Hong Kong Sorrento

Warmth was the starting point for the design of this home. Reddish-brown wood, natural stone veining and dark flooring establish a rich palette, while pale walls and daylight remain prominent. We sought to retain the distinct character of the materials while keeping the spatial boundaries, the outlines of the furniture and places for people clearly legible. Rich colour can coexist with a sense of ease.

Along one side of the living room, reddish-brown burl veneer brings storage, a doorway and the television wall into a single extended boundary. The swirls and tonal variations remain visible, while regular joints give the expressive grain a stable scale. Adjacent cabinet fronts and wall panels share their colour and lines, allowing the eye to follow the surface without stopping at each separate function.

The opposite wall is predominantly pale and woven in texture. Fine timber lines extend across the wall and door, while reddish-brown lower panels meet the timber floor. The door retains its handle and outline but shares the surrounding panel divisions. The two sides carry different weights: one gives rich colour room to unfold; the other receives it through a lighter surface.

Warm-toned stone sits within the timber boundary. The surround to the television opening and the shelves within the cabinetry maintain clear horizontal lines. Their extended veining meets the swirls of the wood, with geometric outlines distinguishing the two textures. Stone appears on vertical surfaces as well as in counters and shelves within reach, giving its richness specific positions rather than covering every wall.

Against the rich background, much of the furniture is pale and rounded. The sofa and rug keep the seating area's visual centre of gravity low, while a dark armchair by the window and two round stone coffee tables provide local accents. Straight boundaries frame a softer area for sitting: timber and stone define its edges, while textiles and pale surfaces bring attention back towards the body. Expressive surfaces and lighter furniture coexist, each carrying a different spatial weight.

This weight does not decrease uniformly from one room to the next. In the bedrooms, pale walls, textiles and cabinetry form the principal background, with warmer notes appearing more often in window sills, fine timber lines and selected timber surfaces. Elsewhere, denser textures and stronger contrasts remain. We adjusted the proportion of colour, the scale of the grain and its relationship to lighter surfaces to give each setting its own balance.

The window leaves an opening within the rich interior palette. With the sheers drawn, a bright, finely textured surface sits beside the timber. When the view is revealed, water, distant buildings and the dark chair occupy the same line of sight. Warm stone below the window continues the interior's material language while the eye travels outward. The rich colour has an edge, and the room retains a sense of openness towards the distance.

The warmth of this home emerges from the clear relationship between rich colour and pale surfaces. Wood and stone retain their natural textures, while textiles, furniture and daylight create intervals between them. With their scale and position carefully arranged, deeper colours and complex textures can become an intimate backdrop to everyday life.

Project Name: Hong Kong Sorrento Location: Kowloon, Hong Kong Type: Residential Space Area: 120 sqm Completion: May 2026 Design: WANDER STUDIO Design Team: Wang Jianhui, Guo Junying, Zhou Tao Photography: Liu Jianfeng