The original fit-out of the Park Island apartments is pretty good and of a high standard. However, as foreigners start moving in, some are starting to do some really nice rennovations.
Below is a picture of one really nice apartment at Park Island, furnished in a style that many foreigners are starting to adopt.
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| A modern kitchen in a Park Island apartment |
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| Kitchen with gas cookers |
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| A nice kitchen in a Hong Kong apartmrmt |
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| A Hong Kong apartment with oven |
If you like this style of kitchen you can ask your agent to help you find such an apartment if you are looking to rent on Park Island.
wow! that looks gorgeous! I live in PI as well and always complain with my husband about how small our kitchen is! can you share which block/aprtments can be refurbished like this and the costs eventually?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Yes, it looks really nice!
ReplyDeleteI have seen other photos of that apartment which I might post up also. They all look really nice. (Nice bathrooms and bedrooms too). I tried to see if an agent could get me in for an actual viewing out of curiosity so far have not been able to see it.
For expats, probably the two most commonly "wishes" for their Park Island apartments to be improved would be either to open the kitchen (as for some Westerners it feels too enclosed), and secondly for a larger kitchen. (Indeed this is probably the case not just for Park Island, but all over Hong Kong!)
Regarding the closed kitchens, this is very typical for almost all apartments in HK (even very spacious or luxurious ones). Chinese typically (or perhaps "historically" is a better word), prefer closed kitchens, for the reason that the cooking was seen to be a "chore", often done by the maid, and also possibly because some styles of Chinese cooking make more smoke and require burning oil in a work etc. Even the not yet released Park Island villas, of which I have a sneaky peek preview, have closed kitchens.
Most Westerners, and increasingly Chinese who have lived overseas and had an exposure to modern interior architecture and design are now seeking apartments with open kitchens. And some people like to be in visible and audible contact with others in the apartment when cooking, which again requires an open kitchen.
Especially in smaller apartments (like most of those in Hong Kong), opening a kitchen up as a renovation can create a much more specious feeling.
For anyone looking at buying on Park Island, I would suggest considering, before you buy, if the apartment is of a design that readily enables the kitchen wall to be removed. In all apartments I have seen on Park Island, the kitchen wall is non-structural, meaning that it can be removed and the kitchen can be opened. However, some apartments are of a lay-out such that really make no sense to open the kitchen up, whereas others are, so this is something I would look into if I was a buyer.
As for renters of Park Island apartment, all I can say is that opened and renovated kitchens do exist on Park Island, but not that many yet. Most are still of the original fit out.
In terms of cost, my guess would be that if you were to totally strip the kitchen, and put in a new bench, kitchen draws/shelves, cupboard, new oven, a new cooker, overhead fan, etc the cost, would be around 25K-30K. If you are opening up the kitchen, which requires a wall to be removed, then add around 8K on top of that.
PS - A word of warning to anyone doing renovation on Park Island. Be very careful who you use as your contractor. There are some contractors who live on the island, and advertise in English targeting primarily Westerners. These Westerners are often first time buyers, and assume that these builders will be of high quality. This is sadly not the case. I have heard some horror stories, especially about a company called Sunflower Builders. If you want something done nicely, I would suggest you use a builder who is more familiar with Western tastes and quality expectation. Do let me know if you want recommendations.
PPS - I should add that the renovated kitchen in the photo was done in one of the larger 1500 square foot Park Island apartments. The smaller 750 square foot apartments obviously don't have as much space to practically do a kitchen of this size.
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