How this Hong Kong village house got a maritime makeover, thanks to interior designer Jenny Perry
- Mere steps from the sea, a lawyer’s weekend retreat in Sai Kung Country Park was crying out for a maritime-themed redesign, with ample space for a stand-alone bar to give guests a suitably wet welcome
The moment they laid eyes on the detached village house deep inside Sai Kung Country Park, Ben Liu and Elena Huang knew it would make a perfect weekender and a welcome change from their weekday life in their Hong Kong Island high-rise.
So remote that it lacks mobile phone coverage, the property is only metres from the sea, allowing the couple to “feel the wind, smell the ocean.”
Interior designer Jenny Perry, founder of Perry Contracting, accompanied the couple on the final pre-purchase inspection in early 2023 to advise on renovation possibilities.
In addition to being a private retreat, the house would also host visiting friends and occasional clients of Liu, a lawyer. “I wanted a well-designed kitchen and living room for that purpose”, he says. “A bar would be the centrepiece. We also wanted as little furniture as possible, leaving space for people to move around.”
Built in 2001, the house offered the usual three floors, each 700 sq ft, facing either sea or forest views. However, small windows throughout rendered the interior dark – a situation Perry remedied by enlarging all the glazing within legal requirements.
The site also lent itself to a maritime-themed decor, which Liu embraced with gusto. Scouring the internet, he sourced scores of items of vintage kit salvaged from decommissioned ships, artfully arranging selected pieces across the three floors
