A Life Shift

If you have followed along on our Hong Kong housing, you’ll remember our first little place (see it here) in Wan Chai and then the larger unit in that same building (see it here), which we moved in to when I was pregnant with Campbell.

You might remember that I mentioned in my 2019 Review post (which you can read here) that we moved from Wan Chai to Tseung Kwan O in late 2019. With my office relocating to Kwun Tong and a new baby on the way it made sense for us to have a bit more space and for me to be closer to work. With the amount that Braden travels he was willing to take on a longer commute knowing he was typically only in the office a few weeks each month. Obviously 2020 was much different than we expected and he was around much more than we ever anticipated (read about our 2020 here).

We had a lot of criteria for a new place and were lucky enough to have almost everything on our wish-list checked off. We lucked out with a lovely unit on the top floor of a new building. With northeast exposure, high ceilings and a rooftop it felt light and bright even though the rooms are tiny. Just like before, we wanted to be able to reuse as much of our existing furniture as possible, which we were able to do. I planned meticulously, and measured religiously – a few things were down to the millimeter in order to fit.

Here’s the floorplan:

ENTRY

Luckily our entry isn’t super narrow, and we have space for our jacket and shoe cabinet, as well as our favourite stump stool, right near the door. This area is often littered with a few pair of shoes, but we try to keep it tidy.

1. Ikea Pax (14″ deep) wardrobe + shelves – shipped from Canada and used in every apartment since
2. Ikea Fardal gloss white hinged doors – purchased in HK, reused in every apartment since
3. Custom stump stool by Peregrine – shipped from Canada and used in every apartment since
4. Art by Laurel Swenson – new original painting purchase from Vancouver artist and shipped to Hong Kong

KITCHEN

Immediately to the right of the entry is our kitchen. While we would have loved to have an open kitchen, this kitchen is gorgeous – so much counter space! And a pull out pantry! We have made good use of both the oven and steam oven. With such high ceilings we have an immense amount of storage, which housed everything from linens to medicine to Christmas presents. We’ve loved it.

DINING AREA

For the first time in Hong Kong, we have space for a dining table! We sold our beloved island and love being able to sit down as a family for meals.

• Ikea Morbylanga dining table – purchased for this new place
• Ikea Leifarne dining chairs – purchased for this new place (but we don’t like how cheap they feel and would like something new soon)
• Ikea Lohals rug – purchased for this new place
• Ikea Stockholm cowhide pouf – shipped from Canada and used in every apartment since
• Tiny Island Maps Wan Chai art print – purchased new for this place as a memento from our time living in Wan Chai
• Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair – purchased for this new place (upgrade for the new baby!)
• Custom sideboard by Yong Chang – purchased for this new place
• Ikea Kritter play table and Kritter chairs – Campbell’s 3nd Birthday present, reused from our last apartment (Campbell calls it his Zoom Table!)

LIVING AREA

When we moved to our new place our bonus wishlist included a place for guests to sleep with a bit more privacy than the middle of our living room. We traded in our well-travelled and well-loved sofa bed and upgraded to a new sectional. Over the past year, we acquired new favourite pieces; we love this space.

1. Tree amor sofa – purchased for this new place
2. Tree recycled bench (beside sofa) – purchased for this new place
3. Tree celebes coffee table – purchased for this new place
4. Custom walnut floating shelves by Sprue – purchased for this new place
5. Antique armchair – shipped from Canada and used in every apartment since (it has spent time in our living room or Campbell’s room, depending on how much space we have)
6. Stone end table from HomeSense – shipped from Canada and used in every apartment since
7. Custom TV unit by Yong Chang – purchased for this new place
8. TV – purchased in Hong Kong for our last place

BALCONY

No longer having to sneak through Campbell’s room to grill feels like a big upgrade! I also love having space for a few plants, where we try to grow many different things from seed. It’s a great spot to sit and enjoy the beautiful view.

1. Weber BBQ – gifted from friends leaving Hong Kong
2. Ceramic Stool – purchased when we lived in Wan Chai
3. Ikea Lacko plant shelf – purchased for this new place

BEDROOM

My photos are deceiving; this bedroom is tiny. It is tiiiiiight to walk around the bed and we had less space to store our clothes. We reused one of our large PAX closet units from our previous apartment, but then could only use a second half-width one, reused from Campbell’s room in Wan Chai. This meant we couldn’t used our sliding doors, so we had to change to a hinged solution. All to say…there was a lot of Ikea juggling to make this all work. The space on Braden’s side was a busy little corner with the bedroom door, access to the ensuite and near the cabinets, so the solution for his glasses, phone etc was to wall-mount a little box. It worked great!

