Virginia Weinberg travels for art, sourcing for others but also for her own home, where multiple objects of interest from her voyages reside. Home is a light-filled Mid-levels apartment overlooking central Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour beyond, that Virginia added character to with the help of local interior designer and friend Lucia Tait Tolani.
There were two key requisites for the apartment, that was the first Virginia and her husband looked at upon moving to the city from Sydney four years ago. Firstly, that there was enough room to be able to grow their family beyond Dan’s two children, and, secondly, that the couple could host parties there happily.
The dining room, where Virginia likes to entertain with Brazilian-style suppers
Photo: Mitchell Geng
The terrace with chairs upholstered in blue-and-white-striped Ralph Lauren fabric
Photo: Mitchell Geng
“We entertain a lot,” says Virginia. “We have friends over almost every Friday night. We have a beautiful meal, light candles and play Brazilian music. We like people to chill and spend time and feel comfortable.” The large open-plan dining room and sitting room – the centre of the home – serve this purpose well, lit by a striking pair of Vertigo Suspension Lamps designed by Constance Guisset for Petite Friture. Two custom-made cream sofas enlivened by Gastón y Daniela fabric cushions, vintage Ralph Lauren chairs and a vintage Chinese coffee table create a sociable space at one end, while a Poliform dining table and chairs seat ample guests for dinner at the other. A relaxed snug for reading or watching television has been created in one corner of the room, distinguished by its warm grey walls, and a sliding door leads out to a terrace, decorated with plants from Mongkok Flower Market and furniture upholstered in maritime-inspired blue-and-white-striped Ralph Lauren fabric.
It is in this focal point of her home that Virginia enjoys rotating a diverse art collection. “I like to live with my works and usually change pieces every few months. Right now, we have a mix of still life and figurative art, a curation that was set up for Art Basel, during which we host dinners to discuss what it is to enjoy art,” explains Virginia. “It’s very thoughtful, the way we curate the art in our apartment. We travel a lot, we see a lot, our taste evolves over time, and we like pieces to represent that dynamic. We source art from all over the world – Basel, Frieze New York, SP-Arte Sao Paolo to name a few fairs – and have pieces from artists everywhere, from American to European, Brazilian, Chinese, African.” The current display includes works by Korean conceptual artist Anicka Yi, American painter Henry Taylor, Hong Kong-born painter Chris Huen Sin-kan, Japanese painter Hiroshi Sugito, Canadian artist Rodney Graham and Brazilian painter and sculptor Paulo Monteiro.
In such sophisticated surroundings, it’s hard to imagine three young children living here, and their bedrooms are equally chic. “When I fell pregnant for the second time – with my twin boys who are now 4 months old – I felt I needed to rearrange everything, for my daughter Rio, my two stepdaughters who come to stay from time to time, and the twins on the way,” says Virginia. “Lucia Tait Tolani helped me think about the set-up, and we decided on a playroom with bunks for the girls and a smaller nursery for the boys.” In the latter, Cole & Son jungle palm wallpaper cocoons the room, reflecting the jungle-clad hillside outside, while a bamboo Serena & Lily lamp and rich mustard-yellow accents – in the custom-made velvet window seat, chair and curtains – add warmth to the room. Matching Snoo bassinets are dressed in Malabar Baby bedding (sold at Lane Crawford), and positioned under Fiona Walker felt mobiles. In the girls’ room, a pastel pink and blue scheme glow under an Ingo Maurer lamp customised with drawings by Virginia’s daughter Rio. “My aesthetic is really neutral and what Lucia does best is work with colours and patterns,” says Virginia. “She helped me put together something really beautiful.”
An Ingo Maurer lamp customised with drawings by Virginia’s daughter
Photo: Mitchell Geng
It’s kudos to Lucia since Virginia prefers not to work with interior designers generally, feeling that “a beautiful home is a home that represents yourself, rather than somewhere that looks perfect. Everywhere I look, I have a memory from a place and it really represents my life and who I am,” says Virginia. Part of this is about surrounding herself with her Brazilian heritage, through the art collection for which she’s constantly looking at Brazilian artists – right now, that’s Lucas Arruda, Daniel Steegman Mangrane and Mira Schendel – the tropical plants, the Brazilian art books, and other decorative elements such as a beautiful wooden carved fruit bowl and hand-embroidered bed linen and curtains in her bedroom. Virginia and her husband are currently building an apartment in Sao Paolo, part of The Rosewood’s Cidade Matarazzo project, where she hopes to display many more Brazilian treasures. Another element that will transcend homes is Virginia’s belief in the African influence of patua – that it is important to display “jewellery for the home” as a symbol of protection. For Virginia, this is in the form of healing crystals, African instruments, and shells representing the goddess of the sea.
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Alice Riley-SmithCredit
Lead photo: Mitchell Geng
