by Newlyweds Royce Fam and Irene Li fell in love with their new flat in Dawson Skyville, for the great views they enjoy from their 23rd-floor unit. For its interiors, the couple had approached long-time friend Cynthia Liau, director of interior design firm The Inside Job, to create an industrial-style home for them, with elements such as concrete screed finishes. Cynthia advised them not to go for a full-on industrial look, which may be overbearing, but adopt some elements from their preferred style instead.
The living and dining areas are kept open to make the home look spacious and bright. To add warmth to the spaces, cabinetry designed to resemble wooden rectangular boxes are clad in wood-look laminates from Lamitak.
The “divider” between the living and dining areas is also a work desk, and includes storage cabinets.
The cabinets help hide clutter and audiovisual equipment, as well as power points, routers, and gaming consoles. Cynthia added a pattern of cut-outs to some of the cabinet door panels to ensure that the sound from the speakers within would not be obstructed, as with remote control signals to the cable boxes.
The bench that runs the length of the dining table accommodates more guests than individual chairs can.
The look of the outside areas extends to the kitchen. Cynthia kept the flooring dark and the cabinets in a similar laminate.
The most decorative element of the home is hidden in the master bedroom. Cynthia incorporated a glass light feature into the structure of the built- in wardrobe – when lit from inside, floral artworks appear, acting as unique night lights. When not lit, the surface appears to be a plain mirror.
Cynthia designed a full-height wardrobe next to the platform bed so the couple have sufficient storage space.
The renovation (excluding furnishings), came up to $50,000.
