Smart lighting, custom furniture turns a Hong Kong industrial unit into an art-filled, eye-catching studio
- With 2,500 square feet to play with, couple have space to accommodate their eclectic collection of furniture and art, and a selection of guitars
- Some ingenious DIY created an office space, and a bedroom that’s barely noticeable yet has ample room for a king-sized four-poster bed
“We’re not architects or interiors designers; this is something just for us that we can do together creatively,” says brand communications director Anne Gabor of the 2,500 sq ft (232 square metre) work studio she shares with her videographer husband, Alex Gabor. Looking around the cavernous one-bedroom space, with its oil-black floors, custom furnishings and eye-catching art, it’s hard to believe this is the work of amateurs.
“We’ve been here for almost 10 years,” says Anne. “I used to have an art advisory firm, specialising in Filipino art, and we were one of the first galleries to take advantages of the great spaces available in Ap Lei Chau.”
The high ceilings and white walls provided the perfect tableau but the 1960s industrial unit, on a small island to the south of Hong Kong, wasn’t without its challenges: “It was absolutely empty. There were no electrics, no plumbing for the kitchen and the floors were covered in a horrible, fungus-green-coloured linoleum,” recalls Alex.
A contractor was brought in to fit the black Ikea kitchen (allowing Anne to host events), but it was Alex, a perfectionist and DIY enthusiast, who came up with a novel money-saving solution for the floor; coating the entire surface in a black, high-gloss epoxy paint often used in car parks.
At that time, the gallery’s only other must-have, for Anne, was a modular black velvet sofa, which could be positioned according to the art on display. But, as the years progressed, both the couple and the space evolved. Anne stepped back from a career in art, moved into brand communications and took up writing. Alex reignited a passion for working with his hands.
