Finding a local solution to a home problem

Home decoration and storage are hot topics for urban Chinese now. Especially when compared with 30 years ago, as people these days find they have more money to spend and it is easier to buy goods online. But soaring house prices have meant that people can afford only small living spaces in cities.

Lu Wei, 35, a Guangzhou-based interior designer with a leading property developer for the past 13 years, who has developed more than 2,000 home layouts, and worked on more than 15,000 apartments, says: "One of the biggest issues is where to store things, which is understandable as most Chinese have been exposed to residential buildings for not more than 20 years.

"I can still recall my excitement when my father handed me the key to our own apartment in the 1990s.