The front of the house is clad in hard-wearing raw balau timber, which is ageing naturally.
Karl Wang of KR Projects, the contractor who built the house, was “exceptional”, says Lisa,
dealing with all challenges effectively and expediently.
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The section with shutters on the first floor houses the main bedroom.|
The galley-style kitchen is an entertainer’s dream, with @home bar stools reupholstered in vinyl and a Marc Newson-designed hob from Smeg.|
In the dining area, a Gregor Jenkin table is surrounded by chairs made by local carpenter By Conrad. The black lamp is a replica of a Serge Mouille design; the white wall sconce and ceramic vessels were designed by Lisa. The wooden cabinet is from Vamp, and the yellow table is a refurbished hand-me-down from Lisa’s mother.|
The open-plan ground-floor living spaces link to the garden via glass doors on both sides, helping
to keep the house cool during Salt Rock’s humid summers. The day bed with metal legs is one of Lisa’s own designs.|
The pool was designed by Will and built from concrete by Karl Wang of KR Projects. The “lifeguard chair” is an old tennis umpire’s chair from Lisa’s primary school.|
The wooden table in Lisa’s studio was a present from her mother.|
Bo’s bedroom features wallpaper by Eijffinger and a headboard upholstered in fabric by Design Team.
The bedside table is from IKEA.|
The dark walls in the main bedroom and bathroom create a cosy atmosphere, and ensure the
room recedes from view from the outside, as it essentially has no front wall, just glass doors. The standalone bath is from Victoria + Albert and the standing mixer tap is by Isca. The basins, also from Victoria + Albert, sit atop a kiaat timber vanity designed by Lisa. The artwork is also one of Lisa’s.|
The dark walls in the main bedroom and bathroom create a cosy atmosphere, and ensure the
room recedes from view from the outside, as it essentially has no front wall, just glass doors. The standalone bath is from Victoria + Albert and the standing mixer tap is by Isca. The basins, also from Victoria + Albert, sit atop a kiaat timber vanity designed by Lisa. The artwork is also one of Lisa’s.|
The bed in the main bedroom was made by local carpenter By Conrad. The bedside pedestal is from Habitat and the wall-mounted lights are from Zebbies. The tasselled throw is from Woolworths while the linen is from Loads of Living.|
The dark walls in the main bedroom and bathroom create a cosy atmosphere, and ensure the
room recedes from view from the outside, as it essentially has no front wall, just glass doors. The standalone bath is from Victoria + Albert and the standing mixer tap is by Isca. The basins, also from Victoria + Albert, sit atop a kiaat timber vanity designed by Lisa. The artwork is also one of Lisa’s.|
Will surfs whenever he can, and collects surfboards – most, including this one, are from Natural Curve, and are shaped by Hugh Thompson.|
Lisa with husband Will Haynes, their daughter Bo and son Jock.|
Owner Lisa Twyman on the staircase – which has a steel frame and polished concrete treads – that leads to the first-floor bedrooms of her home. The flooring is made of polished concrete with crusher dust aggregate.|
Lisa won the crystal glassware in a competition. The large green vase is from Cécile & Boyd, and
the coloured glassware is from MRP Home.|
The kids with their cat, Stripes. Behind them, the ground floor of the house is seen fully opened to the garden.|
Three indigenous Vachellia robusta trees grow up through the centre of the house.|
WORDS Robyn Alexander PHOTOS Lar Glutz / Bureaux PRODUCTION Sven Alberding
Blurring the boundary between indoors and out, this inspiring family home combines a laid-back lifestyle with subtly sophisticated interiors.
It’s a great house to wake up in every morning, and a great house to dwell in,” says interior designer and artist Lisa Twyman of her home. “It makes you feel free, positive, motivated, excited.”
Lisa and husband Will Haynes fell in love with the plot situated in Salt Rock, on the Indian Ocean coastline north of Durban, because of its geography – so much so that the build became very much about the garden. “We did not want to impose on it or mess up the flow of it too much,” she says. “During the first few years that we lived here, any extra budget was spent on the garden and planting.”
The key principle for Lisa and Will was that the house needed to become a part of the landscape. This meant including elements such as a ground-floor living area that opens up completely to the outdoors, allowing the spaces to be opened or enclosed as required. This “blurred boundary” – as Lisa describes it – between interior and exterior is further enhanced by the fully open-plan nature of the living, dining and kitchen spaces, as well as the application of simple, low-maintenance materials such as unadorned off-shutter concrete, and the balau wood used for cladding and screening where necessary.
Adding to the home’s radical openness is its striking central courtyard. A trio of trees grows up through an organically shaped cutout in the slab that forms the first floor of the house, drawing the eye up towards the sky, and disrupting conventional distinctions between indoors and out.
When it came to decorating the living areas, Lisa says the concept was to create a relaxed yet creative space and to keep things minimal, playing with colour and texture – and a few touches of pattern – so that the interior became an oasis of calm in a riot of green garden. The garden is visible from everywhere in the home, becoming part of the interior, and was taken into account when implementing the decor and finishes.
While an uncluttered interior enhanced the simple, sculptural qualities of the house, it didn’t necessarily mean creating a brutally minimalist look. Rather, the finishes have been pared back and kept subtle, so that the raw materials and construction of the house remain central. Colour is also important for designer Lisa – and that’s especially evident in the way she’s combined unexpected hues like mannequin pink and deep orange to create depth and surprise.
For both Lisa and Will, the loveliest place in their home is their tranquil bedroom. Essentially a simple box with an outlook that frames the nearby Indian Ocean, “It’s great for a siesta, and offers the best views to wake up to,” says Lisa. “The place where you start and end your day is so essential to your wellbeing – this room has proven that to me tenfold.”
Form follows function in the best possible way in this home. It combines authentic materials with an architectural design that sensitively responds to its location, as well as Lisa’s laid-back yet sophisticated approach to its inviting interiors. No wonder, then, that she happily declares this house to be “the most uplifting space I have ever lived in”.