An English and Hong Kong Chinese couple surround themselves with much treasured Asian artefacts.
The Wong’s apartment is another example of a lovely home that can be found behind closed doors in obscure and outwardly, quite tired-looking, unattractive buildings in Macau. Their cornucopia of treasures certainly leaves the visitor with thought provoking ideas to experiment with when back in their own homes. Ambiente Managing Director Suzanne Watkinson investigates for the Macau Closer and Antonio Mil-Homens takes his camera.
The Chinese good luck papers on and above the front door and the collection of antique English walking sticks in a tall blue and white ceramic stand start to set the scene for what is inside and are the first signs that this home will be a blend of cultures. 
In the entrance hall one is met with a huge carved rosewood mirror with emblems of bats (the pronunciation of the word ‘bat’ in Chinese is the same as ‘luck’) and dragons, and below it a large Western style table lamp on a black lacquer Chinese alter table, scented candles and a simple handmade ceramic dish from Malta. Shoes off at the door, and one’s feet sink immediately into one of the thick red Afghan carpets in the hallway.
A few steps in is the living and dining area. Being the top floor of the building, the apartment has super-high ceilings, 
an easy 12 feet at a glance, which give each room an airy, spacious feel. It also lends itself to the oversize furnishings – a 8 foot tall Chinese red lacquered cabinet, a Chinese canopy bed used as a day lounger, large mirrors and a huge pastel charcoal painting that dominates the back feature wall.
Reflected in the mirror above the dining table is the balcony, and beyond an expanse of pale sea blue with one of those picture postcard views of the Macau skyline complete with Tower on the right, and to the left the island of Hengquin busily unfolding its new business district, the university, and hotel resort.
The Wongs arrived in Macau about 10 years ago and for about that time were die-hard peninsular residents, living on the lakes or on the Guia Hill overlooking the reservoir. “We’ve always lived in homes that have views of the water” says Ron, “I guess this is an essential fung shui element for us to feel comfortable and its what drew us to this apartment in Ocean Gardens”.
This couple rarely eat at home, choosing to entertain or meet friends in one of a few of their favourite local restaurants. So the dining table is really only suitable for 2 places, 4 at the most; like all the pieces in this home it has an interesting story to tell – it was made by an friend in Hong Kong who used it as her after dinner games table, and when she returned to America she gave it to Sue in memory of all those mahjong games they’d enjoyed over the years! 
The canopy bed is “almost antique”, bought in one of those crowded furniture warehouses inland from Zhuhai – “the moment I saw it I knew it was for us” smiles Sue. Its made up with a thick mattress and cozy feather quilt, ideal for curling up with a good book on those lazy Sunday afternoons. Blue and white embroidered throw pillows on the bed compliment the blue and white ceramic container collection on top of the red wedding chest nearby. Blue and white ceramic elephants (one Indian, one Chinese, showing the interesting differences in style) face the direction of the front door in greeting.
The Korean chest another precious possession – found in Dongshan – “I love all the bits of metal work, I wish I’d bought more pieces …. Korean furniture shops used to be lined up and down Hollywood Road in Hong Kong back in the 80s” Sue explains “but sadly there are none today.”
Large lamps are placed in strategic positions so as to give a gentler light from below rather than oppressively from overhead. “The bigger the be
tter when it comes to lamps” exclaims Sue, “its something I picked up from my mother when we used to live in Japan and she’d buy beautiful huge ceramic lamps …. Good lamps tend to be very expensive, several thousand dollars, ridiculous really, but OH I so enjoy them!” And rather than blowing cash on extravagant meals or expensive holidays, “as we keep our lamps for years I think they’re well worth the money”.
More treasures in the living room – a large bird cage, a gold lacquer bowl and gold-painted Buddha head sits on top of the cabinet that hides a theatre-size TV screen. A Chinese horseshoe back chair, and another charming high back ladies’ chair with a beautiful wood grain that gleams in the light – “we enjoy collecting different shaped chairs, especially such pretty ones that can still be found when rummaging around in the markets across the border” says Ron.
