Home tour: Inside Hong Kong designer Nelson Chow’s beautiful oceanfront apartment

Tatler pays a visit to the Repulse Bay home of the founder of NC Design + Architecture—a feng shui master-approved sanctuary featuring shades of blue that celebrate the spectacular sea views

When Nelson Chow saw this Repulse Bay apartment for the first time, he was taken by its beautiful ocean views.

“When you look outside, the sea is right in the middle,” says the designer, who is the founder of NC Design + Architecture. The scenery that surrounds his new home—which he has dubbed the Beach House—offers a feeling of protection: two islands in the ocean provide a natural shelter for the waters, meaning the view is almost always of calm seas. Meanwhile, the mountains behind the apartment “look like they are gradually wrapping and hugging you”, something Chow says is advantageous from a feng shui perspective; he consulted feng shui designer Thierry Chow, a close friend, who advised him to get the apartment.

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Above Chow and his dog Yoda relax on the balcony

Above Pieces in the home include art from Double Q Gallery and B&B Italia's Camaleonda sofa

The 1,100 sq ft, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is in a low-rise colonial building, which Chow believes was one of the first residential properties constructed in the prestigious neighbourhood—it dates back to the 1950s. The thoughtful design of the apartment is a major attraction: most of the spaces in the home offer soothing ocean views. Two bedrooms bookend an open-plan space, which comes into view at entry. A balcony, accessed via the master bedroom, has privacy barriers, separating it from neighbouring balconies. “I spend a lot of time at home—it’s quite nice to be in this space,” says Chow of the balcony.

The home also has staff quarters located separately to the home—a design seen in some colonial buildings in Hong Kong and almost never in modern developments.

Above A Knoll coffee table features a custom-made marble piece. The blue metal cabinet, by USM, is from Lane Crawford. The table lamp and floor lamp are by Santa and Cole, sourced from Studio Wool

In a process that only took about a week, Chow transformed the home—which he is renting—into one that is suited to his lifestyle. But even though he kept the process simple and speedy, plenty of thought went into crafting his ideal sanctuary. “I was inspired by the Eileen Gray beach house—that dusty, blue feeling,” he says, referring to the old Côte d’Azur villa of the late Irish architect, who was a pioneering name in the modernist architecture movement. The villa, situated by the coast, was restored in 2021 and features shades of blue throughout, including in its exteriors and furnishings inside.

Above Chow and Yoda in the apartment complex’s garden

Above Yoda relaxes in the living and dining space

Above Cassina dining chairs and a Freda Carpet custom wool carpet feature in the living and dining spaces

Many of Chow’s furniture pieces and artworks, which he spent a week sourcing, are in blue. He painted one of the walls in the living room blue, and had the carpet and drapery custom-made in different shades of azure.

A dark blue B&B Italia sofa is the centrepiece of the living room. He occasionally has friends over, who gather in this space and play chess. A painting, which features shades of blue, is from Double Q Gallery. The colour speaks to the ocean views and echoes the look and feel of Gray’s old home, which had a retro, mid-century-modern aesthetic, but that’s not all: “Thierry said blue, black and white are good [colours] for me.” The palette signals a deliberate move away from olive green, a colour that Chow is heavily associated with thanks to his famed treehouse-inspired former home in Ho Man Tin. “I’d seen olive green for a few years now, and [to complement] the sea, this home shouldn’t be green.”

Above The master bedroom features a Pierre Jeanneret upholstered chair, sourced from Cassina; the Eileen Gray-designed Classicon adjustable table, from Lane Crawford; NC Design + Architect's side table lamps; and a bed from Tree

Above A shot of the living room

Each design project should be different—but when you go into the space, you should feel the story it wants to tell

- Nelson Chow -

Above Chow pictured on the balcony

Above The second bedroom, converted into a study, features Cassina's Cavalletto desk and 905 chair

With its simple yet impactful features, the apartment is now the perfect haven for the designer. But in designing a home, alongside incorporating features that echo the surroundings, personal touches are also an important consideration, says Chow. One of the reasons he relocated to Hong Kong Island from his previous Kowloon base is because he was after a fresh start after his mother died last July. Features of his new home dedicated to her memory include pieces that belonged to her, such as a small boat-shaped decoration, as well as a framed photo of her teaching the piano in the 1950s, which hangs by the front door—“She was a piano teacher, and that was how she raised all three of us.”

“Each design project should be different—but when you go into [the space], you should feel the story it wants to tell,” says Chow. “Otherwise, it becomes just a beautiful, but soulless, home.”

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Credits

Photography

Harold de Puymorin

Tatler Asia

Home tour: Inside Hong Kong designer Nelson Chow’s beautiful oceanfront apartment