CONTENT Nini Bairnsfather Cloete IMAGES Craig Fraser
South Africa’s architectural riches are painstakingly documented by Nini Bairnsfather Cloete and beautifully captured by photographer Craig Fraser in Remarkable Heritage Houses of South Africa, a new coffee-table book from Quivertree Press.
WHITEHALL COURT, JOHANNESBURG
An Edwardian wedding cake of a building, Whitehall Court is a sought after apartment address. The original main apartment is divided into three glamorous living spaces, one of which belongs to couturier Howard Green. “I collect very strange kinds of furniture,” admits Howard, who is passionate about new ideas and new fashions in every sphere.
PRYNNSBERG, FREE STATE
A grand and golden sandstone affair, Prynnsberg was designed in England as a Victorian take on the Elizabethan style and constructed in 1881. Then owner Charles Newberry’s daughter Winifred was responsible for the astonishing friezes painted in some of the rooms, including the sublime Nile Lilies painted in the music-cum-billiard room.
MEERLUST, STELLENBOSCH
In 1757, Meerlust was acquired by Johannes Albertus Mijburgh – and so started a dynasty of ownership by descent that continues to this day. Hannes Myburgh is the eighth generation of his family to be in command. An inveterate collector of fine decorative things, he continues to augment Meerlust’s collection with varied and intriguing pieces.
WATERHOF, CAPE TOWN
Whitewashed and thatched, this house – built around 1785 – is graced with several gables. A pale palette dresses the elegantly proportioned sitting room; white slip-covered wing chairs take centre stage alongside an Austrian day bed with horn legs and a pair of Italian Driade Flo chairs.
The book retails at R600. To get your copy visit Quivertree Publications here.
