A minimalist Hong Kong apartment has avocado, ‘shorthand for nature’, as the colour of choice in a renovation that plays on French simplicity
- Avocado is a colour currently on trend that is known for its soothing qualities – and it was the colour of choice for a Hong Kong apartment renovation
- Its minimalist design leans on simple French elements throughout its open, airy layout – think mock wainscoting, open archways and timber flooring
Incorporating a client’s favourite colour into a contemporary interior scheme can prove challenging for a designer.
Happily for Christy Tang Ka-ki, creative director at MT Design, the preferred hue was avocado – a colour not only currently on trend, but also known for its soothing qualities.
As London-based cultural historian Kassia St Clair writes in her 2016 book The Secret Lives of Colour, avocado is universally “shorthand for nature”, and following a ubiquitous reign in the 1970s, the author continues, this smoky yellow-green tint has “stealthily been reprising its role since the millennium”.
Citing its “organic energy”, American paint company Glidden even declared the shade, named Guacamole, as its colour of the year for 2022.
Thanks to its open surroundings, ample natural light floods the living space throughout the day, creating a warm and inviting ambience
In a palette also composed of creamy whites and natural wood tones, avocado hits the mark in a minimalist renovation of a 520 sq ft (48 square metre) high-rise flat in Tsuen, in Hong Kong’s New Territories.
For the owner, a professional woman, having conveniences such as a shopping mall and wet market directly below and the MTR nearby were attributes as attractive as the apartment’s views, which Tang describes as “glittering city lights by night; dynamic cityscape by day”. “Unobstructed, the views are quite compelling,” she says.
