COMPILED BY Gina Dionisio
With 2022 around the corner, we’ve decided to round up some of the most-read features on VISI this year. From secluded mountain retreats to ultra modern beach houses, here’s a look at your top 14 favourite spaces in 2021.
Klein Karoo Farmhouse
With a reputation for designing trailblazing buildings across the globe, Greg Truen and his partner Nancy Kashimoto chose to use a different approach when taking on the renovation of a 200-year-old farmhouse. Instead of putting their own contemporary spin on the structure, they breathed new life into the property in the most respectful way.
Lured by the charming building in Buffelsdrift, a farming district nestled between the Swartberg and Langeberg mountains, Greg embarked on a design and renovation process that spanned four years and would transform the neglected property into a working olive farm.
Read the full story on the Klein Karoo farmhouse.
Bloemfontein Home
Set in a burgeoning grove of indigenous Karee trees on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, Philip and Lisa Nel’s home anticipated the current trend of prefabricated dwellings by a decade. Back in 2009, having just renovated and sold a house, Philip finally took the plunge and built the prefabricated small dwelling he’d had in mind for a while. A piece of property adjacent to his parents’ home on the western edge of the city was the chosen site – and 12 years later, it’s where the couple still live.
Originally just 45m2 in size and manufactured in three sections that fit neatly between two of his beloved karee trees, the design for Philip’s own home became the basis for a design and construction business, Inizio Homes – a company that offers a turnkey solution including design, fabrication, project management and construction
Read the full story on this Bloemfontein home.
Bainskloof Family Home
“We wanted this space to be a special place to connect with nature and make memories with friends and family,” says Keri Paddock, who together with husband Sam (founder of GetSmarter and JEFF Fitness) and toddler twins, Violet and Fletcher, makes every effort to spend as much time as possible at India House on Kerala Estate.
Home to the elusive Cape leopard, caracal, duiker, buck and impressive birdlife, this private reserve boasts access to spectacular mountain hikes and trails, and proximity to the Witte and Bastiaanskloof rivers. “We say the water has magical properties because we always feel so fantastic after a swim,” Keri says of the picnic-perfect river frontage just 150 metres from their door
Read the full story on this Bainskloof family home.
Montagu Retreat
The scenic Route 62 o the Klein Karoo unfolds into vivid pictures of rolling rocky mountains and lush vineyards, followed by a slow ascent as you head into the historic town of Montagu, as well-known for its beautifully preserved buildings as it is for its hiking trails. The old town might seem an unusual location for this modern and minimalist home, but it turns out to be ideal for a hideaway in which time stands still.
“Hendre transformed the design into something we love,” says homeowner Martly Calitz of the interior designer who pieced together the significant details that make this home unique – including the decision to paint it mostly white with touches of black, which sets off the warm, earthy terracotta floors beautifully. Hendre Bloem is known for his clean and modern yet luxurious aesthetic, and he very much shared the couple’s vision of creating a home that embodies the maxim “less is more”.
Read the full story on this Montagu home.
Pniel Farmhouse
Smitten by its location in the picturesque village of Pniel at the foot of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch, Dané Erwee and Chris Willemse bought this 2.5-hectare piece of land 10 years ago. The idea was to start a flower farm that could supply their floral retail business, Okasie. “There was nothing here then besides a few gardenia bushes and plum trees,” recalls Chris, a horticulturist. “Our first mission was to build a road that would allow the builders to access the land.”
Architect Henri Comrie was entrusted to design the house. “We chose Henri for his strong ideas, and because we knew he’d give us something timeless,” says Dané, a master florist and landscape designer. “In fact, his answer to our brief for a re-imagined farmhouse was so spot on that, from the moment we received the proposed plans for this house, we honestly didn’t change a thing.”
Read the full story on this Pniel farmhouse.
Buffelsbaai Home
Family holiday homes evoke images of blissful summer days filled with nothing but hours spent on the beach and sipping homemade (somewhat punchy) lemonade to keep cool. And this Buffelsbaai beachside gem most certainly lives up to that billing, ticking all the boxes for what’s required to ensure that the Ferreiras’ getaways are always restful, invigorating and, quite simply, a holiday.
An existing structure was demolished on this third-generation property to make way for a new home for the family. Richly reflective of the opportunities and constraints of the landscape, the design of the house was inspired by the sea and the milkwood forest that surrounds it.
Read the full story on this Buffelsbaai home.
Yzerfontein Beach House
An intimate understanding of the small coastal town of Yzerfontein has made Evi Elsner something of an expert when it comes to creating beach homes in this idyllic enclave. Originally from Germany, Evi and her husband Jochem lived in Somerset West for 15 years before relocating to Yzerfontein, where they established themselves as sought-after dream-house developers.
Combining architectural, interior design and building skills, the husband-and-wife team found a winning formula: Home Concept, their business, starts from the ground up, quite literally. They find a special piece of land, plan and design the structure, furnish the space, and only then find a buyer. The house is handed over complete, down to cutlery in the kitchen drawers and food in the fridge. This unique model allows Evi the freedom to design unencumbered – a strategy that’s proven to be very successful. After their first Yzerfontein house was completed, a waiting list formed for turnkey spaces, signalling a real demand for this kind of service.
Read the full story on this Yzerfontein home.
