，她特別喜愛跑馬地這一區寧靜得來兼具生活所需的設施，銀行、超級市場和餐廳一應俱全。而現居則是當中最喜愛的單位，當時業主叫價$1,100萬，一年後Erica以$1,900萬購入這個1,500平方呎的單位，她將原本的三房變成兩房，打造出衣帽間和化妝的

Yuen is just as independent in her personal life, taking control of her life at home too. Prior to setting her mind on a private estate in Happy Valley in 2012 where she resides with her husband, she spent an entire year researching and inspecting close to 100 residential developments. During her homehunting journey, she focused on Hong Kong Island, particularly Happy Valley, because she was extremely fond of the area's peaceful surroundings and abundance of facilities, banks, supermarkets and restaurants. The one home that truly caught her eye is, of course, her current abode, for which the previous owner originally asked for HK$11 million. One year later, Yuen purchased the 1,500-square-foot home at HK$19 million and immediately turned the three-bedroom apartment into a two-bedroom with designated spaces for wardrobe and make up. An admirer of the elegant British home design, during the 2014 renovation, she set the overall palette of new home to white, and extensively incorporated wide window frames with British plaid patterns, as well as texturally-rich wooden cabinets and lamps. To add more warmth and cosiness, Yuen carpeted the entire home which also made it easier to clean than wooden floors, a plus in any household. With pale blue prints on the walls and all cables and wires neatly stored in the in-wall TV cabinet, this meticulously arranged home allows Yuen to work at home without distractions. For the study, which serves somewhat as a private space for her husband, Yuen chose darker hues; it also doubles as a studio that she uses to shoot videos online. In the bedroom, where she spends the most time in, the khakicoloured bed frame with white bedding and wooden night stands boasts a classic British style, together creating a welcoming and soothing ambience.

Yuen believes that putting in the hours and effort into designing and decorating a home down to every detail is a worthy investment, because it's where the whole family rests and spends time with each other. Before meeting with interior designers for her home, she researched home décor inspiration from Laura Ashley, Indigo Living and other design companies in order to conceptualise a cohesive British style for her home. Even the bathroom faucets, custom-made in Britain, assert a sleek, curved design that dazzles with sophistication. Speaking to the future, when home prices start to drop, Yuen hopes to focus on purchasing smaller units in Sha Tin and Tai Wai for investment; and in the meantime, she hopes to continue to travel, read, live a balanced life and, of course, keep creating the home of her dreams. 空間。上手業主留下了部份裝修和廚房設備，Erica於2014年重新裝修，她特別鍾情英式優雅的設計，於是將整個設計的色調設定為白色，用上大量英式格子粗邊窗框和具有觸感的木櫃和燈飾。全屋用上地氈，因為Erica喜歡其溫暖舒適的觸感，清理塵埃也比地板容易。牆身用上淺藍色的圖案印花，客廳一幅入牆電視櫃將所有電視線和音響線都整齊收納，整潔企理的空間讓Erica可以專注處理公司業務。

書房主要是丈夫的私人空間，她特地選用較深色的格調，這裡同時擺放了Erica拍網上短片的攝影用具，兼顧了拍攝場地的作用。睡房是Erica長時間逗留的房間，卡其色床架配上白色床鋪，床頭木櫃是經典的英國設計，打造一室暖色系氛圍。

近年家居設計興起北歐簡約風，Erica則認為不夠精細。家是每個人休息及與家人相處的地方，所以她覺得更加要多花時間和心機去設計和佈置，在請室內設計師打造前，她會參考Laura Ashley及indigo等家居設計。為了統一整個英式風格，Erica特地從英國訂造浴室的水龍頭，其流線型設計盡顯氣派。未來她寄望能趁低入市，會留意沙田大圍區的細單位作投資之用；而公司上市後，她會繼續開拓新的經營模式，同時希望能趁空檔去長旅行，專心閱讀書籍。