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HOME&PROPERTY
40
Jun-Jul15
Settling in
Ideally positioned midway between the
children’s schools, it was immediately
apparent that the new location had
plenty to offer the family. “Shek O has
great walkability and standout eateries,
plus the beach, the surrounding hikes
and the playgrounds. Yes, the parking is
a nightmare in summer, and sometimes
– on my sixth trip of the day up and
down Shek O road – I find myself
gritting my teeth, but the views out of
the window are so spectacular that I
quickly unclench!”
Although the family’s Stanley
apartment was larger than their current
home, their new home offered that
rare-in-Hong Kong combination of good
value with excellent flow and efficiency.
A few nips and tucks to the space,
including installing a new IKEA kitchen
and creating a spectacular garden out
of an old parking space allowed the
Bentotes to make the space their own,
while preserving plenty of the character
that had attracted the family to the
property in the first place.
From the ancient bamboo railings
on the balcony to the mismatched
floor – a reminder of the building’s
previous life as two separate dwellings
– the property is about as far from a
cookie-cutter Hong Kong apartment
as it’s possible to get. A long hallway