COMPLIED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Niel Vosloo (Robertson Cottage); Elsa Young (Scarborough House, Umdloti home, Greenside Home, Malmesbury Home, Johannesburg Home Pniel Farmhouse, Witklipfontein Eco Lodge, Eclectic Hout Bay Home); Dook (Monaghan Farm House, Keurboomstrand Home, Montagu Home, Modern Pretoria Home, Minimalist Joburg Home, Oudtshoorn Heritage Home); Greg Cox (Steenberg Home, Modular Scarborough House, Nieu-Bethesda Home, Modern Hout Bay Home, Lanseria Estate Home); Nicolas Mathéus (Menorcan Home, Provence Farmhouse); Paris Brummer (Franschhoek Home, Kerala Estate Cottage); Warren Heath (Klein Karoo Home); Lar Glutz (Salt Rock Home)

Whether nestled among indigenous plants or surrounded by centuries-old trees, these homes invite you to escape the everyday and immerse yourself in a world of natural beauty. These houses from the VISI archives showcase the timeless allure of a gorgeous garden.

Robertson Cottage

For three years, Etienne Hanekom drove past a derelict 150-year-old cottage on his way to his grand old Victorian in Robertson, without noticing the nondescript ochre building. Then, one day, a friend told him that a small cottage near his house was for sale. Upon finally noticing it and entering it for the first time, Etienne instantly fell for both its dimensions and the price.

“It was a forgettable, run-down, sad little house,” Etienne says. “A long, narrow house built of clay with four windows and a front door. Yet I walked in and knew I wanted it. The house had a certain atmosphere that I liked, a feeling that resonated with me.”

There is always a house that winds its way into Etienne’s heart. These are his personal projects. And they are always very personal, even when they’re not meant to be.

As he began to transform the dilapidated cottage, Etienne fell more for it. He mostly works with large spaces, but he has a particular fondness for small ones. By the time he had completed the pink vaulted bathroom, he had sold his much larger Victorian house down the road and was making plans to move into the narrow little cottage.

Read the full story on this Robertson Cottage.

Scarborough House

“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.”

Read the full story on this Scarborough house.

Umdloti House

It was a serendipitous Sunday drive that delivered the current owners to this prime property in Umdloti. They were met by spectacular views out towards the local surf break, and a 400-year-old milkwood standing sentinel in the front garden. “We had been thinking about buying a home in Umdloti for a while, so to happen upon this place without trying too hard felt like the realisation of a dream,” they say.

Although the couple live full time on a farm on the North Coast, the family have a long association with Umdloti, dating back to the early 1900s, when a great-grandfather lived there.“ We have great memories of the times we spent here over the years, and we wanted to emulate that with our own children,” say the owners. “The original house was tucked away behind such an overgrown garden that you couldn’t see the sea, and you had to fight your way through an impenetrable banana plantation to get to the milkwood,” they add.

Read the full story on this Umdloti house.

Monaghan Farm House

This house in Monaghan Farm in Lanseria, on a beautiful spot overlooking a bend in the Jukskei River, began with a bold, Brutalist architectural idea – but the result is an incredibly subtle, sensitive response to its setting. The owners, Wendy and Lukas van Niekerk wanted a home made entirely of steel and raw, exposed concrete, and this spectacular plot of land offered them the chance to build from scratch. Lukas, an engineer, is a huge fan of the work of 20th-century Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, who is famous for his sensitive use of concrete as well as experiments with concrete and steel – and the Van Niekerks’ architect, Enrico Daffonchio, went to school in Scarpa’s hometown of Venice in Italy. The fates had aligned.

Despite what Enrico refers to as its “strong architectural language”, the house they designed together is nestled into the landscape and, when viewed from higher up the hill, is practically invisible (helped by the green roofs planted with endemic grasses to recreate the landscape it’s built on). It is, quite literally, sunken into the landscape to keep its presence unobtrusive.

You descend from street level to the front door via steps that lead to a path through a courtyard. The bold simplicity of the forms – the slim, straight lines of the roof and overhangs – belie the complexity of the way the house is knitted into its setting, with courtyards and “green fingers” all around bringing the landscape and vegetation up to and between the rooms.

Read the full story on this Monaghan Farm house.

