Cape Town City Bowl Home

WORDS Robyn Alexander IMAGES Warren Heath / Bureaux PRODUCTION Sven Alberding


A confidently contemporary update has given new life to a grande dame of a house in Cape Town’s city bowl.

Have you ever driven repeatedly past a house in your neighbourhood that you find deeply interesting, looking at it carefully each time and thinking, “I wonder who lives there… What would I do if that place were mine?” Certainly very few will have actually pushed ahead and persuaded the property’s current owner to part with it, then undertaken a major renovation.

But that’s precisely what interior designer Charlotte Collins managed to accomplish. Having become fascinated with this beautiful heritage home, several years ago she finally persuaded its elderly owner to part with it. It may have needed much work, but Charlotte could see the potential. And then there was the home’s hard-to-beat location. Situated across the road from historic Leeuwenhof, the official residence of the premier of the Western Cape, the property sports views of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Signal Hill and the harbour; in other words, a full 360-degree panorama of some of Cape Town’s most picturesque landmarks.

This is also probably one of Cape Town’s oldest suburban streets. This aspect of the property was very much part of the heritage home’s attraction for Charlotte. “I love pieces with a story,” she says. “When I started renovating, I tried to make everything look like it was original to the house.”

READ MORE: This City Bowl Apartment Brings Together Art and Interior Design

Sadly, much of the interior was in a terrible state. “I basically gutted the entire house,” says Charlotte. The flow of the spaces needed to be updated and modernised, and some of the original wooden flooring had to be replaced. And then there was the bathroom: it reminded her of “the one from that scene in Trainspotting!” she says. It, too, had to be completely renovated, with all the fittings needing to be replaced.

But from the start, Charlotte – who, before going into interior design, worked as a stylist on photographic and film shoots – knew precisely what she was after in terms of the look and feel of every room in her home. Plus, her experience of being “perpetually out there looking for stuff for shoots” meant that she already had a well-populated “black book” of resources when it came to finding the right fixtures and furnishings for each space.

This Grand Cape Town City Bowl Home Gets a Contemporary Makeover
This Grand Cape Town City Bowl Home Gets a Contemporary Makeover

The vast majority of these items are pre-loved pieces, including architectural salvage elements. “I naturally gravitate to items with history because they were just better made back in the day – and I love thinking about who had them before,” she says. Unsurprisingly, she is a loyal customer of the Milnerton Market, one of Cape Town’s most famous weekend flea markets, and from which the vintage telephones lining the stairwell were collected.

“That said, I do use the odd modern piece,” Charlotte adds, pointing out the witty sculpture in the hallway by Johannesburg-based Philippe Bousquet, and the sleek green velvet sectional sofa in the new TV room. Overall, it’s the thoughtful juxtaposition of old and new elements in the interiors that makes this home feel so fresh and contemporary.

Charlotte’s fearless approach to colour and pattern can also be seen throughout the house, which includes several living spaces on the ground floor and, on the first floor, three spacious bedrooms and a bathroom. Downstairs, besides the newly updated, very glam TV room, there is a library and study, and a delightful open-plan kitchen, dining and casual lounge area, which leads directly out to the garden.

“The house suits us perfectly,” says Charlotte – the “us” being her teenage daughter Willow and their four large rescue dogs. “It now has a great flow and is very manageable for our needs, if perhaps a bit too big! And we’re right in the city, even though it feels like suburbia – it’s leafy and has great walks.”

With its blend of enviable location, heritage atmosphere and airy, contemporary interior, this home is a charming reflection of its owner’s multifaceted life and style.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at this house in Vredehoek and this contemporary Johannesburg home.