Cottage Rock
Located on the outskirts of Pretoria’s Tierpoort, Cottage Rock fully embodies the idea of sustainable living. Designed by award-winning architect Nadine Engelbrecht, the client’s brief asked for a ‘100% off-grid house that embraced nature’ making use of material on-site and weaving it into the fabric of the house.
Budget constraints and a sensitivity to nature enforced material choices including a selection of reclaimed steel windows, raw concrete floors and walls, stone, raw stock bricks and cement washed walls. “As avid rock climbers the clients wanted stone side walls, intended to be used as rock-climbing walls. The natural stones collected on site was therefore incorporated into Cottage Rock,” says Nadine.
Read the full story on Cottage Rock.
Kerala Estate Cottage
The vast tracts of private land that fan out from the Witte and Bastiaanskloof rivers in the Bainskloof Valley are home to the elusive Cape leopard and impressive birdlife. This is the Kerala Estate and reserve, and being here is a nature lover’s ultimate escape – a chance to unplug while appreciating the fynbos-scented air and the thrill of bracing mountain-water swims.
With a clear idea in mind, the couple tasked architect Bridget George of KLG Architects with updating the existing buildings. They also contracted landscaping company Oasis Design to integrate the dwellings into the terrain, and to create unexpected garden spaces filled with fynbos and proteas.
Read the full story on the Kerala Estate cottage.
Eclectic Hout Bay Home
The Hout Bay home that creative director, interior designer and curator Tracy Lynch and husband Frank van Reenen (the equally off-the-charts artist, sculptor and animator) share with their teenage daughter Franny perfectly expresses their unique view on the world. As founder of Studio Lee Lynch and the creative director of Nando’s Design Programme, much of Tracy’s is work is about reinvention; Frank’s is also inventive, but with a side order of dark, playful and wacky.
Three years ago, when they decided to swap their inner-city Victorian home in Cape Town for a spacious out-of-towner, they were looking for a well-designed space they could move into immediately. “A new, modern space is contrary to anything we’d ever lived in before, but as my days are creatively charged, I was hankering after something calm, structured and resolved,” says Tracy. But that never happened. Not long into the house-hunting process, they fell in love with – and bought – a garden… with peacocks, a vineyard and a garden cottage as part of the package.
Read the full story on this eclectic Hout Bay home.
Caracal Cabin
The landscape and the environment were the key design generators from the client’s brief,” say Miguel Ferreira-da-Silva and Andrew Payne of Migs + Drew about the build of the new Caracal Cabin. “Owners Samantha and William Rupert Mellor had identified a potential cabin site on the farm that they loved, which offered privacy from the existing Cabine du Cap accommodation, along with dramatic, jaw-dropping views. Once we saw it, we were sold.”
Intending to build from sustainably farmed wood that doesn’t come from natural forests or contribute to deforestation, the team consulted with Seamus Harcourt-Wood of Rare Woods before settling on Siberian larch for the majority of the exterior. “The lower portion of the dwelling is clad entirely in stone, all of which was collected on the site, by hand,” says William. “The work was spread across the property, to leave minimal impact on the landscape. This also allows the building to ‘disappear’ into the landscape.”
Read the full story on Caracal Cabin.
Plettenberg Bay Home
With breathtaking beaches, pristine nature reserves and adventure-packed amenities, it’s no surprise that Plettenberg Bay is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country. And it’s where architects Johan Wentzel and Grete van As of W Design Architecture Studio set out to create a private haven of tranquillity for their clients – a place where the natural beauty of the bay would be an undeniable focal point throughout the house.
“For us, architecture is not about the physical building; it’s about the spirit that creates the space,” Johan explains. “The building is just a sheltered platform from which you experience the world – space and place should be perceived by the spirit.” With direct beach access and views stretching across the bay and towards Robberg Nature Reserve for as far as the eye can see, the site is a gem. “We designed the house with absolute focus on the natural world outside – the ocean, the waves, Robberg, the bay, the wind and the limitless sky,” Johan says.
Read the full story on this Plettenberg Bay home.
Uxolo Apartments
Uxolo’s beautiful tapestry-inspired exterior has been drawing admiring glances from design-savvy denizens of the Mother City for some months now. Its clever combination of materials and colours is meticulously executed, making this one of those new builds that feels a bit like a work of street art from the get-go. And inside, it only gets better.
We spent some time with architect Theo Kruger – who, together with André Krige, is TwoFiveFive Architects, the creators of the building – to find out more about the project’s ins and outs. This is the first local development we’ve seen to really make the most of the concept of living in a genuinely small apartment. To put it in perspective, the majority of the apartments in Uxolo are about 24m2 – which, to many South Africans, is an absolutely tiny space.
Read the full story on the Uxolo Apartments.
Llandudno Home
As far as grand debuts go, architect James Mitchell’s first solo venture under the banner of his newly minted firm Abon Studio is a corker. Set against a backdrop of Llandudno’s beachfront, the show-stopping three-level residence’s façade is fragmented into rectilinear configurations of off-shutter concrete, timber and zinc cladding, artfully Tetris-ed around the negative space of a glazed rectangle that lets you see all the way through to the ocean.
“Some areas of the beach are surrounded by enormous boulders that position themselves as if they had been strategically placed there,” says James. “The large off-shutter concrete wall has a primary function of forming a privacy boundary from the neighbouring properties, but it’s also a representation of the boulders in its size and colour, with the windows around it representing the openings between them.”
Read the full story on this Llandudno home.
Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.
