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Country Living in Coloane

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When he bought his first floor Hellene Gardens apartment in 2004 for the princely sum of “under seven hundred thousand dollars”, Ronnie Chan, owner of AREA Home, the go-to place in Macau for quality fabrics and contemporary home furnishings, decided it needed a complete gutting and refit.  
 
His many years of design training and experience came to bear on this 1,300 square foot home, with all original standard base building finishes being removed, including every window and inner wall.  The result – a multifunctional space that transforms from two bedrooms to three depending on the need, and all decorated in exceedingly good taste.  
 
Sliding pocket doors enable a living area one minute, and a bedroom the next. Clever design features include a pale grey leather panel, edged-stitched for added design, glued on to a sliding door to create a feature wall that doubles as a bedroom wall when repositioned.  
 
Another smart space conversion: the master bedroom and guest bedroom are connected with a central dressing room corridor and bathroom, which can be allocated as an ensuite to either bedroom simply by opening or closing more pocket doors.
 
Ronnie favours the calm, refined elegance of neutral colours; beige, grey, and white accented with dark chocolate brown.  The solid wood natural oak floors throughout emanate a warm golden buttery glow.  Walls are in pale taupe, and several large pieces of stunning artwork, which he picked up inexpensively from buying trips in China, each in vibrant colours, create an impressive “pop” against the muted tones.
 
In the living room, a sense of modern minimalist meets practicality and comfort.  The green sofa from Danish company Innovations doubles as a sofa bed.  The lounge chair is a sample from work AREA did for the Gold Coast Hotel in Hong Kong, a John Hutton design lookalike.  The rug, custom-made, comes from Carpet Collective Company.  And a series of little framed pictures and an old reproduction table lamp, were found on one of Ronnie’s explorations in the Zhuhai markets.  
 
“I love digging around for bargains when I’m in China”, he smiles, “I enjoy the chase of hunting down and sourcing things that are inexpensive but that look expensive and wonderful in a home”.
 
Born in Java, Indonesia, Ronnie moved to go school in China at the age of 10, as there were no suitable schools in his hometown Semarang at that time.  But one year later the Cultural Revolution began, so again no schools, and in 1970 he and his younger sister were sent to continue their studies in Macau.  Here he stayed until 1983, moving on to Hong Kong where he pursued his passion for interior design at night school.
 
In the late 90s Ronnie and his partners founded AREA Home in Macau (www.areahome.com.hk) with the goal of providing residential furniture of high quality and beautiful design. Summarizing his products’ look, Ronnie describes them as having “contemporary, functional designs, simple clean classic lines with a modern twist, in blacks, chocolate and neutral colours that are easy to match with everything”.  
 
The business also imports fabrics, lighting fixtures and selected artworks and accessories, and was initially best known for its supply and installation of specialty curtains.  
 
“One job we did,” says Ronnie, “was supplying the Old Lisboa Hotel with all their bedspreads. We also did projects for the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong and in Macau, and numerous karaoke bars and night clubs”.
 
More recently, they supplied the vast amount of red velvet curtain fabric for the backdrop to the House of Dancing Water show at City of Dreams.
Today, AREA Home is a Macau success story, occupying 10,000 square feet of showroom space on the third floor of Ocean Gardens Plaza.  They also have two shops in Hong Kong, one at Horizon Plaza run by Ronnie’s wife and the other at One Island South.  In Macau, their clients are many regular, long-term residents, about 40 percent European, the rest locals, mainland investors, design firms and corporates.  Strong in sofas, curtains, imported fabrics and large-framed artworks, their price range is targeted at mid to high-end customers.
 
 
 
 
One of Ronnie’s innovative signature pieces is his combined computer, TV, hi-fi, stationery, CD and book shelves.  Thoughtfully designed, with maximum functionality in mind, with a refined sleek black finish, this is a piece that would fit into any home.   Sure enough, one can be found in his Hellene Garden apartment, together with a TV console, also designed by Ronnie.  
 
“Made of wood veneer, and stained in black, I use plywood for a more sturdy and elegant look.  I like to see a natural texture so I select wood with a more obvious grain,” he explains.
 
Champagne white wardrobes and cabinets in the master bedroom, dressing area and third bedroom/study are custom-made and built-in.  Recessed lighting set in large square cut outs add a quality design touch to the ceiling in the master bedroom.  Door frames and mirrored panels are taken from floor to ceiling so as to promote a sense of height to each room.  
 
At first glance the balcony doors look as if they are made of dark wood but on closer inspection they turn out to be metal, hardwearing and durable against the elements. The doors open out to a small balcony that looks down on well-tended gardens and further, to the green hills surrounding the apartment complex.  
 
The dining table, sideboard and drawer cabinet are from GOD in Hong Kong, with modern, square lines in a pale yellow-gold bamboo veneer wood finish that matches well with the flooring.  
 
A striking feature is the large ceiling lamp placed above the dining table. One of Ronnie’s design prototypes, he originally planned that the hanging section and shade top be in steel, but this proved prohibitively expensive so was changed to dark stained wood, with a off white fabric shade. The lower edge of the shade is 1.6 metres from the ground, the perfect height for dining comfort.  Clearly enthusiastic about this piece, Ronnie comments, “the shade could be made extra long and narrow, a great feature to any room or restaurant”.
 
So what’s new at AREA Home these days?  
 
“Well”, beams Ronnie, “we’re very excited to be launching a new and different collection of sofas, arm chairs, high wingback chairs, bed covers, curtains, bed heads and throw cushions.  American classic design, with a light touch, in fabrics of matching colour tones and designs, and lots of attention to detail.”
 

 

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