Self-Taught Designer's Modern Apartment Makeover Includes Japanese-Style Bath

Hong Kong is ranked as one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. Over the years, this fact has translated to many Hong Kongers having to adapt to smaller living spaces that may be more affordable but are often outdated or less than ideal in terms of their layout and functionality.

And as any designer will tell you, awkward layouts are a challenge (read: pain) to deal with. Daphney Ho, a local self-taught interior designer who is the head of F.A.L. Works, managed to overcome the idiosyncrasies of her 516-square-foot (48-square-meter) apartment in Kwun Tong, an iconic industrial area in Kowloon that has been transformed into a business district. In redesigning this small apartment for herself and her husband, Ho has succeeded in creating a space that now feels both modern yet organic, practical, and flexible. We get a tour of how Ho adds a breath of fresh air to a once dim and outdated apartment via Never Too Small:

Ho explains that this apartment dates back at least 30 years and had not been renovated since the previous owner moved in in the 1990s. When she and her husband purchased the property, it felt gloomy and run-down. But Ho knew that the two-bedroom apartment had potential, despite its weird diamond-shaped layout, and was a well-located apartment as part of a private housing estate:

"The estate was built to supply residency for the growing population in Hong Kong. It is typical that these private estate include leisure club houses, shopping centres, supermarkets and restaurants. It provides everything a family needs to live here."

Ho took the minimalist approach in overhauling the space, opting to add curves and arches to mitigate the cumbersome, angular layout. She also chose lighter-toned materials that would help brighten the quarters, and swapped out swinging doors for sliding ones that would help save space.

To start, Ho demolished the wall between the main bedroom and bathroom to increase the size of the bathroom and rearranged the floor plan to split the bathroom so that the toilet and shower were separate from the sink. That move was inspired by the Japanese approach to bathroom design, which is arguably more sanitary and cost-effective because more than one person can use the same bathroom for different things.

One enters the apartment into a small open alcove space of sorts. It's defined by a change in floor elevation; after taking off one's shoes and using the versatile pegboard to hang one's coat, one then steps up onto a platform that serves to delineate the main living area. Much of the apartment's walls and ceilings are covered with shikkui, an ecological, non-toxic lime plaster that is made with hydrated lime, hemp fiber, and seaweed glue and is used in Japan.

The entry area is also the place to store one's shoes, as seen in this shoe cupboard that actually forms part of the sofa in the living room.

In the living room area, there is a large custom-made couch. Its sizeable depth means that it can serve as a daybed or an extra place for an overnight guest. Storage drawers are also cleverly tucked underneath, making it a multifunctional piece.

Behind the sofa is a built-in niche for displaying objects, which Ho designed to hide an existing beam that stuck out.

The bay window—one of those iconic features of Hong Kong apartments—has been remade as a place for houseplants to sit. That ledge now continues almost seamlessly to form a floating storage underneath the wall-mounted television, clad with rattan-style cabinet doors that seem to be popular nowadays. Without the legs, the storage unit looks lighter and frees up more floor space.

The dining nook is designed as a welcoming space that doesn't take up too much floor area, thanks to its curved upholstered bench with hidden storage, round table, and a couple of foldable chairs for guests. There is a mix of open and closed storage to balance accessibility and reducing clutter. A rattan-faced snack cabinet occupies one corner, providing a spot to store a water jug and teas.

The kitchen is quite small and has an odd, pentagonal shape which Ho kept. However, she manages to maximize the counter space by adding overhead cabinets and by adding a clever vertical pull-out cabinet for long items like brooms and mops.

Back into the main living area and past the arched doorway, we have two rooms and a generous bathroom on the other side of the apartment. The two rooms are hidden behind three sliding doors with fluted paneling, which helps hide the gaps between them.

The master bedroom is large enough only to fit a bed. Ho purposely made the bedroom smaller to make more space for the Japanese-inspired bathroom. There is more storage space hidden underneath the bed's raised platform.

The bathroom is the real gem in this scheme; with its pale material palette and strategically placed lighting, it feels so luxurious and large—big enough for more storage space concealed between those sliding doors.

The separation of dry and wet areas is key here: by putting the toilet and shower in their own enclosed rooms, more than one person can use this area simultaneously. Here is the toilet room.

The shower room evokes a Japanese-style bath, down to the durable aomori hiba wood covering the tub rims and floor. Like a traditional Japanese bath, the shower is outside of the bathtub, as the custom is to rinse off before getting into the soaking tub so that one is not marinating in one's dirt in the bath.

Finally, the extra room is used by the couple as a home office and dressing room, though likely it's flexible enough to be converted into other uses if necessary.

As this clever renovation project shows, even small and awkward layouts in older apartments can be tackled gracefully to create a completely new space that serves its inhabitants well. To see more, visit F.A.L. Works.