Looking for slick and sleek? Look no further. This refurbished city centre apartment does the business - and proves, against the odds, that grey can be both exciting and innovative.
Hsinchu, where it's situated, is Taiwan's richest city, a place where technology companies dominate. The high-tech look of this apartment reflects that, and then some.
The owner commissioned award-winning architects 2Books Space Design to totally makeover this airy space. The brief: minimalism, pure and simple.
The result is a monochrome, slick city pad with unexpected touches of humour and colour.
While the colour palette is dominated by shades of grey, the result is far from dull. Textures are emphasised at every opportunity.
Grey wood grained concrete on the walls contrasts with a glossy stainless steel kitchen island. On the floors, the kitchen's dark grey tiles throw the paler polished concrete of the living area into sharp focus.
Black track lighting brings an on-trend air of the 1980s to the apartment.
An unused bedroom with floor to ceiling windows is now a tranquil greenhouse. In the master bedroom, the monochrome palette is sharply relieved by a bedspread in shades of red, its rich colours emphasised by the greys, whites and blacks that surround it.
Pale wood is used for much of the furniture, while low living room seating in greys and browns is a daring and successful choice. The designers have traded the obvious choice of chrome and black for real warmth. The result is a warm and nurturing minimalist pad that could so easily have been a cold, anonymous space.
Overall, it's the detail that impresses here. There's a relaxed feel to the minimalism, which can so often be a passport to an uncomfortable sharpness. This is truly a space for living.
