Fashion designer Marie France Van Damme is right when she says you’d never know there were one million people living five minutes away. Such is the oasis of her home, two houses adjoined, in Clear Water Bay. It was the view that convinced her to move here from a house nearby. A view that passes through jungly palms and out over the deep blue of the South China Sea, not a person or building in sight, just the occasional boat sailing past on the horizon. This sense of tranquility has been captured and extended to the interiors of the house too – an ever-evolving project that has been close to Marie France’s heart since she moved there with her husband and sons 32 years ago. 

Renovating homes was not unfamiliar to the designer. Prior to setting up her eponymous fashion brand in 2011, Marie France would buy, redesign and sell homes in the area. “I used to know every house in the neighbourhood from here to Sai Kung,” she says. “I used to love to decorate and transform them.” But when it came to this house, Marie France enlisted the help of a friend “with similar taste,” to make both structural and decorative changes. The overall result is a minimalist, monochrome space, brought to life by Chinese artwork, French antiques, Moroccan silverware and carpets, and Thai furniture that, combined, tell a story of Marie France’s colourful heritage.

“I’m all about collecting. I like minimal space, but I love to accessorise with interesting pieces here and there, and there’s a real Asian influence, obviously, because we live in Asia,” says Marie France. “It’s much easier to live in a more minimal environment, but accessorise. I suppose that’s similar to how I dress.” When at home, Marie France is more often than not floating around in one of her signature ‘Boubou’ kaftans that epitomise minimalist luxury. The largely resort wear collection, designed out of her Kwun Tong studio (equally as chic as her home) and inspired by her travels, is sold in her stores worldwide, from Hong Kong to Miami, as well as on e-commerce platforms including Moda Operandi and Net-A-Porter.  

While home is no doubt Marie France’s sanctuary, she travels often for work – an advantage when it comes to decorating. “I go everywhere to source interiors. It’s my passion,” says Marie France, who has dedicated an entire room in the house to Moroccan decor. “My son has caught the bug so when we travel together for work, we also like to shop. In Paris, that always involves a trip to a “marché aux puces” (flea market). In London, I love the antique shops of Fulham, in Marrakech, I like to collect teapots, and, in Japan, I have this thing for chopsticks. I could spend the whole day buying chopsticks!”