Steenberg Home

There are houses in beautiful settings that try to disappear into the landscape. Others like to perch on a prominent spot and lord over all they survey. This one – a holiday home on a big semi-rural plot on the side of the Steenberg mountains in Cape Town – does neither. Its weighty walls and solid masses seem to emerge from the ground and assert themselves unapologetically on the mountainside, yet the indigenous gardens around its edges blend with the natural fynbos, so it looks as if it is being reclaimed by nature. It is undeniably there, but somehow doesn’t seem like an imposition.

Parts of it form big, monolithic blocks, and others are almost pavilion-like – glass-sided, so you can see all the way through the house from one end to the other – but even they have heavy-looking roofs. An oversailing canopy seems to rest on one section but float above another, overlapping. In many ways, the house has no obvious “face”. It twists around, without a clear front or back. It’s a house that, from the moment you see it, prompts questions. Why does it have those angles? Why doesn’t the floating roof touch the roof below? Why is it even oversailing? But that’s the point. “It’s a bit of a mystery,” says its architect, Chris van Niekerk. There’s a randomness about the way parts of the house have been assembled, intuitively, “like a child playing with blocks”. It has a pleasing, comfortable composition, but it doesn’t explain itself or seem to comply with any rigid and ordered logic.

Read the full story on this Steenberg home.

Menorcan Home

Location, they say, is everything – and “they” would certainly give this one the thumbs-up. With the sea on the horizon, and framed by dry-stone walls softened by pines, olive trees and palms, this idyllic four-hectare estate is situated on Menorca – one of Spain’s Balearic Islands clustered in the Mediterranean.

Known for its sandy beaches, warm waters and megalithic stone monuments, as well as a population that loves a good music fest (including the International Organ Festival) and its unique wine-based gin, Menorca is certainly one of the ideal places on the planet to build a family getaway. This property, originally a farmhouse, was once owned by a family from Barcelona, who had the temerity to divide it into three separate flats. Thankfully, the beautiful home has now been remodelled and restored by its new owners, who proved to be far more sympathetic to its origins.

Read the full story on this Menorcan home.

Greenside Home

It takes a good eye to spot potential in a fixer-upper, particularly in a city like Johannesburg. There are some real gems – almost always undervalued – but their qualities are often lost beneath the add-ons that barnacle their way onto houses over time. Christo Vermeulen and Nico Venter are serial renovators. Inevitably, after a few years of living in a house, they find their eyes wandering.

They most certainly do have a knack for recognising the signs that something special might be lurking beneath the surface a nondescript exterior. Christo is a former textile designer turned builder/renovator – with a sideline in manufacturing bespoke features, especially metalwork and ironmongery – and Nico is an urban designer with an interest in the city’s architectural history. Together, they make a formidable team: insightful and capable, with the perfect combination of vision and respect for the innate qualities of a good find.

Read the full story on this Greenside home.

Modular Scarborough Home

As the owners and founders of hope distillery, one of the first small-batch distillers of craft gin in South Africa, Leigh Lisk and Lucy Beard had grown tired of living on-site at their distillery in Cape Town, and wanted a bolthole to which they could escape every weekend. “Both Leigh and I are keen cyclists and runners who love the outdoors, and so the natural beauty of Scarborough and its proximity to the city made it an obvious choice for us,” says Lucy.

Initially, they had bought an old, abandoned tennis court in the coastal village with a view to building on that, but the prospect of a two-year brick-and-mortar build saw them buy an old one-bedroom, prefab home in the village as a stopgap. “We initially saw it as an interim house that would allow us to stay in Scarborough while overseeing the build – but we ended up loving the house so much that it has become our home.”

Having long admired the German Huf Haus (a prefab-style home) as well as the tiny house movement (an architectural and social philosophy that advocates the simplification of living spaces), the idea for something small and sustainable quickly took hold. “We liked the idea of building a modular structure that would blend into the environment with minimal impact, and a container home made sense as it’s less expensive than building from scratch,” says Lucy.

Read the full story on this modular Scarborough home.

