Our regular Interiors features take a look through the keyhole into the homes and businesses of some of Shanghai's well known faces.
Michael Hickman has spent more than 30 years in the Greater China Area, and Shanghai will soon be the city that he has called home for the longest time in his entire life. “There’s a high level of acceptance of diversity here,” says the American lawyer of the reason why he loves the city. “It has been a very multicultural place for much of the last 150 to 200 years.” For the past year, he’s been living in Longmen Cun – a historical preservation neighborhood built in the early 1900s inside Shanghai’s ‘walled city.’ With an eclectic mix of architectural styles, the compound consists of 76 individual lanehouses – most of its residents are Shanghainese who’ve been living here for their whole lives. Before moving in, Hickman spent nine months renovating the place, making drastic changes to the layout while preserving some of the signature details that define the East-meets-West elements common in architecture from that era. Here’s a look inside.
After renovation, the living and dining areas have been combined into one spacious room. Its walls are covered with a Chinese calligraphy art collection – a collection that Hickman’s been building for years.
Having lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai for 12 and 15 years respectively, Hickman considers his current home base as the most livable city in Asia. He sees many similarities between Shanghai and New York, another city that he’s lived in for a long time. “In many ways, I think the quality of life in Shanghai has caught up to or even exceeded New York.”
A frequent business and
leisure traveler, this bookshelf
sitting in the study
(which was a balcony before
the renovation) is filled
with antique knick-knacks
that Hickman’s collected
from various parts of the
world. “It’s a pretty good
representation of where I’ve
been and what I’ve seen,”
he says.
One of the biggest modifications made to the house during the renovation was the ‘creation’ of the master bedroom, which became available after the shape of the lanehouse’s roof was altered. A private terrace gives the room plenty of natural light.
Hickman’s been living
in historical buildings
for many years and his
penchant for Chinese
arts and culture are
clearly reflected around
the house. 
After having trouble finding chairs that would match his dining table and the house, Hickman decided to design them himself. The colorful geckos on the wall and ceiling are traditional Mexican folk art that he picked up from one of his trips to the country.
A modern kitchen was installed one level below the dining and living room. The railings along the staircase and the flooring are original features from the 1930s. One level down is the guestroom and bathroom.
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