Designer Hannah Lee and architect Clarence Chiang will showcase Hong Kong design expertise in their makeover of the famous Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Architect Clarence Chiang and designer Hannah Lee, founders and principals of Team HC, sourced many of the materials locally, including chairs and drapes, and shipped them across the Pacific Ocean to California.

"We found it cheaper, more efficient and of better quality to have it done here," says Ms Lee, who was trained in design in New York. "Everyone thinks the other way around, but there are some very good people right here in Hong Kong. We really came to appreciate the workmanship and craftsmanship available in Hong Kong."

For the couple, both born in Hong Kong and educated in the US, the renovation of the famous Los Angeles hotel, host venue for the first Oscars and more recently featured in the Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me if You Can starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo Di Caprio, was their first major project. However, they had already redesigned the personal home of the hotel's Hong Kong based-owner, who was confident they were up to the task

Their part in the HK$117 million (US$15 million) renovation project included refurbishing all 260 rooms of the property, which has also been featured in the films Charlie's Angels and Beverly Hills Cop.

Touch of Californian glamour

"The design of the rooms is very serene with a homely feel to them - very cosy and warm," Ms Lee said. "But there are also splashes of colour, a bit of Californian glamour."

Another Hollywood element is star hand-prints, with the palms of luminaries such as Jodie Foster and Melanie Griffith cast in concrete. A wall-hanging cast will eventually feature in every room including the prime hotel suite, once used by old-time Hollywood stars Clark Gable and his wife Carol Lombard.

People who have seen the project have been wowed by the design, particularly the Ming-inspired chairs, which were made in southern China. Reaction has been so positive that Team HC is looking at producing the furniture commercially and plans to test demand by seeking showroom space in the Chinese port city of Shanghai.

All this frantic activity has happened in the space of a few years. The pair, both in their mid 30s, met though mutual friends, were married in 1998, and began their own business, initially working from a room at home. Now they have an office and 15 staff.

"It has been a challenge," says Ms Lee. "Going to Los Angeles was working in a whole different environment with different people."