Mei Foo Sun Chuen

Every flat has its flaws, and the question we kept asking here was simple: how do you turn a weakness into a strength? The owners love to host, so instead of hiding the problems we leaned into them. The television sits in an unusual spot in front of the window, which keeps the neighbours from looking straight in, and a sliding partition closes across so the living room can become a private home cinema when they want one. To make that work, the whole sound system is built in, cables tucked out of sight and the gear chosen to match the timber on the walls.

The clearest example came in the kitchen. To open it up, we took down a wall, and partway through found a structural pillar inside it that simply had to stay. Rather than work around it apologetically, we used it: the pillar now extends to carry the marble dining table, so the table floats without legs and the awkward column becomes the reason the room works.

The timber walls, the built-in audio, and the dining table were all custom-made for the flat by our trusted partner factory, since this kind of problem-solving only holds together when every piece is made to measure. It is practical, resourceful residential interior design: a Mei Foo home where the constraints quietly became the best parts.