Keurboomstrand Home

There was a non-negotiable in the client brief: respect the land. It’s not difficult to see why – the parcel of earth the residence was built on is pristinely beautiful. “The farm is situated near Plettenberg Bay, on a large portion of land filled with indigenous forest, with rivers running through it and a view of the Tsitsikamma Mountains,” says architect Paul Oosthuizen, giving context to his client’s instructions. “There was one patch of invasive wattle on the land, which was cleared – this became the area we developed.”

To find the perfect spot on which to build, Paul surveyed the sloped piece of land by climbing some of the tall trees on its periphery, then decided on the bottom of the hill, so the house could be nestled into the forest and give his client a view of the riverbed. Next up, Simon Hart and his team at No Fuss Construction brought Paul’s vision to life. The result is a home that feels intimately connected to its woodsy surroundings, and secluded from the world beyond. In fact, reaching it is a pursuit that requires visitors to make the last 60-metre journey on foot.“ As you approach, you drive along a road that’s right up against the forest to your left,” says Paul. “You then park in a garage that’s buried underground, get out, and walk along a boardwalk that goes through a canopy of trees, about eight metres off the ground, before you arrive in the courtyard. It offers the guests the sense that they’ve ‘discovered’ a house in the middle of a forest.”

Read the full story on this Keurboomstrand Home.

Malmesbury Home

“There was a wonderful feeling of glamorous decay to her,” says interior designer Etienne Hanekom of the grand old Victorian home he is lovingly restoring in Malmesbury. Languishing elegantly on a ridge overlooking the historic farming town an hour west of Cape Town, the generously proportioned four-bedroom house was built in 1850, when Malmesbury was still a popular destination for its revered hot springs.

Recent history, however, has not been kind. Rapid industrialisation of the town, as well as the ignominious positioning of a busy arterial road right in front of the house, threatened a fate of idle deterioration. Until Etienne stepped in. “I’d been keeping an eye on her, as I frequently used to drive past on my way to visit my parents,” he says. On an impulse, he decided to stop for a closer look, and discovered that the rambling 2 500m2 property took up an entire residential block, and had several unused outbuildings. The main house still retained original, metal- pressed ceiling tiles, timber floorboards and shutters, cast-iron fireplaces, and a deep front stoep so particular to its era.

Read the full story on this Malmesbury home.

Johannesburg Home

In Johannesburg, there’s no mountain and there’s no sea,” says architect Anthony Orelowitz, referring to homes in Cape Town that tend to look outwards, seeking to catch a glimpse of the ocean or frame a view of Table Mountain. “Here, you have to create your own habitat.” And that, at heart, was the basis of his response to Johannesburg’s urban character when he designed his own home in the city’s forested suburbs. Anthony’s firm, Paragon, is responsible for some of the city’s most significant commercial architectural landmarks – but, he says, “I hadn’t done a house in nearly 15 years.” Nevertheless, working closely with architect Elliot Marsden and interior designer Julia Day, he conjured a vision of what it means to make a home in Joburg, at once perfectly suited to the city and utterly unlike its neighbours.

To create his habitat, Anthony turned to the archetype of the atrium house: an internal courtyard wrapped on all sides by the house, creating a peaceful sanctuary at its heart, open to the sky. He calls it a “self-contained oasis in the city”. The house is essentially a series of pavilions, with vast sliding doors and screens that can be opened and closed to reconfigure a mosaic of spaces in a variety of ways. (A new rail system had to be designed to manage the massive glass panels that make up the sliding doors.)

Read the full story on this Johannesburg home.

Provence Farmhouse

One might’ve expected a couple to pick Tuscany as their European home, but it was an area northeast of Marseille in Provence that they chose instead. Dazzled by the beauty of the place and its historical heritage, for 20 years this globetrotting family had rented houses in the area, waiting for the ideal moment to buy their own. A few years ago, they were lucky enough to find a Provençal farmhouse in its original condition that had once belonged to the family of 19th-century French novelist Alphonse Daudet – and its renovation turned out to be a fascinating journey.

Steering the makeover was architect Pierre-Olivier Brèche, head of the multidisciplinary firm POBA. “I was immediately drawn to the wonderful topography of sloping land – it was an opportunity to play with levels of patios, terraced gardens and roof lines,” he says.

Read the full story on this Provence farmhouse.

