Modern Fresnaye Residence

PHOTOS Adriaan Oosthuizen PRODUCTION Sumien Brink WORDS Malibongwe Tyilo

Architect John Doyle has designed an Atlantic Seaboard mansion with understated charm and covert functionality that takes pride of place on the slopes of Lion’s Head. He gives us the full tour.

De Wet Road in Fresnaye has no shortage of large rectilinear abodes with rim-flow pools and panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Standing on the road, looking up the slopes of Lion’s Head, the last few rows of multistorey mansions jostle one another for a slice of the view. 

Looking seawards, the view is not visible from the street, obscured by high walls and garages. At this home, two garage doors and an unassuming walk-in door constitute the facade. A spray-painted street number by graffiti artist Sam Brown is all that announces that something else lies beyond.

Through the entrance, a bridge leads to the front door. A peek below the bridge reveals a luscious courtyard garden, three floors down, which connects a vertical garden that runs some 10 metres up the wall, giving the space an unexpected and welcome cosiness. 

Inside, the first wall to the left conceals the master bedroom – easy to miss – which takes up an entire floor. Except for kitchen facilities, it’s a complete living space in itself with a lounging area, complete with a fireplace and heated dipping pool on the balcony. 

Throughout the house, some of the best features are hidden – from the invisible air-conditioning unit through to the TV screen behind the en-suite bathroom’s mirror –unseen yet instantly visible at the touch of a button. Architect John Doyle, the man responsible for designing a lot of these fixtures, is quick to point out that the work was a collaborative effort between himself, Menton and Jeffery Architects, the landscape artists, engineers and the owner, who brought a lot of his own aesthetic and lifestyle into the home. 

This becomes apparent when walking down to the next floor, the living space, with a lounge, dining area and balcony featuring the main swimming pool, which wraps around the length of the house all the way to the front. Each fixture in this space is testimony to well-considered design, free of clutter. There’s the fireplace, custom-designed by John, with concealed drawers to collect ash and an extractor fan hidden in its chimney to ensure absolutely no smoke. The home is stealthy in this way, with all the functional bits happening in between walls and ceiling, leaving the residents to enjoy a serene ambience. 

Running through the house there are surprise splashes of colour – a magenta wall here and a yellow or blue wall there – breathing life into the otherwise grey-and-white palette. This is perhaps most evident on the next floor, which houses four bedrooms, for family members or guests, each one with an en-suite bathroom, and all with access to a central lounge-and-entertainment area and the aforementioned courtyard. Here, the colour splashes are balanced by the courtyard and balcony gardens, all of which work to ensure that, even three floors below, the splendour of the home is not lost on its occupants. 

The splendour continues all the way to the lowest level, the ground floor that serves as the staff’s living quarters – its own complete apartment, with high-quality finishes, living areas, kitchen and garden. “It was very important to the owner that the staff have the same standard of living within the home,” John explains. (Well, we must say, that some of us VISI staffers would happily wash dishes and make beds to live in those quarters!)

Back on the street, outside the neutral garage doors and the walls, after seeing what lies beyond, you can’t help but appreciate the unassuming facade, the casually spray-painted house number. Looking at it anew,this is the first clue to the home’s stealthy charm.  

For more information visit johndoylearchitects.webs.com.