For the most well-travelled among us, the best mementoes are not Facebook albums hidden away online, but real, tangible items that evoke the senses and transport the mind to some faraway place. As the brand director of the Plaza Premium Group of airport lounges, Mei Mei Song certainly knows a thing or two about the magic of keepsakes from afar given her passion for travelling – indeed, pinning her down is something of an art, as she might be anywhere between San Francisco and Bahrain on any given day.
Naturally, her Happy Valley home, which she shares with husband Mitch (founder of architecture firm Mitchell Squires & Associates) and toddler Camilla, resembles a travelogue of sorts. To enter the 1,250-square-foot apartment is to delve into a history of the couple’s expeditions – the zebra rug below the Eero Saarinen dining table was sourced from Africa; a ladder propped against a column heaves under the weight of felt throws from Tibet; while a particularly inviting sheep’s wool bean bag from New Zealand serves as the favoured spot for some quality Netflix time on the retractable projector screen.
“What makes our place unique is everything is collected over time,” says Mei Mei. “Even with our hotels and lounges, sense of place is important. You just don’t want a carbon copy. We spend a lot of time to understand the local culture but also to speak to local suppliers, and the good thing is we can also bring some souvenirs back.”
This is all to set the scene for the garden terrace that wraps around the home, a rarity in the city that blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living. At 800 square feet, it cinched the deal for Mei Mei and Mitch who were adamant on an outdoor space that could serve as a second living room. While plans to build a small swimming pool ultimately didn’t pan out, the terrace retains the air of a modern Moroccan riad thanks to the lush thickets of banana plants and ferns scaling the iron trellised walls of the perimeter.
Both avid gardeners (Mitch grew up on a farm in Australia), the couple personally picked and planted each plant. “We did a lot of trips to the Flower Market and this plant nursery in Sai Kung,” recounts Mei Mei. “We’ve lived here for two years and it’s now really established itself. We know what works and doesn’t work.”
Her current pride and joy resides in another corner of the terrace, where a herb and vegetable garden supplies lemons, tomatoes, aloe, basil and dill to her culinary repertoire. Hong Kong’s difficult climate often poses a challenge for all home gardeners, but Mei Mei is unfazed, often bringing seeds back from their travels to experiment with.
In the summer, the riad transforms into an Australian backyard when Mitch breaks out the barbeque and Camilla hosts play dates in her paddle pool and sandpit. The terrace has seen its fair share of cocktail parties, complete with a makeshift bar counter that now functions as the windowsill of the baby room, but now it more frequently serves as a party venue for up to a dozen toddlers at a time. “Camilla has really become our priority,” explains Mei Mei.
One could make the case that the family’s backyard extends into Happy Valley and its adjoining racecourse, where the couple can often be found jogging in the morning. The community here is tight-knit and slightly removed from the chaos of the city, its low-rise character drawing easy comparisons with a small town, attracting many young families to put down roots in the most literal sense.
In the case of the Squires family, Camilla was born at the Hong Kong Sanatorium, a mere five-minute walk from their home; and most of their friends also reside in the neighbourhood.
In the end it’s all about the simple pleasures that their home in Happy Valley provides, says Mei Mei. “I’m constantly on the go travelling from one airport to another and shuffling between time zones, so where I do most of my resting and relaxing is at home with my family, over a good novel and a flat white from the coffee shop round the corner.”
Editor
Gavin YeungCredit
Photography: Mitchell Geng