Nieu-Bethesda Cottage

Most famous for its legendary, reclusive, eccentric resident, artist Helen Martins, and her home, the Owl House, the town of Nieu-Bethesda is as far as you can get from South Africa’s big metropoles. From Joburg, it’ll take you just under nine hours to get to this remote dot nestled among the koppies of the semi-arid Great Karoo; it might be 15 minutes less from Cape Town. And that’s just one reason that made Joburg couple Marc Watson and James Moffatt’s decision to buy a house here a brave one. The other was that they bought it without seeing the interior.

Visiting here as tourists in 2018, they bought the cottage based purely on its charming iron friezes and traditional wooden shutters, only guessing at what was hidden behind the heritage façade. “But we had a good sense of what such a traditional home would hold,” says Marc.

Read the full story on this Nieu-Bethesda cottage.

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.”

Set between two peaks, the 400m2 house strikes an iconic pose against its backdrop of majestic mountains. “It’s like a temple that locks the peaks into its power forever,” explains Henri. “The idea was that, by establishing itself as a central place in this huge landscape, the house is able to command a potency far exceeding its size.”

Read the full story on this Pniel farmhouse.

Witklipfontein Eco Lodge

Architect Xavier Huyberechts has a wonderfully poetic way of describing the way he designed the weekend getaway he and his brother, Damien, built on their farm in the Vredefort Dome – the oldest and biggest meteorite impact site on the planet. He wanted to “gently lift the carpet at the bottom of the hill and slide the house underneath”.

And that’s exactly what he’s done. A green roof runs seamlessly from the hillside and over the house, like a blanket of earth that renders it almost invisible from many angles. In fact, the way it has been designed and built means it can – and will, at the end of its life – disintegrate and become reabsorbed into the earth. It’s made almost entirely from the earth, and emphatically for the earth.

Xavier runs a commercial architectural practice in Johannesburg known for pioneering sustainable architecture. With Damien taking on the role of building contractor, they set about creating an earth house using local materials. It may be built of stacked stone, rammed earth, handmade compacted earth bricks and earth bags, but this is no Hobbit burrow. Beneath that green roof is a clean-lined, low-slung, modernist-inspired villa, with lofty volumes and floor-to- ceiling glass doors that slide away into wall cavities and open the house completely to the surrounding landscape.

Read the full story on the Witklipfontein Eco Lodge.

Franschhoek Home

It has been a 21-year-long labour of love. Marti Heyns-Foster admits that, when she first moved into her corner home on a shaded street in the Winelands, it wasn’t her dream abode. But it had good bones, high ceilings, original wooden floors and plenty of natural light, and the young mother knew she could work with the basics. Over the following two decades, with her sharp eye for the quirky and the unique, Marti lovingly curated a sanctuary filled with French-inspired decor and objects. “In my opinion, a home should evolve over time, reflecting your changing tastes as you develop as person,” she says. “A real home is a representation of how all the members of the household live and grow.”

The property is set far back from public view, at a jaunty angle. In front, a formal French garden spills out towards the road, the result of a visit to a château in the Loire Valley that overlooked a striking landscape. “My friend, designer André Carl van der Merwe (author of Moffie), was there with me to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and he sketched out the garden for me, creating an illusion of symmetry.” Today, dominated by two ancient white stinkwood trees, Marti’s indigenous rhus-hedged garden is not yet two years old – and is a genteel alternative to the white pebbles that filled the space before.

Read the full story on this Franschhoek home.

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.

Keri Paddock and husband Sam understand this appeal, and after purchasing their sweeping Bainskloof property in 2018, set about creating serene living spaces so their family and friends can fully benefit from the surroundings. In fact, their 800-hectare chunk of paradise forms part of the Boland Mountain Complex in the Cape Floral Region, one of nine areas in South Africa designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

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 this Kerala Estate cottage.

Montagu Home

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.

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. “The idea was always to keep what I found on the farm as pure as possible,” says Greg. 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.

The property included outbuildings that Greg also saw potential in – the old wine store, for example, would be given a second life as a guest suite. One of the challenges he faced was that some of the previous additions hadn’t been done particularly sensitively and, he says, “I wanted to strip the farmhouse back to what it was, and let it sit in a less encumbered way in the landscape.”

