Julia Herold arrived in Macau when her first son, William, was only 2 ½ months old. That was almost 27 years ago. Originally the family lived in Peony Court in Ocean Gardens, but with the arrival of a second son, Frederick, in 1998, they started to look at larger homes.
“In the summer of 1999, we moved to Coloane, to ‘the big house’, one of the villas in the Cheok Van Hou Yuen development. We were there for seven years,” she explains.
By the mid 2000’s Macau’s residential real estate market was taking off like a rocket, so in 2006 Julia decided it was time to buy somewhere of their own. She found a penthouse duplex apartment in Baguio Court overlooking the Macau reservoir and outer harbour. Made up of two adjacent apartments knocked together, it had been designed by American interior designer Heather Clarke and newly renovated. With a large living-dining area, open kitchen, walk-in pantry, three big bedrooms, an upstairs living area with kitchenette and bathroom for visiting friends and family and a wonderful roof terrace, it provided plenty of space for the family of four and their two large dogs.
“I loved that apartment”, says Julia. “It was an easy bus ride for the children to get to school, there’s a great supermarket and the dogs’ vet at the bottom of the hill”.
And as it turned out, the purchase was an excellent investment.
“As both boys moved to England for university studies it was time to downsize to something smaller,” she explains. “From the sale of Baguio, I was able to invest in a property near Lisbon in the area where I grew up and a tiny one here in Macau.”
Coming full circle, five years ago Julia moved back to Ocean Gardens, this time on the water front in Lily Court; a lucky break as the building was full but a tenant was ending their lease early.
“Lily offers a good balance pricewise between the costlier buildings either side and the buildings with less desirable views behind. It’s within a two-minute walk of two supermarkets, one that’s open 24-hours. A convenient health center and a café for meeting friends if I don’t feel like cooking. What I particularly love about living here is having the waterfront park which is a continuation of the walks I used to have around the reservoir when we were at Baguio.”
Each floor in Lily Court has three apartments; two 3-bedrooms and one 2-bedroom. Julia’s has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, is 1800 square feet with a spacious living-dining area, a useful pantry/laundry and small toilet/shower room that leads off the kitchen, and unlike many apartments in Macau where one walks straight in to the living space, there’s a proper hallway. And the really special feature is the balcony and gorgeous views of the estuary that runs between Taipa north shore and Hengqin Island.
“From my balcony I can enjoy Macau Tower and the skyline, and on early evenings I sit outside to take in the views … especially as the sun is setting over Hengqin the whole sky is ablaze with orange and gold, just stunning!”
The apartment is welcoming and cozy, where the visitor sinks into one of the deep-cushioned sofas and admires original artwork and treasures collected over the years. Julia is a fan of long-time Macau resident, Australian artist Denis Murrell who painted the striking orange and black piece that’s hanging on the red dining room wall and the other painting hung behind the master bed. Three other originals come from close friend, Norwegian artist Catherine Bjerke. Several paintings come from trips to Bali – ‘the lady’ is a favourite as are the two wood block paintings of cats in Julia’s bedroom. Two vertical-framed ink on paper artworks hung side by side above the piano were bought in China in the late 70’s.
An avid reader, Julia’s bookshelves are lined end to end; her reading preference is historical and detective novels, and more lately diaries.
“I’ve just finished The Duff Cooper Diaries and am now reading the fascinating diaries of Henry ‘Chips’ Channon 1918-38.”
Downsizing from Baguio, Julia still managed to find space for her piano; being a musical family this has been well-loved and well-used by her sons as they were growing up. Both went on to study music at university.
“The boys are now 26 and 24 – William will soon move from Lisbon to take up a new job in London. Frederick is already working in London. It’s great that they’ll be together and reconnect with several close friends from their days at the Portuguese School here in Macau who are now London-based.
“My most treasured old Chinese furniture, some of which I’ve had since arriving in Macau, are the desk and two arm chairs in my bedroom and the sofa side table.”
Two other Chinese pieces, the cabinet in the living room and the low chest in the hallway are other long-time favorites. She has a lovely collection of old English silver dishes and ornaments on display and a penchant for scented candles and candle holders, all of which sets the mood of elegance and relaxation in her home. Curtains are from Pak Koi Curtains (2833-6818, Virginia), near Bosco School and the custom bookshelves, square dining table, more shelves and cabinets in the bedrooms were all designed by local architect-interior designer Marieta de Costa who had them made in China at the time.
Both Julia’s parents are of German descent. Her father’s family settled in Portugal in the 19th Century. Her mother was born and raised in Germany, meeting her father at university in Germany when he was doing his PhD. They moved to Portugal where Julia and her sister were born and grew up. She is therefore fluent in German, Portuguese and English.
A lawyer by profession, Julia’s first job when arriving in Macau was legal advisor to the Harbour Master of the Marine Department. She then took up the post of legal counsel for CTM until in 2006 she left to work in private practice. Today she is one of four partners at DSL Lawyers which offers full legal services and is ranked as a first-tier law firm with Chambers and Partners.
What does Julia love about Macau, and what has kept her here for almost 30 years?
“I love my job; Macau has always been good to me and I’ve had a very good career here. The short distances between home and work allowed me to be a working but hands-on mum. I love Macau for all the other reasons most people do – its fusion of cultures, the diversity of people, the huge variety of cuisines. I enjoy getting outdoors. In my spare time, I go to keep fit and pilates classes and I take my two dogs Santiago and Brida, both ANIMA and MASDAW rescues, for walks.”
These past two and a half years of Covid have been challenging “particularly as I’ve been unable to visit my elderly parents, my boys, my sister, as much as I’d like to. It’s depressing that so many friends have left. But I’m happy living back here in Ocean Gardens. My home is my sanctuary and it continues to give me great pleasure.”
