After buying it sight unseen in the Western Cape coastal village of Scarborough, this home’s owner not only effected an extensive refurbishment, but also found herself personally transformed by living here.

“I thought I was a city girl – until I spent lockdown in Scarborough,” says South African film director Nicole Ackermann. That this small coastal village just outside Cape Point Nature Reserve in Cape Town is now her home was as much a surprise to her as it was to her family and friends. A place of wild winds and brutally cold water, its untamed beauty is not for everyone – yet it struck a chord with the globe-trotting Nicole the moment she arrived. “My time here changed my outlook and values significantly. Up until then, I was more outwardly seeking for inspiration; now I realise the value of looking inwards more.”

When the world returned to “normal”, Nicole found herself back in Los Angeles for work, but regularly trawling property websites in the hopes of finding a home in Scarborough. “It was quite a revelation that, although living here wasn’t necessarily what I had envisaged for myself, it was what I desperately craved.” So when this house came up for sale, her family were sent to check it out. “I remember my sister sending me a video that she took outside the back kitchen door,” says Nicole with a smile. “Hearing the cicadas and the sound of the ocean made me incredibly emotional; it was like a homecoming. Just like that, it was a done deal – I literally bought it unseen.”

When she was finally able to see the house in person, she had no regrets. “The high-volume arched windows were what initially caught my attention, and they were even better in reality, as the house had been so beautifully designed around them,” she says. As a whole, the home has four bedrooms, but it can be split into three separate units. The main house has its own entrance and two en suite bedrooms, as well as a living, dining and kitchen area; while the cottage that leads off the back courtyard is a single dwelling with its own kitchen, en suite bathroom and entrance. The basement of the house is where you’ll find the laundry, a studio, and another guest bedroom with its own entrance. “There are also two container rooms that I currently use as storage space but that are earmarked for a cinema,” says Nicole.

Although Nicole’s plans were initially for a fairly superficial refurbishment, once she started, she realised broad strokes were required. Structurally, the biggest change was the relocation of the original kitchen to the other side of the living area. “I’m not a cook but I love entertaining, and so I wanted an area where you could read and lounge and take in the incredible views.” Today, an L-shaped built-in banquette deep enough to sleep on wraps around the dining table, while the kitchen has direct access to the back dining area and another terrace.

All the bathrooms were replaced and the floors sanded and repainted, while outdoors, a pool, a Jacuzzi and a deck were installed, along with an entirely new cactus and succulent garden. “I’ve worked a lot in Mexico and found Frida Kahlo’s house hugely inspirational, hence the cactus garden – and my love of skulls and crystals too!” The original house was white, but Nicole’s desire for it to complement the environment called for something drastic – all black. “I find black very soothing, and I love how the house now reads against the mountain. It’s unobtrusive, and any greenery you put against it just pops.’

Nicole started off with an interior designer but ended up completing the project on her own. “I wanted to create a series of neutral, luxe spaces that felt good to be in, but also comfortable and connected to the outdoors.” A calm yet sophisticated palette of stone, linen, leather and wood is the perfect canvas for a life punctuated by music evenings, film club, family gatherings and days at the pool. With views from every room, and mountain walks in Baskloof Private Fynbos Nature Reserve just two minutes from her back door, it’s a dream lifestyle. “Scarborough has a legacy of wild expression and cultural rebellion that I felt drawn to, and a creative community that has become my tribe.”

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WORDS Kerryn Fischer PHOTOS Elsa Young PRODUCTION Luanne Toms, Frank Features

There are 360 degrees. Why stick to one?” said the late starchitect Zaha Hadid – and this philosophy could well describe Mica and Marcel Angel’s Llandudno home. At its entrance, concrete slabs suspended over a body of water deliver you to a pair of angular, concrete planes that defy gravity as they slant casually skywards. The entrance is straddled by two linear concrete boxes, one of which is home to an outsized sculptural staircase that runs the full height of the double-volume space. It’s an astonishing first impression.

But then this home is designed to marry not just the disparate aesthetic predilections of its owners – an aspiring clinical psychologist and a racing driver – but also the splendour of its setting. Set on giant granite boulders between Llandudno and Sandy Bay, it was designed by M&B Architects’ Christo Botha in response to its spectacular surrounds. United by a passion for fast cars – and having worked together previously on commercial projects – Christo had

a good idea of Marcel’s love for contemporary, modern architecture. However, his challenge lay in incorporating that with Mica’s preference for a more sculptural, eclectic, lived-in feel, as well as her brief for a space that could accommodate the five children (from 28 to 11 years old) they share between them. And of course, their three dogs, Sishi, Valentino and Paris.

