The three-storey house, which has four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, is tucked away in a cul-de-sac. It has a standard Hong Kong village home layout of 700 sq ft per floor. The garden is lined with tall trees, offering a feeling of seclusion, while the views from the rooftop are what Fung describes as an “amazing juxtaposition”: ocean views in the foreground and rolling green hills in the distance. “This is something I have always deeply loved about Hong Kong and what I miss the most when I’m away—to have both mountains and sea around me all the time,” she says.

Fung describes the house’s previous owner, whose family relocated while he stayed in Hong Kong to sell the home, as a Renaissance man who designed the interiors and incorporated smart storage solutions throughout the spaces, including touches like a walk-in pantry in an odd, triangular-shaped space between the oven and the sink in the kitchen. Although it was designed as a family home, his living there alone meant it had become a bachelor pad—“[There was] a giant video game console in the living room, surfboards everywhere,” remembers Fung. “It took a bit of work to turn it into a family home again.”

Thankfully, due to the home’s thoughtful design, Fung only had to make light changes to make it the right fit for her family. With children and a dog, and plans for the home to serve as a beach house for the family, she realised they “couldn’t be too precious about anything”. The furnishings had to be durable, casual and informal; materials like rattan, linen and jute dominate the spaces—“they just make sense in this setting”. In what Fung describes as an “offbeat way of decorating”, she added a mirror from antique and second-hand shop 2nd Chance Furniture Store, which had bought it from the old Repulse Bay Hotel when it closed in 1982.

There are few artworks on display, despite Fung specialising in the decorative arts, with a focus on Chinese classical furniture as well as historical silver and vanity cases: “Obviously, I don’t bring much of that to this beach house.” The main decorative motif—“if you can even call it that”, says Fung—is a wall of sun hats above the sofa in the living room. “It serves a functional purpose more than anything else. Every time we have people come over to visit us, we head to the beach, and everyone realises they didn’t bring a hat—so they just grab whatever is hanging here.”

On the first floor, a landing is transformed into a playroom for the children, complete with a daybed and a tiny, secret nook under the stairwell—for “when they need some quiet time on their own”. It faces a large window with views of the greenery outside. “I love how it … looks directly out to the jungle, so the kids get loads of light,” says Fung. “You barely need any decor, as it’s just a wall of green and sunlight.”

Similarly, on the second floor, the master bedroom and another landing that is decorated with a bookshelf enjoy plenty of natural light; the former has mountain views.

The outdoor spaces—something Fung had considered an important criterion in her search for a summer home—are filled with items that accommodate her family and entertaining needs. The garden has an oversized outdoor dining table for big dinner parties, as well as a fire pit and pizza oven, and there are swings, bikes and table tennis to be enjoyed by the young and young at heart. The rooftop has been imagined as a “self-contained playground for the children”. It has Astroturf—it’s “not for everyone, but when it’s 35 degrees out, you [don’t want] tiles burning under your feet”—and a small picnic table, mini deck chairs, a balance board, doll house and an easel for painting in the sun. “The idea was that if we were confined to our home, at least we would have our own little activity centre.”

While the decor may be simple and the furniture fuss-free, the home is not without unique charm, and the living and dining spaces on the ground floor feature pieces that hold personal significance for the couple. The marble dining table is one of the first pieces of furniture Fung owned when she lived on her own. It later became her husband’s work-from-home desk in the couple’s city residence. After his home office was converted into a playroom, there was no room for the table. “I wasn’t prepared to let it go, so we decided to bring it out here to use as a dining table again.” A bright red rug under the table, which is more than 100 years old, belonged to Fung’s husband’s grandmother and was given to the couple as a wedding gift. “It is a little bit fragile, but we love how the vibrancy of the colours works so well in the dining area.”

The colour green predominantly comes to mind when Fung thinks of the house, thanks to the façade’s serene mint green shade, which echoes the natural surroundings. “It’s such a calming colour that every time I enter the house, this sense of tranquillity just washes over me.”

Although Covid restrictions have been relaxed, the beach house remains a place of escape for lounging and relaxing, with no television or any of the other man cave distractions favoured by the previous owner in sight. “[When we’re here,] we spend so much time on the beach and in the outdoors that by the time we get home and cook a nice meal, it’s lights out at 9pm,” says Fung. “All the fresh air just knocks us out.”

NOW READ

Home Tour: How Mei Mei Song Made Her New Hong Kong Home a Sanctuary

Home Tour: Inside Hong Kong Design Powerhouses Ed Ng and Terence Ngan’s Taipei Apartment

Inside the Hong Kong Luxury Villa Nicole Kidman Called Home While Filming ‘Expats’