The Kong

Where?  Hong Kong.  How’s your Japanese?  Hong Kong is definitely not in Japan and well it is not exactly China either.  The last stop on our journey, the densely populated Special Administrative Region (S.A.R) of the Republic of China, was a British colony until 1997.  The language: Cantonese.  And English with a British accent.  The vibe: international and luxurious.

Skyscrapers jut out of the mountainous landscape and are surrounded by a large harbour where container ships dot the waters.  Traditional Chinese junk boats and small local fishing boats find their place amongst the masses.  The expats run wild in the international play land and coast down the extensive outdoor escalator every morning from the residential area of SOHO to the Central business area below, usually after a long night of partying.

Hollywood Road, famous for its multitude of antique shops, is where I found myself roaming one very hot afternoon.  It is antique shop after antique shop and they start to all blur together after a bit as most are selling similar products.  Contemporary art galleries such as Plum Blossoms, Connoisseur-Art, and Sundaram Tagore break up the monotony.  Oi Ling Antiques is one antique store selling the “Heavenly Horses”, pottery horses, similar to those seen as focal accessories in many of Kelly Wearstlers interiors.

Chine Gallery is also a crowd stand-out offering traditional Chinese pieces revamped in a fun new look for “Spring”.  Choose traditional Chinese pieces and add a coat of fresh pastel green, yellow, or blue lacquer (the store has quite a few lacquer finishes to choose from) and your antique piece is now a modern accent to any room.  I am still hoping to get product images from the store to share…so this is to be continued…finger’s crossed.  The pieces were so freaking cute!

And in the land of fakes and copies there are actually a couple of stores selling furniture made from recycled woods and FSC certified woods.  Who would have thunk it.  For something that has been a slow movement in the US, it is sure catching on worldwide.  Tree, with locations in SOHO and Ap Le Chau, is one of these green leaders.  The “eco-chic” collection is clean and modern, perfect for the small, modern Hong Kong flat.  Souris Decor, a new store off Hollywood Road, is also offering interesting designs with recycled materials bringing “nature in style”.  Lots of links this week.  Go crazy, it’s the Kong, lots of fun to be had in the Kong.

Tagged as: antiques hong kong, Connoisseur Art Hong Kong, furniture stores hong kong, Hong Kong travel, Oi Ling Antiques Hong Kong, Plum Blossoms, Souris Decor Furniture Hong Kong, Sundaram Tagore Hong Kong, Tree Hong Kong Furniture