The buildings had been constructed using the poured earth method, and covered with various types of plaster over the years. Greg chose to collaborate with architect Jaco Booyens, who has a particular interest in building with clay and earth.

Read the full story on this Klein Karoo farmhouse.

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.

Salt Rock Home

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.

Read the full story on this Salt Rock home.

Modern Hout Bay Home

It was 13 years ago in 2007, that New Yorkers Jim Brett and Ed Gray were first enchanted by Cape Town. At the time, Jim was Head of Home at leading US retailer Anthropologie and was on a buying trip to South Africa with local design promoter and exporter Trevyn McGowan of The Guild Group. The three of them embarked on a trip cross-country, visiting the studios of artisans and designers, and formed an immediate bond. “I had never met anyone who could match my passion for handicraft and design,” Jim says of Trevyn.

“As we travelled to South Africa more often, we fell in love with the country, specifically Cape Town and its environs,” Ed says. So, it came as no surprise to family and friends when he and Jim decided to build a home for themselves in Hout Bay, just 30 minutes from Cape Town’s city centre, in which they hope to eventually spend six months of the year. Enlisting the help of Trevyn and her husband and business partner Julian, it was only natural that they would continue their trajectory of working with local designers, furnishing the home with pieces by some of the country’s most prominent names.

Read the full story on this modern Hout Bay home.

Modern Pretoria Home

Our journey on this project started with a phone call, which turned into a fascinating conversation,” says architect Greté van As of meeting the owners of this striking home for the first time. Having distilled their passion for balance between nature, people and architecture into an award-winning signature style, architectural duo Johan Wentzel and Greté van As of W Design Architecture Studio were, she says, thrilled at the opportunity to design a new residence for a like-minded family on one of the last pieces of pristine bushveld in Pretoria.

Blessed with spectacular views towards the north, and with the magnificent Bronberg Mountain as a backdrop, the architects were inspired to design a home that would merge unobtrusively into this very unique landscape. “We challenged ourselves to leave behind the smallest of footprints while introducing built structures into the sensitive surroundings,” Johan says.

Read the full story on this modern Pretoria home.

Lanseria Estate Home

When architect Gillian Holl set about designing a house for the generous piece of paradise she shares with her husband Ivan, an engineer, and son Noah, one of her first considerations was to create a space that did not simply blend in with the surrounding grasslands and Magaliesberg foothills, but was actually knitted into the landscape.

To this end, the Holls excavated to allow the steel-framed building with floating concrete slabs and swathes of glass to settle unobtrusively on the riverside terrain. But estate regulations required all excavated earth remain on-site – and even after creating the grassy berms that hug the garden, there was still plenty left over. The solution? A central rammed-earth wall that forms an axis from the entrance all the way through the airy house.

Read the full story on this Lanseria Estate home.

Minimalist Joburg Home

Edoardo Villa’s journey had been a long one: from Italy to South Africa as a prisoner of war, and from classic realism to abstract modernism as an artist. After his release, he chose to stay on in Johannesburg and for a time lived and worked at the home of artist Douglas Portway in Kew, a suburb on the eastern fringe of the city.

Villa soon became a prominent figure in the local art world and in the great surge of creative innovation that lit up the middle of the century. He was able to buy the Portway house in 1959, and in 1968 commissioned Ian McLennan to design a house for him on the same property, giving him no brief and a very small budget.

It was a time when the symmetries and conventions of old suburbia were being turned inside out. Streets were walled off, living spaces opened up, on to courtyards, bricked patios and a new seclusion. Flow and transparency became all-important, framed in a new vernacular of simple materials and earthy textures.

Read the full story on this minimalist Joburg home.

Oudtshoorn Heritage Home

All Karoo towns have their own rustic appeal, but Oudtshoorn has panache. The flamboyant spirit of the feather barons lives on in its lavish sandstone buildings with their broekielace fretwork – and in its feisty charm.

Interior designer David Strauss succumbed to this charm five years ago while looking for a house to buy for once-a-month getaways from Cape Town. He found a solid old sandstone classic, built in the town’s Victorian heyday, in West Bank. No palace this: a deep stoep, a string of small rooms off a wide central passage, the only flourish a wagon-wheel precast fence. Some renovation was necessary, but the age of the house meant the exterior could not be modified and any alterations would have to be undertaken under the strict eye of the heritage authorities.

