Monday 12 January 2009

Studio Apartment - the before photos

I’m so excited to be able to share with you this solo project that I started working on a few months ago.

The apartment is tiny, only 420 sq ft (about 40 sq mtrs), but one of it’s redeeming features is that it has a private rooftop the same size. It’s located in a quiet (well, quiet for Hong Kong) cul-de-sac in an up and coming area.

My client, an expat bachelor, approached me via my blog just after he purchased the property late last year. With the apartment being so small, and he not owning really any furniture to speak of, we’ve completely gutted the place and are starting again from scratch. How fun!

These are the photos we took before construction started just before Xmas....


Looking in through the front door...horrible tiled floors (a pet peeve of mine). From here you can see into the second bedroom. Yes, that's right. The previous owners managed to squeeze 2 bedrooms into a 420 sq ft apartment...

One of the tiny bedrooms...although even from these you can see the green outlook from the windows - a real rarity in Hong Kong, and something we intend to maximise as much as we can.

The second tiny bedroom..

The cramped living space, and the nook that was the kitchen. Yes, past tense. They took out the kitchen and put it on the roof!

I'm not sure what to say about this bathroom...I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves...

And last but not least, the roof. You can see the high rises the building is surrounded by on one side, and the green mountainside on the other. We intend on having cooking facilities on the roof still, but there will definitely be a kitchen inside!

The contractor has already started construction, its been gutted and the new internal walls have now been built. After checking out their progress on Sunday the most exciting thing for me was seeing the new windows. I forgot to take update photos - but I'll be back again this weekend to check on their progress so I'll post some new shots of it then, so stay tuned!

14 comments:

Camilla said...

Oh what a great project to get your hands on! Im looking forward to watching the progress!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you have your hands full but with your eye I know it will rock!
As for that bathroom, it's truly scary =]
Can't wait to see the progress, good luck with the project!

columnist said...

I'm guessing somewhere in Western??

Courtney said...

This is a renovation that I can't wait to follow!

Suzy said...

Columnist, yep, you guessed right!

And thanks so for the vote of confidence so far guys - I hope I don't disappoint!

Charlie said...

I am so happy you are back, you have been missed! I just stopped by to make sure the blog was still here:-)silly I know. I have not received any posts from you from feedburner? I will resuscribe.

I cannot wait to see the outcome of this project! I think the place looks big for 42sqm and the rooftop is quite a boon with space so limited! Well, happy that you're back!

Cheers,
Charlie

J.Covington said...

420 sq feet - Whoaa...I can't wait to watch this renovation.

Anonymous said...

Suzy, I'm so excited for you and the lucky bachelor. I often dream of having my own place to renovate w/ a great designer who speaks to my taste and personality.
A-N-D! I feel so homey w/ u back! I also have a new plan this year and I'm sure things will work out the best for us.
Dont work too hard. ;)HJ.

Suzy said...

Thanks HJ! and to everyone else...I can't wait to post more photos now!

pinknest said...

i love the windows and view! i can't believe there are two bedrooms in this size space! i can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Anonymous said...

Can not wait to see the final result.

Does anyone know a good blog/website for kids decoration?

katiedid said...

OOOOooo! What a fun project! And those views! I will try to wait patiently for your wonderful transformation. So very cool. :)

Unknown said...

I head that apartments were small in Hong Kong, but I am sure that with your style you will make it work in every way!!

Suzy said...

Small is a bit of an understatement..but thanks for the vote of confidence Patricia!