Fitting a real dining table into a Hong Kong open-plan kitchen

Most newer Hong Kong flats hand you an open kitchen with a short counter and no dining space. Families then buy a table that blocks the only route to the balcony. There is a better arrangement.

Extend the counter into a peninsula

A walnut top cantilevered off the existing counter at 750mm dining height, rather than 900mm counter height, gives a proper table edge with room for knees. It uses the counter as one of its supports, so it takes almost no extra floor.

Round the corner nearest the walkway

A single radiused corner on the circulation side removes the hip-height collision that makes a small kitchen feel tight, and it costs nothing to draw.

Drop-leaf for weekends

A 400mm hinged leaf on the far edge turns a weekday table for two into a weekend table for four, then folds flat against the run.

Match the timber to the humidity

Hong Kong humidity runs from 60% to over 90%. We build solid tops with engineered cores or floating panel construction so seasonal movement does not open the joints, and we finish all six faces — including the underside — to keep moisture uptake even.

Chairs that store

Stacking or nesting seating that lives under the overhang is what keeps the floor clear in a small flat.