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      A futuristic Mozzkito table lamp by German designer Ingo Maurer hovers over JinR’s desk.

      WITH ITS MINIMALIST yet imaginative décor, rich atmosphere and creative fusion food, Beijing’s Green T House has set a benchmark for modern design in the capital. Created by JinR (Zhang Jin Jie)—her skills include musician, designer and masterchef—the Green T House is a distinctive blend of teahouse, restaurant and gallery.

      Feted in the media as Beijing’s “Queen of Style,” JinR is known for her desire to push boundaries and redefine conventions. Her love of the traditional Chinese teahouse as a place to relax, reflect and converse prompted her to create a space filled with unique and beautiful objects of her own design. In 1997 she had a tiny location with just three tables; next came a Tang Dynasty-inspired interior with an intimate atmosphere akin to a “mysterious old house.” Today, the Green T House occupies a light and airy space near the west gate of the Workers’ Stadium in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. With its clean lines and distinctive Chinese aesthetic, it is “modern without being foreign.”

      The restaurant’s interior is an iconic blend of Alice in Wonderland meets new China chic. A huge velvet curtain pushes aside to reveal a dramatic interior furnished with white latticework Chinese screens, slim white branches weaving across the ceiling, sculptural high-backed chairs and hand-painted silk lanterns. In addition, the culinary creations are so beautifully presented that they are artworks in themselves. Here, JinR has created a sense of theater in which anything seems possible. “I want to create the best moment for people… an experience they will always remember.”

      Oversized globe candles and two clear perspex yokeback armchairs designed by JinR glow under red overhead lighting which adds a sense of theater and drama to the space.

      A calming influence: in the study, a Zen-like bronze hand sculpture sits atop a pile of books.

      In the office, a painting by artist Liu Fei is propped up in the corner behind a curtain of clear perspex disks. The white staircase leads up to a mezzanine level which houses a library of reference books.

      The windows have been imprinted with red bamboo stencils. White soft furnishings, sheer curtains and a clear perspex tray and accessories ensure that the tea experience is as rewarding to the eye as it is to the tastebuds.

      In contrast to the restaurant, the office features bold red walls to offset a series of black and white yokeback-style armchairs. Paintings, bronze artifacts and lacquerware tea sets accessorize the space.

      From the ceiling hangs the exuberant Birdie Chandelier by Ingo Maurer, comprising a series of low-voltage light bulbs with goose feather wings.

      The restaurant is filled with sculptural chairs with 3-meter-high (10-foot-high) backs designed by JinR. Each chair is a whimsical reinterpretation of a classic Chinese design.

      A private table in a corner of the restaurant is accessorized by high-backed chairs designed by JinR. Above the table hangs a Zettelz chandelier by Ingo Maurer consisting of sheets of Japanese notepaper clipped onto stainless steel wire cables.

      the white house

       modern glamour by the sea

      Designer DEBORAH OPPENHEIMER | Chung Hom Kok HONG KONG

      WITH ITS SCULPTURAL WHITE STAIRCASE, polished white lacquer flooring and sophisticated color scheme, the spacious, light-filled home of Jung Ho and Helen Park is an exercise in pared-down glamour. Located on Hong Kong Island’s Southside, the 400-square-meter (4306-square-foot) home benefits from both sea and mountain views and is filled with that very special quality of light inherent to this part of Hong Kong.

      Interior designer Deborah Oppenheimer of Deborah Oppenheimer Interior Design Ltd created a clean shell which has a liquid quality and which is at the same time serene, calming and comfortable. “We all had a vision of a white house, with white lacquered floors and Statuario marble, everything very simple and very white,” she explains.

      The focal point of the house is the large molded staircase that sweeps upwards, developed in collaboration with architect Michael Chan. “We felt that by having a white core with a sculptural element in the middle, we would be getting away from a cookie cutter environment,” says Oppenheimer. To balance the white palette, soft auxiliary colors such as mouse grey, taupe, duck egg blue and charcoal have been woven in to form a neutral but luxurious backdrop to the Parks’ collection of contemporary Chinese art, sculpture and photography.

      A white screen on the upper level was designed using square detailing. Square motifs are a recurrent theme throughout the house.

      The use of high quality materials which coordinate perfectly adds elegance to the interior. The high gloss lacquer floorboards needed seven coats each to create such a high gloss finish; oversized limestone slabs “float” in the entrance hall; finely woven dark taupe vinyl lines the stairs and glazed linen drapes edged with velvet hang from the windows.

      Oppenheimer has cleverly blended elements from around the world, including her native South Africa, to achieve an environment that both reflects different cultures and at the same time works as a cohesive whole. “We enjoyed the meeting point of different cultures and ethnic influences. There was a great harmony achieved by using elements such as Chinese ceramics, art and sculpture alongside African ceramics and landscape photography—in terms of color and texture as well as content.”

      A sensual white staircase sweeps upwards through the house providing

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