“I was a bit lost to start off with because I knew nobody,” says David. “But this is such a friendly town. And everybody knows everybody else, which is very helpful. If you get stuck, you just ask somebody, anybody.”

Read the full story on this Oudtshoorn heritage home.

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The post 26 Enchanting Garden Homes appeared first on Visi.

Four interior design gurus – Jeremy Volkmann, Hendre Bloem, Mia Senekal and Clinton Savage – share their approach to using both bold hues and neutrals in projects. Because before you pick up a paintbrush, a few expert tips can make a huge difference.

Choosing the Right Colour Palette for a Specific Space

MIA When selecting a colour, I look at what the space needs to hold. What is the feature of the room? If it is the walls, then I would go for a bold accent colour – but if it is the furniture pieces, then I’d prefer to use a neutral palette for the walls.

JEREMY Although the use of colour is fairly subdued in my designs, I tend to involve the client in the process at an early stage. The use of colour can be so personal, and the psychology behind how a person interacts with the design plays an important role. As a rule, however, I tend to avoid colour trends because they usually date over time, and rather try to focus on a neutral palette, with more textured surfaces within the environment.

CLINTON Before starting any project, there is a process of getting to know the client – understanding their vision and what inspires them, and how this translates into the space. Colour plays a very important part in this. Finding the right balance between trends and longevity will also influence the colour palette, as well as existing decor and lighting. The room in question and its functionality – be it the main bedroom, a child’s bedroom, the kitchen, a study – also plays a role in determining the right colour palette. Each space has an intended purpose that it will serve, and the colours need to work with that.

Balancing Bold and Neutral Colours in Interior Design

HENDRE It’s all about balance when it comes to the use of colour and tones. I look at the space as a whole, because everything from the furniture colour to rugs, feature lights and even artwork can play a role in determining the wall colour. Hendre Bloem Interior Design is known for neutral colour tones that are used in quite bold ways.

JEREMY Neutral colours are timeless, comfortable and warm – and they’re definitely my “go-to”. Accents of bolder colour tend to come thorough in decor accessories such as throws, pillows or artworks. I’ve certainly had to adapt my design style over the years, which has allowed my spaces and designs to evolve. I would suggest using tints or shade variants of the neutral colours chosen as the “bold” colour. Playing with the brightness of these shades will help to set the desired feeling within a space and can create an illusion of depth.

Creating Interest and Depth in a Space when using Primarily Neutral Colours

HENDRE Here it’s all about the layering of tones and the introduction of textures as a contrasting element. I have used the same sort of colour tone on certain projects, yet have achieved a great sense of depth and warmth by combining this with various textural materials. The trick is to layer fabrics, textiles and paint that are all relatively similar in hue.

CLINTON Using textures and layering always creates interest in a space that is primarily made up of neutral colours. Artwork is a great design element for creating a focal point, and so is interesting furniture. Adding reflective furniture pieces and mirrors while paying special attention to lighting is also key.

Incorporating Current Colour Trends into Designs, but still Ensuring Longevity and Timelessness

MIA I like to use trending colours on smaller accent walls or furniture pieces – this allows for easy changes with time. That’s the magic of paint: you can alter an entire space by just repainting one wall; it all looks new and fresh.

HENDRE When it comes to paint, I tend to choose neutral and monochromatic tones. That said, using on-trend colours can also make a statement in key spaces, and especially in areas that are easily repaintable. At Greyton Lodge, areas such as the guest loo and wine bar are great examples of using a single colour on walls, and how it then blends seamlessly with the other tones used in the space.

CLINTON While it’s temping to follow the latest trends, we’re always mindful that these will date. Everyone has their own style, so consider choosing furniture, artworks and other key pieces in colours that resonate with you, because these will always be relevant. Bring in current colour trends with accessories such as scatter cushions, rugs, throws and smaller decor items, or with wallpaper and painted accent walls – these can be changed more easily and affordably. Finding the right balance here is the key to creating a timeless look that will not date.

