City Centre Penthouse at Steyn City

WORDS Michaela Stehr PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes PHOTOS Dook


A juxtaposition of textures, space and colour makes this City Centre Penthouse at Steyn City a haven from busy city life while providing sweeping views of the Johannesburg skyline.

Space. It’s the first thing you notice when you walk into this striking penthouse apartment on the top floor of the new City Centre apartments in Johannesburg’s “new North”. The high ceilings give a first impression of an expansive home, rather than the typical boxy square found on other estates around the city. “We needed to get height into the apartment,” explains architect Lesley Carstens, who worked on the project with her partner, architect Silvio Rech, and interior designers Nabeela Abdul-Karrim and Nina Roux.

“The ceiling heights were initially quite low,” says Silvio. “We could not change the window heights, but we pushed the engineers and architects to raise our ceilings as high as possible.” To add to the feeling of space, the team made all the door and wall panels reach from floor to ceiling, and opened the spaces to create a feeling of flow rather than settle for closed-off rooms.

Homage to Japanese design is evident through the sliding bedroom and study doors that give the option of an open-plan feel or privacy with their sleek, movable panels. “We also opened the lounge, kitchen and dining area into one space, flowing into the TV room, by removing all the internal walls,” says Silvio. “To create drama, we did a full-height 3D wall mural in the lounge – for some theatre, and to ensure the apartment had a signature look.”

This Modern Steyn City Penthouse Is Defined by Its Use of Texture, Colour and Space
In the study, Japanese-inspired sliding walls and doors offer the option of privacy or open-plan living.

Colour is the next visual element that makes a massive impact. Designed to mirror the shades reflected in the nature outside, the palette marries tones of the morning light, the surrounding grasses and wetlands, and the changing hues of the sunset. There are pale-blue sheers and shades of midnight grey in the curtains, sunset purples in one of the rooms, and green velvet couches with an abundance of planting in the TV room. In the main areas, the grey backdrop of the walls pops with the vibrancy of indigo-blue servers and bright yellow chairs that encourage what Lesley describes as “joyousness and the freedom to be eclectic”.

There’s a wonderfully unique atmosphere to the home – a character far removed from the decor-out-of-a-store feeling. “We usually design most of the furniture, joinery and decor pieces on our projects, and we wanted to use our own designs as much as possible here, too,” says Lesley. “We designed the majority of the furniture and the joinery, bar a few select items.”

The team aimed to create a space that’s contemporary and modern, but has a tactile connection to the earth. A few standout features include stone and steel coffee tables – sculptural pieces made of white Namibian marble and red Naboomspruit sandstone with blackened steel. The chunky flamed granite island with geometric faceted legs creates a hub for the home, a place to socialise and entertain in the state-of-the-art kitchen.

By using texture, the team has also created a contrast between elevated glamour and earthy tactility. Natural fabrics have been employed in the form of heavy linen and rich velvet curtains, all-natural linen sheers, and Belgian and Italian linen bedding. Leather adds to this, providing further variations in texture through the panels on the back wall of the TV room, as well as the headboards made of buffed elephant hide. Offsetting these natural elements are glossy mirrors and grey glass, both providing a layer of urban slickness that has become this team’s trademark – a combination of nature, glamour and elegance.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at this luxurious art-filled Cape Town apartment.