Ilali pop

PHOTOS: Merweline van der Merwe | PRODUCTION: Annemarie Meintjes | WORDS: Jacqueline Myburgh Chemaly

A new guesthouse on an unassuming corner in Parkwood, Johannesburg, strikes a stylish balance between old and new, redefining the meaning of renovation.

When Hannia Weber and her husband decided to convert a drab, overgrown 1950s Johannesburg property into a guesthouse, they knew the journey was going to be an unusual one.

Converting the space into something that was contemporary and stylish, yet with a loyal eye on the city’s heritage, was going to be more of an evolution than a renovation.

The one thing they knew with certainty was that they were not going to take the popular route of flattening half the building. Instead, the renovation became an organic transformation of the house structure almost exactly as it stood 18 months ago, except the bones of the house have simply found new jobs. “Renovating Ilali became a form of recycling where we were going to work with what we had,” explains Hannia.

With the help of interior designers Lantis-Bain Scorgie and Anthony Fourie of AntLantis, many of the rooms were allocated new roles and quirky decor finishes have turned this into an artistic and modern space that has lost none of its old soul.

A typical renovation would have meant cleaning up the shell of the house and then deciding how to make the space work. Hannia and Lantis worked out how to repurpose the rooms without ticking all those boxes. The kitchen is now a lounge, a scullery became a bathroom and the lounge was transformed into a dining room. The only structural changes they made were to chop down or build a few internal walls, enclose the courtyard and add two bathrooms.

The aim was to create a usable and livable space, rather than an architectural statement. And it works.

The renovation made sense for this house and for her own style, which always recognises the past while embracing the present, says Hannia. This unique signature is reflected in the quirky sophistication of Ilali’s design touches: Contemporary South African art sits comfortably alongside oversized Tretchikoff prints. Discarded wooden boxes that once carried mine ore samples have been used as dressing tables and book shelves. Mexican mirrors from Hadeda add glamour to a lounge with Hannia’s own aged leather couch and retro ducks flying across the wall. It is a South African medley that reflects not only Hannia’s personal taste but also our nation’s colourful character.

The name Ilali means “village” and it was important for Hannia that the guesthouse, which is close to Parktown North’s coffee shops, restaurants and shops, should fit into its surroundings. “We wanted to make it part of one of the few street villages in Johannesburg,” she explains.

Comfort, style, convenience

Hannia’s approach was also based on what she looks for in hotels when she travels: comfort, style and convenience but not at five-star prices. She therefore decided to splurge in two areas: on good-quality mattresses and bed linen, and on creating the most luxurious bathrooms possible.

The services of Lantis and Anthony were critical in that they added the design elements that she simply couldn’t get to herself.

“I was anxious about handing over the whole job to them but they understood exactly what I meant when I asked if they would be able to slot in and out of this job.”

Lantis says the pair’s unique approach to working with a client’s style rather than their own helped to speed up the process when Hannia started running out of time. “We are not emotionally involved, which makes it easier for us to reach decisions.”

Armed with the knowledge that Hannia’s all-time favourite colour scheme is a faded aqua combined with red, Anthony and Lantis pulled together the design. They also convinced her to add touches of purple and contributed edgy elements such as tattoo-art headboards, which are to be Ilali’s signature design feature.

In the dining room, two massive paintings by Hannia’s grandmother, famous South African artist Hannatjie van der Wat, reflect her own affection for family as well as her childhood era of the 1960s and 1970s.

Finally, it was in the exterior and garden area that the cleverness of this renovation really came together. A cement-coloured Tyrolean wall-coating has not only given the 60-year-old house a timeless touch but also means the owners never have to paint. Instead, they can watch as the walls develop a charm and patina of their own. Lantis explains that if they had plastered and painted to make the house look new, every quirky touch would then have been out of place.

Plants from other gardens

Landscape architect Grieta Web advised on the ideal garden layout, with Hannia creating inspired designs within the framework. Almost every plant comes from the gardens of others; her mother-in-law gave her the dramatic aloes that stand proud at the entrance.

Even the driveway is a recycled work of art, featuring broken tiles and bricks arranged in creative swirls. “We simply gave the materials to the builders we have worked with for 15 years, told them what we had in mind and this is what they created. It’s a masterpiece.”

The heart of the home is the tranquil sea-green and charcoal courtyard that was once a cold, dark and overgrown backyard.

It is now a sunny, serene space complete with an Andrew Lindsay mosaic water feature and a cosy seating pavilion where Hannia often finds her guests working on their laptops late into the night. A fire pit adds a touch of African warmth and Hannia’s foreign guests love it.

How could they not? With all the heart and soul that went into this process, Ilali is certain to be a home from home for those who share a love for all things beautiful and enduring.

• Ilali guesthouse: 071 392 1851, hannia@mwebbiz.co.za, www.ilaligh.co.za
• AntLantis: 082 581 4468, antlantis@telkomsa.net
• Grieta Web: 082 903 9630