Inspired by the likes of Santiago Calatrava and the aforementioned Zaha Hadid, Christo immediately saw the opportunity to create a sculptural building that could play to Mica’s sensibilities while satisfying Marcel’s penchant for modernism. “My starting point was to mould the house into the rocky landscape so as to create a strong, stable construction, much like an amphitheatre, that could open up to the ocean,” he explains. This allowed the house to adapt easily to the dramatic and changeable microclimate that occurs on the coastline, where the sea can go from gentle lapping waves to giant swell in a matter of hours. “The house definitely moves with the climate – barriers such as the sliding doors on the seafront can disappear into the walls on warm summer days to create a seamless flow between indoors and out, and then act as both insulation and a contained aperture to the elements on Cape Town’s wild, wet winter days,” he adds.

Laid out over three levels with just four bedrooms, the 1 000m2 house is surprisingly intimate given its size and the drama of its entrance façade at street level. To accommodate the varying architectural elements, Christo proposed off-shutter concrete – an easy material to shape to create the kind of cantilevers that were required, but also because it’s honest and grounded, and would provide a consistent materiality throughout.

The subterranean lower level is home to Marcel’s study, as well as the ample parking, laundry and storage areas. The ground level is where the extensive living, dining, kitchen and entertainment areas are located. A guest suite on this level leads out onto the pool and terrace too, while the guest loo is located in an arc of asymmetrical offshutter concrete walls. Upstairs, the main bedroom sits in the centre of the house, flanked by two more bedrooms and Mica’s study. At the back of this level, a pyjama lounge and playroom lead off the main staircase.

“Our Sunday family lunches, when all five children – some with partners – converge, are a highlight, while our Christmas table seems to increase in size every year. And we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mica says. For Marcel, who is collaborating on the launch of a new international racing series in South Africa, the house offers a respite from a busy working life, and an opportunity to watch the Grand Prix in his soundproof man cave with friends. “It’s a home that caters to our differing needs perfectly,” says Mica. “Marcel is a social animal while I’m more solitary – yet the house allows space for both our personalities with effortless ease.”

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at this Keurbooms Lagoon home or this Swartberg holiday home.

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Architect Deidré de Waal’s “beach shack” is her refuge and the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

Acquiring my beachfront stand in Swakopmund came down to luck and good timing. I received a phone call from a local estate agent, telling me that one of her properties had become available after a deal fell through. Her computer database had crashed and she had lost all her contacts, but she remembered that I was always looking at beachfront erven and so she asked if I would like to have a look at the plot. As luck would have it, I was travelling to Oranjemund via Swakopmund that week, so we agreed to meet up. I remember the day so vividly: a bright sunny day, a slight breeze, and the sea just lying there like a big blue dam. I was sold.

I had no idea how I would pay for the property, but I had to have it. I had just started my own practice, but I told myself that if the bank were prepared to grant me a loan, I would take it as a good sign. The sale went through, but five years passed before we were finally in a position to build the house in 2010.

I reckon I have salt water in my veins! I always knew I would live on the coast at some stage. And when I met my now husband Martin Bosman, an architectural designer, and he felt the same way, it was a done deal. Martin and I met while the house was under construction, which was a good way of getting to know each other, as we survived a house build very early in the relationship.

I am not style-driven. When it comes to design, I am a pragmatist. I look at the lay of the land, what is appropriate and what is available. Martin and I wanted the house to look like a beach shack. I wanted it to be on stilts from the start. This had nothing to do with being prepared for rising seas and global warming; I just wanted a house on stilts on the beach. We also wanted it to look as if it had been there forever.

The clapboard cladding and shutters are influenced by typical West Coast architecture. I love working with corrugated sheeting, timber, stone and cladding. And where flooring is concerned, natural stone, polished concrete and vinyl are top of my list.

What I love most about this house is its lack of pretence. It is a home you can walk into with wet, sandy feet without worrying about getting the floors dirty. The way it has been planned means it never feels crowded, even when friends and family occupy all the rooms over a December holiday. And when we are there on our own, we occupy only the main living space. One of my pet hates is walking down a passage past dark, empty “guest bedrooms” en route to the main bedroom. This house does not even have a passage!

Swakopmund has a charm that one does not find every day. The high-tide mark is virtually on our doorstep. In fact, thanks to changes in sea levels, at spring tide water sometimes even runs underneath the house. (Luckily the stilts on which the house is perched prevent any damage from occurring.) This is a harsh environment. The corrosive qualities of the sea, the sand and the wind mean home maintenance is a regular exercise. We have daily mist; a wet, salty south-westerly wind that eats away anything in its path; and the occasional hot, sandy winds from the desert. But all of these things make it the place we love. 

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