In 1981, Luther Vandross, known as “The Velvet Voice”, released his debut solo album, which included a cover of a song that shot him to stardom. Performing in a way that was both playful yet powerful, he made the song entirely his own, to such a degree that the original singer was brought to tears when she listened to his live performance. In a manner of proclamation, he sings with heartfelt clarity, “A chair is still a chair, even when there’s no one sittin’ there / But a chair is not a house and a house is not a home.”
Ruby Weatherall and Amit Sharon before a wall of artworks by Florence Yuk-ki Lee, Vaevae Chan, Chihoi, Maisie Cousins, Martin Parr and Zoë Marden
On this June afternoon, as the sun naps behind the clouds and we sit on wooden school chairs around a round table, Vandross’ “A House Is Not A Home” is remembered. “He’s saying there’s something very different between a house with four walls and a home,” Amit Sharon explains, “I think we’re trying to create a home over here.”
It is Sharon and Ruby Weatherall’s first time living together, and the newlywed couple chose an apartment that testifies to their shared love for Hong Kong. “Because we grew up in Hong Kong, we love the old Hong Kong,” Sharon says. One of the first things that caught their eye in this apartment was the green and white argyle tiles. Initially a feature in only certain areas of the apartment, the landlord, Dare Koslow, extended the green-and-white floor pattern to other parts using a stencil. Koslow’s passionate about preserving tenement buildings (‘tong lau’). Oftentimes, he reuses pieces from previous apartments he bought that might have been sold or torn down, aligning with the couple’s principles of minimising waste.
Teak dining table designed and handmade by Amit Sharon and Ulli Drews of Drewswork in Fo Tan. Mid-century modern chestnut dining chairs sourced from Crack & Anecdote in Ap Lei Chau. Moroccan carpet sourced by Lālla. Vintage gilt-brass nautilus lamp sourced from France. Artwork by Joshua Serafin.
Sharon has become friends with the family behind Yuet Tung China Works in Kowloon Bay, where the crockery is sourced from. 19th century agate cutlery sourced from the UK
Artworks by Ron Sharon and Jack Penny. 1950s lamp sourced from To Tsu Kok Furniture & Antiques in Peng Chau
“Moving house makes you realise how much stuff you have and how much stuff you throw away,” Weatherall notes, “I think we both found that process kind of gross. So we were really trying to find things that already existed. That was a big thing that we tried to do.”
Artwork by Hou Lam Tsui and Tibetan cupboard sourced from Oriental Home in Ap Lei Chau which matches one in yellow in the room nearby
Weatherall and Sharon both lived on their own previously and had a lot of “veto power” against each other’s furniture. But the process reaffirmed their shared tastes. “Funnily enough, in bringing our furniture together, we realised there were some pieces that we had that were produced in the same shop,” Weatherall says. Both bought antique Tibetan cabinets—one red, the other yellow—which now sit in different corners of the home. As they consolidated the pieces they agreed could stay, a “vibe emerged”. “We like texture, we’re not shy of clashing,” Weatherall says, “I think clashing is quite important to us—things being a bit irregular, not too perfect.”
Collection of framed artworks and memorabilia with a central ceramic artwork by Katy Stubbs
Second-hand seashell armchair sourced from 2nd Chance Furniture Store in Tuen Mun
First printed edition of TA Online Magazine on the bookshelf
In their living room, a mint-coloured ottoman is sandwiched between a set of pumpkin and jam shade seashell armchairs purchased from a second-hand shop. Their Moroccan carpets are a dopamine rush of vibrant colours that bounce off their red cupboard of records collected (like blindboxes) during their travels. On their cream couches, jolts of tangerine and plum accents spring from their cushion covers.
Artworks by Mak2 and Dave Eggers. 1970s school chairs sourced from France
The walls, too, embrace a playful clash of styles. One photo of a phone case with sprouting laser strobes uses humour to comment on society. In contrast, the next uncomfortably visceral photo of a slug on a petal toes the line between the attractive and repulsive. “I think this is a super interesting aesthetic, and quite a lot of the artworks that we have find that fine line between those two things,” Weatherall shares. Meanwhile, some artworks are hung because of sentimental reasons. One by Hong Kong artist Florence Lee reads “Pilot, you build a home in my mind.”
“I love to support emerging artists,” Weatherall says, “If I’m gonna put my money anywhere, I would rather it be there, right?” Sharon, meanwhile, took a more impulsive approach to investing — a piano he stumbled upon on the side of the road. “Ruby, I think I bought a piano by mistake,” Sharon announced to Weatherall after a run, two days before their 70-plus people housewarming party. It’s a grand-looking piano with a German inscription, and before Sharon knew it, a Mr Lee, who was in charge of trash, came down from the housing estate to sell it to him. “I don’t know if you’ve tried to pick up a standard piano, but it’s about 400 kilograms,” Sharon says. He paid people downstairs to bring it up together—no lifts in the building. A Google search later revealed that the piano was crafted to resemble European designs, produced by a Hong Kong brand in the 1980s. In such a Hong Kong home, of course, it only makes sense that the spontaneous piano is also accidentally Hong Kong.
Plants bathing in the spot in the home with the most natural light
Artworks by Honor Weatherall, Rebecca Sammon, and Ella Walker. 1970s table lamps by Doria Leuchten, sourced from Germany
In the entire apartment, the only thing that was customised for the space is a long wooden table hunkered down in the dining room. Sharon built this himself. “It was impossible to find a table that fit the space, and so I found a workshop,” he shares. He discovered a German Master Carpenter named Ulli Drews, who offers woodworking classes and runs a rehab centre. Sharon and Drews imported teak from Burma and used 17 hours to build an original design. Now, it sits in the middle of the dining room with pre-loved mid-century modern chestnut dining chairs— a space where many dinners have since been hosted. “We both made it,” Sharon insists, looking at Weatherall. “I literally came for one hour,” she laughs, “I wouldn’t say I contributed.” What they do agree on is that the table brought everything together — it was a moment that made the house feel like home.
Photography: Natalie Dunn
Editor
Karrie Lam