The Role of Natural Light in Selecting the Right Shade

MIA Natural light is the most attractive feature you can have in a space. When it comes to choosing paint colours, I always take the swatches outside to view, because colour changes with light. Natural light is enhanced by lighter colours, creating a sense of grandeur in a space.

HENDRE Lighting is vital, and it’s important to see things such as paint colours in natural light – but also in the same “temperature” that will be used in the home’s artificial lighting. The surrounding environment also has an impact. For example, if the space is a house on the beach, facing west, the glare of the setting sun will likely be quite harsh – so you might want to move away from a very light or pure white colour, and opt for slightly warmer neutral tones.

CLINTON When it comes to aesthetics, natural light does a far better job of bringing out colour than artificial light. Opting for lighter shades will make a space feel brighter; they tend to reflect the natural light that enters a space. To really maximise this, we use considered design elements such as mirrors or, if possible, a big window, for further emphasis and reflection. All of this will result in a space that feels light and open.

Using Colour to Solve Specific Design Challenges and Enhance a Room’s Functionality

MIA Working with smaller spaces is always a challenge. When you use light and bright colours, it opens up a space.

HENDRE Because paint is relatively affordable and easy to apply, we have used it in various scenarios to solve a design problem. We designed a boutique hotel in which natural oak beds were used in the bedrooms, and at a certain point we realised that, because of other unforeseen costs on site, we could no longer create additional headboard elements as we’d originally planned. The solution was to use a feature paint colour – we achieved the balance we were looking for and pulled the whole look together.

JEREMY Without a doubt, the correct paint specification can mask irregularities in the wall surface. There are so many incredible paint techniques available that I often try various textures and techniques in one space. Not only do these surfaces change as the light changes, but they also provide movement and feeling within the space. Be careful, though – if not applied correctly, many of these techniques can result in costly mistakes. I’ve learnt this the hard way!

VISI Online Masterclass Videos

You can hear more from all our experts when you enrol for our VISI X BHC ONLINE INTERIOR DESIGN COURSE. Jeremy Volkman is the owner and managing director of BHC School of Design, which also happens to be the place from which our other design gurus – Hendre Bloem, Clinton Savage and Mia Senekal – graduated.

Each of them has created an extensive masterclass video with VISI’s editor-in-chief Steve Smith, covering:
Interior decorating core principles (Clinton Savage)
Furniture design (Mia Senekal)
Materials and finishes (Hendre Bloem)

Looking for more design inspiration or tips on how to revamp your space? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here.

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At Suidster near Montagu, Hendre Bloem’s sleek yet soulful take on the country cabin elevates this humble type of dwelling to its design-driven apotheosis.

When Suidster’s owners Cobus Van Wyk and Ruan Van De Venter moved back to South Africa after a 16-year stint in the UK, they chose a farm between Montagu and Barrydale for its likeness to the western Scottish isles. “It reminds us of Scotland – the mountains and plants,” says Cobus. “And it has the same rugged beauty,” Ruan adds.

Here they have built their own home, and recently added two remotely situated, solar-powered mountain escapes to which guests can come in search of fresh air and fynbos. When initially imagining the cabins, they knew they wanted something that referenced the cottages they had seen in the Scottish countryside. With this in mind, they asked interior designer Hendre Bloem to bring their vision to life.

Apart from a rectangular, corrugated-iron-clad starting point and a loose framework, Hendre had relatively free rein. “We wanted to keep the footprint small, and to make the cabins simple and sustainable but also luxurious inside,” says Cobus. The rest was up to Hendre. What he’s come up with in response is both simple and incredibly smart: simple in that these are rectangular, barn-style structures with no interior walls; and smart because, despite being one sizeable space (of approximately 80m2), each cabin is also resolved and sophisticated. This is down to just how good Hendre is at organising space.

By cleverly placing and positioning the furniture and fittings, he has achieved a sense of flow as well as pockets of privacy – via the use of details such as curtains around the freestanding bath that also screens the shower from view, a headboard that acts as a room divider, and klompie tiles in different tones that signal the different zones in the space.

“I’m a fan of creating a continuous flow from one area to the next,” says Hendre – but he’s also very much aware that when everything is open, attention to detail is crucial. “Everything here is integrated and unobtrusive. So, when you’re lying in bed, you can’t see the bath – and when the kitchen is not in use, the island looks like a nice table.” It’s a marriage of ease of use with aesthetic appeal.

