Small apartments are here to stay in Hong Kong and that’s not necessarily a good thing. With that being said, architects and interiors designers are pulling every trick in their bags to make living in these new apartments more comfortable. One way they do it is to blur the lines between walls, floors and doors. Here are 5 Hideaway tricks Hong Kong designers use to save space.

The apartment featured here seems like it comes out of a James Bond movie. Every surface hides a function. Is it a room? A cupboard or a mirror?

1) Hideaway your rooms

Take for example the white and grey feature wall. The white wall actually holds a door into the kitchen. The grey wall slides open into a home office. Everything is streamlined. By not delineating a door frame and not having conventional door handles allows for a more spacious and uniform sensation.

2) Pocket Doors

Pocket doors are sliding doors that recess into a cross section of a wall. This is a great space saving feature compared to a hinged door as it allows you more wiggle room for more storage and other rooms. Again the pocket door here continues the clutter free visual language of the apartment.

The guest bedroom also has a pocket door.

3) Platform storage

Not only are the lines blurred for vertical surfaces but horizontal ones as well. The rooms have platform storage underneath and is only made possible by handles that are flush with the floor. Storage looks less apparent when it looks like steps into a room right?  More and more apartments are using the floors to create much needed storage for people living in apartments here in HK.

4) Flip up storage tables

Conventional drawers that pull out won’t cut it. Flip up tables for extra storage will save you from physically getting up to get to your items. Here the coffee table hides extra compartments while the desk actually flips up to reveal a mirror and a place to store trinkets.

5) Floor to ceiling wardrobe

This is the same concept as the living room. Notice the wardrobe has no handles. Instead, there is a recessed nook for you to pull open the wardrobe door. The designer has thought of every detail to ensure a more visually expansive experience.

Here is the video below by i-cable Hong Kong and seen on Newsline Express. The video is in Cantonese.

Happy New Year everyone!

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