Innehållsförteckning för December 2019 från Home Journal

1. STAY THE NIGHT Nestled within a restored geisha house in Tokyo’s Kagurazaka neighbourhood is Trunk (House), a new hospitality concept that takes cues from traditional Japanese salons. 2. WINTER WONDERLAND ’Tis the season for some holiday fun – from Christmas markets to dazzling soirees, we round up the best places to soak up the festive spirit. 3. INNER PEACE Enjoy a retreat and revitalise at the Lohkah Hotel & Spa in the heart of Xiamen, where authentic and luxuriously transformative experiences are offered for weary souls. 4. TOP OF THE TOWN Søren Rose Studio conceives a magnificent penthouse atop New York’s Park Avenue, where a 30-feet-long pool looks out to the Empire State Building. 5. WHITE ON WHITE Experience the power of minimalist aesthetics inside this Portugal Vineyards wine…

He twists mailboxes, melts buildings and turns automobiles on their heads – British sculptor Alex Chinneck’s art is the kind that upends your senses with its sheer ingenuity. Hailing from Bedfordshire, just outside London, the artist fell in love with painting as a child before honing his sculptural practice at the Chelsea College of Arts, where he started using materials typically associated with architecture, such as bricks. “That experience opened my eyes,” says Alex. “Familiarity and repetition can become a cage to creative freedom. I work very hard to maintain flexibility, and allow new materials and processes to give birth to new ways of working.” This ethos has spurred Alex’s extraordinary portfolio of surrealist sculptures that defy reality, from A Sprinkle of Night and a Spoonful of Light – which…

Transform your abode into an inviting festive wonderland that’s infused with the joyful spirit of the season. While it’s fun to bring your holiday display to life with festive decor pieces, it’s also essential to ensure the overall setting and atmosphere reflects your personality and allows your guests to feel at ease. Set the tone with comfortable furniture pieces, then weave in a wealth of sumptuous drapery, upholstery and textiles to infuse warmth and texture. If you’re up for something more classic and traditional, bring out vivid colours such as red and yellow through pillows and rugs to accentuate the theme. Alternately, you can adopt a neutral palette for your decorative scheme, marked with a geometrical arrangement for a more low-profile look and an intimate ambience. Either way, feel free…

In 1956, a group of seven prominent entrepreneurs — including Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie of the illustrious Kadoorie family — transformed a simple idea into one of the world’s most important carpet design brands. First established with the objectives of aiding refugees and providing employment for the colony’s burgeoning population following the Second World War, Tai Ping has since embedded itself in both Hong Kong’s business and cultural landscape. Its name meaning ‘peace,’ Tai Ping began with manufacturing Tianjin-style knotted carpets, which quickly gained popularity among admirers of Oriental artistry both in Hong Kong and overseas. The company built its first workshop in 1956, in a two-storey villa in Castle Peak, with only 13 employees. By 1958, the company had received a remarkable commission from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los…

At this very moment – wherever you are, and whether you realise it or not – you only need to look around to see that the subliminal effect of lighting has transcended its function of merely illuminating your environs. Rather, a thoughtful source of lighting can conceive any desired atmosphere, enrich the interiors, and perhaps even deeply shape the emotions and moods of those under it. Tino Kwan understands this all too well. The globally feted lighting designer and founder of TinoKwan Lighting Consultants is behind some of the most sophisticated, elaborate lighting solutions across Asia and the world, with his designs adorning spaces from the Raffles Singapore to The Peninsula Tokyo, and even to palaces in Iran. He has translated the crème de la crème of his know-how and…

“WE STARTED WITH A COLOUR PALETTE AND LET THE PROCESS EVOLVE ORGANICALLY” “The client is really drawn to pinks and blues; when presented with a colour, 90 per cent of the time, she would pick a pink or a blue!” shares interior decorator Lucia Tait Tolani about a recent project she executed. Admired for her polished and tasteful take on interiors, as well as her daring and adept use of colour, it’s unsurprising that Lucia was enlisted by a hard-working expatriate couple to transform their high-rise Mid-Levels apartment into a comfortable and sophisticated home for four. This stylish abode is located on a quiet residential path leading up to The Peak, which combines close proximity to Central with abundant greenery. Indeed, it’s a curated and artistic expression of the couple’s…

With the mulled wine flowing, ornaments glittering and many loved ones reuniting – December has always been a time when this city brims with great joie de vivre and light-heartedness, and one that our team revels in as we put together our annual holiday issue featuring the most dazzling festive designs and covetable gifts. But Christmas can also be a season of illumination – and not just in the sense of glowing décor, but a beam of energy that brightens up the world and brings hope and positivity to a new future. The magic of light is at the heart of this month’s issue, wonderfully showcased by lighting master Tino Kwan’s Happy Valley duplex where every corner basks in thoughtfully crafted radiance, de Gournay scion Hannah Cecil Gurney’s technicolour London…