Walls are predominantly painted in white (“we also spray painted the old yellowed aircons”), but there is one feature wall that is a soft caramel. The white silk ceiling to floor curtains with additional 6” of length so as to ‘pool’, and finished off with 8” white wood pelmets give a dramatic effect. “Something 
I learned from an American designer friend” explains Sue, “Where at all possible curtains should be hung from the ceiling so as to give maximum height to a room”.
The apartment achieves a sense of balance from the red wall at the entrance that echoes the red wall at the end of the bedroom corridor, with its black and white framed Chinese calligraphy and white marble monk statue. Red is undoubtedly a dominant force from much of the furniture and tribal carpets, but its softened and offset with the slate grey L-shape sofa – (custom-made in China) and a big cream-based carpet with grey and black Chinese motifs in the field.
A reclining white marble Buddha rests cool and serene next to the tropical fish tank – Ron’s hobby, and again, that all important water element in this couple’s lives.
Another splash of colour – deep blue and bright orange – comes from an original Catherine Bjerke abstract. “Catherine is an excitin g Norwegian artist and we saw this painting in one of her exhibitions in Macau a few years ago, I was drawn to it immediately. All our friends tend to have a Bjerke original or two in our homes, we love her art and we love her!” laughs Sue.
Venturing further into the apartment, there is the blue guest room, 
with its ceiling to floor pale blue curtains and a blue and white hand painted paper screen behind the bed. A Shanghainese dressing table and stool in exquisite ‘tiger skin’ wood, a ‘second wife’ chair and the red pulled in from the rest of the apartment in the 2 bedside cabinets, completes the furnishings.
The master bedroom “has green as its base colour. An experiment,” Sue admits, “green is not really my favourite colour but I think everything has come together quite nicely”. The huge Indonesian teak wood bed “is probably 40 or 50 years old by now, it started life in one of the VIP suites of the Repulse Bay in Hong Kong”, has all-white bedding, and the greens are featured in lamps, curtains, and a giant painting behind the bed by friend and well-respected local artist, Australian, Denis Murrell.
The ‘nerve centre’ of the apartment is the 3rd bedroom that is really a store room for Suzanne’s spare furniture, mirrors, lamps and artwork that she uses in her work as an interior designer. Ceiling to floor red curtains (ah, that red theme again), and a 7 foot long table down one side of the room, with a Chinese window carving hung above. “This table has a great story to it”, says Sue, “I first came across it when it was the lobby table in the old Furama Hotel in Hong Kong. I remember it well. When the hotel closed before being 
knocked down, I rescued this table and the lamp that was on it, together with a beautiful, ornately painted black lacquer cabinet from the first floor ladies’ bathroom!” The table complete with water marks and wine stains from over the years, now serves as their home office desk. “I thought it would never get in the lift and I was resigned to having to let it go” sighs Sue. “How happy we were that the removals team persevered!”
And speaking of the Furama – we move to the kitchen where hanging from a high rail is a collection of commercial-sized cooking implements; giant whisks, a sieve, ladles – “I was literally the first person to come across the sale of hotel contents and I don’t know how but I found myself in the revolving restaurant at the top of the building.” Perhaps coming from a food and beverage background Sue was intrigued to take a look 
inside – the kitchen was ghostly – no lights on, laid out spotless and tidy as if between shifts, but in reality if was closed for good. She saw all these tools of the trade, several of which had been tenderly handmade to fit the purpose … “imagine the stories they could tell of meals that they helped cook” … and she gathered up as many as she could carry and has kept them in her kitchen ever since.
The Wong’s apartment is another example of a lovely home that can be found behind closed doors in obscure often quite ugly buildings in Macau. Their cornucopia of treasures certainly leaves the visitor with thought provoking ideas to experiment with when back in their own homes.
Photographs by Antonio Mil-Homens
