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A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The one-and-a-half storey house is tucked between a dense patch of milkwood trees and fynbos. The grey paint used for the exterior means that it blends in well with the environment. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : Sue's casual, sophisticated interior style suits the home's no-nonsense feel. Here, nature reigns supreme. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The couple’s office occupies an adjoining building. Stephen, pictured here, incorporated bucket chairs from his son's design studio, Pedersen + Lennard, into the space. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : Wood from sustainable sources were used generously throughout. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The bedroom is simply furnished. Here, again, the views towards mountain and sea are prominent. The floors are made of OSB, dyed with a black stain and coated with Plascon Pure Coat. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The study provides a pop of colour. Sue's love of art means that the house is filled with interesting artworks. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The path that leads up to the front door. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : The downstairs bathroom is a luxurious wet room that blurs the boundaries between inside and outside spaces. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : This bath, nestled under milkwood trees, provides the perfect spot to rest and recuperate. -
A sanctuary in the shrubbery : Sue Lennard enjoys a quiet moment on the deck, which boasts impressive views of mountain and fynbos. No other houses can be seen.
WORDS Nicci Collier | PHOTOS Greg Cox | PRODUCTION Gera Smuts
Tucked into dense fynbos near the surfer’s paradise that is Kommetjie beach, Stephen and Sue Lennard have built a one-of-a-kind house – with outdoor bathtub and all – that’s almost entirely hidden from view.
“As far as I’m concerned, if you can’t see a building, it’s a good building.” So says architect Stephen Lennard – and his own home, by these standards, is very good indeed.
Surreptitiously peeking through a congregation of milkwoods and fynbos bushes, Stephen’s Kommetjie home is a cosy haven for the eco-conscious surf addict and his wife and colleague, Sue. The couple’s office – home to their architectural practice, Lennard & Lennard Architects and Planners – occupies an adjoining building that’s equally camouflaged among the foliage.
“The first time I came here, there’d been a huge fire,” says Stephen, “and there was nothing higher than my knee. It was all just black stubble.” Today, beautiful trees and shrubs, alive with butterflies, birds and insect life, occupy the nature reserve around the property. From most of the house, not another building is in sight. From a distance, and depending on the time of day, the Lennard’s one-and-half-storey home, where the bedroom is incorporated into the roof to reduce the carbon footprint, blends magically into its idyllic surroundings.
Inspiration for the house came from a trip to Australia. “I’d seen pictures of a house near Margaret River in Western Australia,” explains Stephen. “So when I went there, I literally went stomping around and found it.”
Clever Camouflage
Stephen and Sue experimented with a host of green paint swatches before settling on the various shades of grey their house now boasts. “We wanted to see what would actually disappear against the milkwoods,” says Stephen. “Interestingly, green has a tendency to shine out at you and grey is better camouflaged. We even changed our roof from green to grey so it would blend in better.”
The house was painted in three different shades of Plascon paint: Zircon, Barnacle and Shale – with one of the lighter shades on the upper half of the house mirroring the sea-blue skies behind. The interior, on the other hand, was painted in Earthcote Windswept – a mixture of two colours resulting in “Drieman Johan”.
And while the Lennards’ exterior paint choice may have ended up being grey, their building approach remains thoroughly green. The house is part of a small development in this most sensitive of eco-systems. No concrete or brick was used in construction and the house was designed to fit snugly into a patch of open ground, so that natural vegetation was harmed as little as possible.
“Fifteen years ago, I crawled through the bushes here, looking for a place to build,” remembers Stephen. Sue explains that the house occupies a footprint of about 350 square metres. “The land was cleared by Cape Point Nursery,” she says. “They literally used teaspoons to collect and save every bulb on the land.”
When it comes to landscaping, Stephen explains that the vision for the area is that whatever is outside of the footprint of your house is natural and what’s on your deck (in this case pots of herbs and vegetables) is yours. “We have to keep all our herbs on the deck so they’re out of reach of the porcupines. And we have to chop back the bush very little,” says Sue. “The bugs here are like a bunch of Japanese gardeners and they chop everything for us!”
Outside Inside
Loads of wood, expansive glass doors and windows, and a wide balcony – open to the elements – invite outside in. Sue, who deals with the interiors for Lennard & Lennard, has been the driving force in the selection of colours, fabrics and furniture. “We also have mirrors everywhere, so that wherever you look, you actually see the bush that’s outside,” she says. “Our house is a bit like a luxury tent.”
“I wanted it to feel at any given moment that there’s a danger of nature taking over the house; to feel that nature is encroaching,” adds Stephen. And that’s exactly the impression that this hidden gem gives.
VISI 57, our Hidden Issue, explored spaces that have never been published before and reveal the secret collections of some of South Africa’s most interesting creatives.
TAKE NOTE: Lennard & Lennard creates urban design solutions, architectural guidelines and environmental constraints that reduce the impact of human settlement on the natural environment, allowing the integration of man and nature. Visit lennard.co.za for more info or contact them on +27 (0)21 783 2624.