“Always be the best version of yourself” is the motto of fashion designer Vivien So, an M.A. graduate from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Inspired by her fashionable mother, Vivien decided to become a designer when she was just nine years old. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she moved to Los Angeles at age 16, which had a great impact on her design journey. Vivien believes that culture and creativity go hand in hand, and that the latter is heavily influenced by the environment in which we live. Rising Lotus, the athleisure brand she founded in 2016, is inspired by the adventure and freedom of the California lifestyle while catering to the needs of Hong Kong city girls. It combines her two biggest passions in life: fashion…

The Savoy Hotel in London, the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris and the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills – these are just a few examples of the opulent, timelessly refined aesthetics created by Pierre-Yves Rochon. After founding his eponymous firm in 1979, the renowned French architect and designer has crafted the interiors of some of the world’s grandest properties, historic landmarks and restaurant environments (for the likes of Alain Ducasse and the late Joël Robuchon) – injecting each with a classic European flair and a warm, harmonious cosiness that gives way to an authentic feeling of home. Known for celebrating each project’s rich cultural heritage and surrounding geography, Pierre has been expanding his footprint into Asia in recent years with the quaint Le Cap residences in Hong Kong, The…

What a spectacular night to remember! On the evening of October 17, more than 200 of the city’s crème de la crème of creative talent – designers, architects, developers, industry insiders and VIPs – descended upon the alluring interiors of John Anthony to mark the milestone 39th birthday of Home Journal. And what a celebration it was. Themed “A New Era”, the cocktail reception was brimming with revelry and creative synergy from the moment the curtains were raised, as familiar faces reunited within Maximal Concepts’ sustainability-driven Cantonese grill restaurant – a perfect setting for our magazine, which published its maiden issue in 1980, to herald an exciting next chapter. Beautifully dressed and stylishly dapper, our guests made their way past the window-clad open kitchen – where chefs were whipping up…

“I WANT TO STEP INTO IT AND FEEL LIKE I HAVE COMPLETELY ESCAPED FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD” “I want to feel like my house is embracing me – I want to step into it and feel like I have completely escaped from the outside world,” says Hannah Cecil Gurney, the charming, blonde-tressed director of luxury wallpaper purveyor de Gournay, founded in 1986 by her father, Claud Cecil Gurney, and world-renowned for its exuberant hand-painted wallpapers. “Most of all, I wanted my house to feel happy.” A look through Hannah’s enchanting Victorian-era home – tucked away in an idyllic residential neighbourhood that’s steps from Battersea Park in London and just a 15-minute stroll from de Gournay’s Chelsea showroom – reveals her dreamy vision brought to life. “It had a happy aura…

Every journey is a life-changing experience. It opens up your eyes to uncharted territories, and allows you to witness the dynamic world and reconnect with the unique surroundings we’re often too busy to notice. With our daily struggles in work and life, it’s essential to slow down the pace and enjoy a genuine getaway to seek that long-lost relationship with the world we live in. For modern travellers and tastemakers, what makes a pleasant travel experience? While it’s great to feel the adrenaline running through your veins due to the excitement of exploring a foreign culture, we also need an authentic environment that feels familiar enough to unwind and nourish our weary souls. After all, a genuine getaway isn’t about getting away from what we own and recognise, but investigating…

01. BOCONCEPT Featuring a monolithic framework, generous surfaces and multifunctional design, Philadelphia presents a stylish solution to meet your storage needs. Available in charcoal grey, matte white and walnut veneer versions. 02. ESTABLO Various shapes, sizes, colours and materials converge on the multi-tiered Palette. Designed for enjoying company, the table unites walnut or black ash with black marble and satin polished brass for an understated and welcoming aesthetic. 03. ROCHE BOBOIS If artisan craftsmanship and an organic shape appeal, consider Iron Tree. The table comprises an undulating structure that has several continuous meters of stainless steel wire carefully hand-woven around it, making each piece unique. 04. MOLTENI & C Part of the beauty of Vicino is that is has marble or eucalyptus table tops that swivel sideways to bring things…

A AB CONCEPT | K11 Atelier Unit 1802, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Rd Tsim Sha Tsui; tel 2525 2328, abconcept.net ALTFIELD INTERIORS | Rm 1101, Nine Queen’s Rd Central, Central; tel 2525 2738, altfield.com.hk APIVITA | apivita.com ARCHETYPAL | G/F, 15 Moon St, Wan Chai; tel 2320 0580, archetypal.hk ASIA DESIGNERS COMMUNITY | asiadesigners.com ATELIER SWAROVSKI | Shop 11-12, Central Bldg; tel 2530 9133, swarovski.com B BOCONCEPT | 73 Wyndham St, Central; tel 2668 0027 or Shop 206-210, Level 2, Lee Garden Three, 1 Sunning Rd, Causeway Bay; tel 2110 9705 or Shop 118, Level 1, HomeSquare, 138 Sha Tin Rural Committee Rd, Sha Tin; tel 3468 7102, boconcept.hk B SQUARED DESIGN LIMITED | 20/F, Room 2011, Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Rd, Wong Chuk Hang; tel 2728 8805,…