1. Ikea Pax Wardrobe (23″ deep x 39″ wide) – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
2. Ikea Fardal gloss white hinged doors – purchased new for this apartment
3. Ikea Pax Wardrobe (23″ deep x 19.5″ wide) – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
4. Ikea Vikedal Mirror Door – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
5. Ikea Skubb Storage Bins – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
6. Ikea Malm Storage Bed – purchased in Hong Kong, reused in every apartment
7. Mattress – shipped from Canada, reused in every apartment
8. Ikea Malm Chest of 6 Drawers – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment

ENSUITE BATHROOM

This bathroom is beautifully finished and feels like a hotel. While we would have gladly traded in the tub for a double vanity or larger shower we really couldn’t complain.

FELICITY’S NURSERY

I used the same trick from Campbell’s nursery and used an Ikea PAX unit as a changing area. It works so well! The space is so tight; when the cabinet doors are open you can’t fit past the crib. Braden painted one wall a beautiful soft peachy-pink, and we decorated one wall with a couple shelves and some art I already had. It’s a sweet and lovely spot for our baby girl.

1. Ikea Pax Wardrobe (23″ deep x 39″ wide) – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
2. Ikea Fardal gloss white hinged doors – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
3. Ikea Skubb Storage Bins – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from last apartment
4. Mamas & Papas Lawson cot bed – purchased for this new place
5. Ikea Raskog Trolley – purchased in Hong Kong, one reused from our last apartment and a second purchased for this new place
6. Keekaroo Peanut Changer – purchased online and shipped to Hong Kong, reused from Campbell’s nursery
7. Ikea Mosslanda picture ledge x2 – purchased for this new place

CAMPBELL’S BEDROOM

When we first moved to Tseung Kwan O Campbell still had his “big boy bed”, but around his 4th birthday we upgraded him to a loft bed. We felt like he could handle the ladder (and it’s actually not too high). The space below is a huge help for storage and extra play space.

1. Ikea Pax Wardrobe (14″ deep x 39″ wide) – purchased for this new place
2. Ikea Fardal Doors x 2 – purchased for this new place
3. Ikea Kura Loft Bed – purchased for this new place
4. Foam Play Mat – purchased for this new place
5. Ikea Eket series toy storage – purchased for our last place
6. Ikea Mosslanda picture ledge x2 – purchased for this new place

STUDY / GUEST ROOM

Our plan for the small fourth bedroom didn’t really live up to expectations. While it worked perfectly when my parents came to visit, Covid obviously dashed any other plans for visitors and a home office was much more important than any sort of accommodations for nonexistent guests!

1. Ikea Pax Wardrobe (14″ deep x 39″ wide) – purchased for this new place
2. Ikea Fardal Doors x 2 – purchased for this new place
3. Ikea Besta Burs Desk – purchased for this new place
4. Eames Molded Plastic Eiffel Base Chair – shipped from Canada, reused in every apartment
5. Metal 5′ Ladder – purchased in Hong Kong, reused from our last place

ROOFTOP

Oh my goodness a rooftop! This space has been such a gift through Covid – having outdoor space all to ourselves has saved our sanity! It has also kept us busy as we’ve fit it out and added personal touches to the space. It’s a large area, so we have a few “zones”: seating, BBQ, dining and for the warm weather, a pool! I was a doubter, but the shed has been amazing to have up there – especially with a little beer fridge! We scored quite a few of the items of Facebook Marketplace so I’m not sure where everything was originally from.

1. Ikea Reso Kid’s Picnic Table – purchased for this new place
2. Weber BBQ – purchased for this new place
3. Ikea Antilop Highchair – gifted from friends
4. Sankin Outdoor Shed – purchased for this new place
5. Plants & Pots – purchased for this new place from Wah King
6. Sofa & Table – purchased for this new place
7. Ikea Decorative Fjadrar Cushions and Praktmal Covers – purchased for this new place
8. Dining Table & Chairs – purchased for this new place
9. Umbrella – purchased for this new place from Sun Garden in Horizon Plaza

Spoiler alert… we surprised ourselves and have moved AGAIN. I’m okay sharing all these details now that we have moved from Tseung Kwan O to our new place in Clearwater Bay. Stay tuned for a few sneak peeks of our new space (with a garden and ocean view)!