Hugo Busbridge and Michelle Ng’s 1,100 sq ft Clear Water Bay apartment stands as a testament to extremely
well-planned design and intentional living. The British couple, who have lived in Hong Kong for 11 and 14 years, respectively, had been renting in the area for several years and loved its peace and quiet, so when the chance came to put down more permanent roots, they went all out to create a streamlined family-oriented home. Designer Emma Maclean, of Emma Maclean & Co, and her associate Tasneem Tyebkhan breathed new life into the formerly cramped and uninspiring space, gutting and rearranging the original layout, which had been carved up into a series of tiny rooms.
“It was an exercise in accuracy and creative design solutions because there was so much to fit into a relatively small space”, says Maclean, who grew up in Hong Kong and established her design studio in 2018 after working for a decade on high-end hospitality and commercial projects. “Hugo and Michelle wanted to simplify their lives but they have a young daughter and two cats so the apartment had to work for all of them and be able to evolve with time.”
Busbridge and Ng focused their budget on top-quality construction, double glazing and bespoke cabinetry,
prioritising longevity and practicality but without compromising on style. As Busbridge is a design and technology teacher at an international school, he was particularly interested in the planning stages, the use of space and the selection of finishes. With a design concept based on a tranquil English country house featuring soft tones and textures, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a rooftop terrace embodies an elegant, contemporary feel.
A pretty duck-egg-blue front door sets the
colour palette, which is echoed by the kitchen cabinetry and bathroom tiles. Maclean and Tyebkhan also established a strong connection between indoors and out through the liberal use of warm, grainy timber and floral wallcoverings.
“We’re both quite old-fashioned. Give us both a cup of tea, Michelle an antique edition of
Pride and Prejudice and myself the escapades of Bertie Wooster, coupled with an environment that evokes bygone eras, and we’re there forever”, says Busbridge. “We wanted to capture the essence of the English Arts and Crafts period: William Morris patterns, Cambridge greens and natural oak tones but with a nod to Hong Kong’s
maritime locale.”
At the heart of the home lies the kitchen/dining area, with a focus on family bonding through cooking, meal times, conversation and games. The absence of a conventional living room, with a television screen as a focal point, was a deliberate omission by the couple and additional seats located elsewhere in the home ensure there is always room for at least one more around the table.
