STORIES

MAKE YOUR HOME LOOK GOOD

Hong Kong-born Sue Chiu loves people – no wonder she’s perfectly suited for her role as a BoConcept Concepter, the Danish furniture brand’s name for its sales and design consultants. An art grad and formerly a visual merchandiser who has worked internationally, Sue says she is “very sensitive to colours and materials.” Here, the art grad gives us her tips on how to furnish your pad, how to pick the right sofa, and much more.

If someone is redesigning their home, what should they keep in mind?

Style is what most customers are most concerned about. Before the customer comes to the store, a lot of them have some ideas, pulled from magazines or Instagram. There are always new trends coming out in this industry.

But when you are deciding what to actually go for, what BoConcept does a bit differently is that we base the design idea on the customer personality. That’s what will make your apartment more unique.

Along with style, what’s also important for Hongkongers is functionality. And it needs to fit your current status – maybe you have recently discovered cooking, or you have lots of CDs or books.

How do you determine someone’s personality?

First, we look at how a customer dresses. How they dress is important, plus colour tones that they wear and that they like. Customers select people to help them by how they dress, too: they’ll select someone with similar style ideas to their own.

How do you help customers choose furniture?

What I always start with is what pieces in your house would you like to keep? And what pieces of furniture are you looking for?

Of course, we can look at images of what you like on Instagram and on tablets. And looking around the showroom, you can see what a customer likes and doesn’t like. You can see that they feel comfortable sitting on this sofa, but not on that one.

A lot of people might have difficulty describing their style, but if you look through a catalogue with them, they can point out what they like and don’t like. Or they can touch and feel things in the showroom and respond to that.

Hong Kong is full of tall buildings. Your view from your apartment will therefore also help to make your own style. You might have a sea view, or a green view, or one of buildings… the colours and the nature of your view make a difference. You can bring things from outside into your home and match your furniture to it.

How do you work with small spaces? And how do you make spaces lighter and brighter?

Using light tones is one easy way. But some customers don’t want all white, so we suggest some texture, which you can bring in via materials like leather, sheepskins, linens, wool. We also suggest using plenty of glass, and to consider mixing and matching colours, or using warmer tones.

With smaller homes, you have to come up with more ideas for the walls. And never block the view from your windows! And don’t add too many layers, this will make your space feel really small.

How do you pick the right sofa?

Most people are looking for a sofa that will last a long time. Aside from the look, the quality and the structure are really important. The quality of the plywood inside the sofa, for example.

I always ask customers whether they have cats or dogs, or kids. Are your kids always drawing on your sofa with crayons, or are your cats always scratching it up? You should then consider more durable materials that can easily be cleaned.

Also is the style going to last a long time? Is it timeless?

How about beds – how do you pick the right bed?

Durability is really important, and also functionality. A lot of people in Hong Kong want a bed that features storage, or they’re looking for a hydraulic bed [with storage that can be accessed by lifting a hinged mattress frame].

Other things to consider are how high you want your bed to be off the ground. And what brand is your mattress? We can recommend the right bed size based on your mattress.

These days at BoConcept, we’re creating a lot of upholstered beds. It looks softer; plus people don’t kick their shins or feet on the bed when they’re stumbling to or from the bathroom at night!

What’s the deal with BoConcept’s interior design consultancy service?

We do home visits as part of our interior design consultation package. We measure your space, and we can help to check your lift size for delivery. The decoration service takes one hour. It gives you a better sense of how you can use your space.

BoConcept's interior design consultation service is available online for HK$800. Find out more and make an online booking here.

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