“I really wanted to create a space that was unique in its experience – to strip it back to the essentials, but
to still include everything you’d need to be comfortable,” he adds. And he’s really delivered on this score – everything you need is here, yet the space feels calm, uncluttered and luxurious.

The environment was a key source of design stimulus: the cottages unobtrusively blend into the landscape, and their positioning ensures that their occupants appreciate the beautiful surroundings. Privacy and seclusion were factors when the sites were chosen, as were the views.

Hendre also drew on the name of the property, Suidster – southern star – as a source of inspiration. “I was inspired by the idea of coordinates and orientation… When we were deciding where to place doors and windows, we made sure that every area, whether you’re sitting by the fire or lying in bed, has a beautiful vantage point,” he says.

Likewise, he looked to the landscape for the palette. “The colours – ambers, plums, rusts – were inspired by the rock formations in the area. I wanted the interiors to complement and balance the fresh greens that come in from the outside.”

As with all design, some details evolved. Here it was the outdoor areas that developed from the original plans, with Kolkol wood-fired tubs added as a savvy way to adapt to the seasons (plunge pools in summer; hot tubs in winter). And, of course, there’s an outdoor shower.

“We want the cottages to age well and become part of the environment,” says Cobus. This sense of ease and flow is something Hendre excels at, and his designs create balance, too. Here he’s combined matt and smooth textures, sheer linen curtains and solid black eaves, lines and curves – all blended into an interior design that’s earthy yet elevated. In short, it’s a comfortable, contemporary and charming take on the country cabin. | suidster.co.za

Looking for more design or travel inspiration? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here, or take a look at this Montagu house, also designed by Hendre.

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COMPILED BY Gina Dionisio

The one thing these cabins all have in common? They’re minimalist in design with their focus firmly placed on the natural surroundings. Here are a few of our favourite local ‘tiny cabins’ which offer up uninterrupted views of rolling valleys, undulating mountain peaks and indigenous fynbos.

Aardts Cabin, De Rust

Dug into a koppie in the Klein Karoo, this environmentally conscious cabin is the result of furniture-maker Abrie von Wielligh’s organic creative process and determination to build with locally sourced raw and upcycled materials. 

Read the full story on Aardts Cabin.

Oudebosch Eco-Cabins, Kogelberg Nature Reserve

Nestled within the southern stretch of the Hottentots Holland mountain range, a renowned World Heritage Site just a few hours outside of Cape Town, the Kogelberg Cabins blend seamlessly into the surrounding mountains. When it comes to design, KLG Architects wanted to focus on the preservation of the natural environment and the use of off-grid technology, as far as possible.

Read the full story on the Kogelberg Cabins.

Zenkaya Cabin, Pretoria

Back in 2005, the Zenkaya concept was launched at Decorex Joburg and for the first time, design-conscious South Africans were presented with a homegrown modular housing solution that was both innovative and aesthetically pleasing. In 2019 the unit was given a second lease on life within a forested glade on the Greenhouse Café-Rosemary Hill property. It now serves as the perfect place for a tranquil and private weekend retreat.

Read the full story on the Zenkaya Cabin.

Sondagskloof Wooden Chalets, Overberg

The idea behind the Sondagskloof Wooden Chalets was to build two eco-friendly guest pods that have a minimum impact on the environment. Created by Swissline Design, the 50 m² insulated timber frame homes are made from a combination of solid Siberian Larch with black sheeting and a charred facade, created using the traditional Japanese method of burning timber. 

Read the full story on the Sondagskloof Wooden Chalets.

Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway, Rawsonville

These custom designed SPAAS Pods are made from lightweight steel (LWS), which has many efficiencies: it’s accurate, square, environmentally friendly and extremely strong. The idea behind the Pods is to have a light footprint and minimal impact on the environment, and to be completely off the grid. The matte-black exterior blends into the environment like a shadow, while the soft, warm interiors are inviting and cosy.

Read the full story on the SPAAS Pods at Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway.

KolKol Fynbos Pods, Overberg

The KolKol Fynbos Pods have taken cabin design to the next level – situated in the landscape, seemingly hovering above it, yet also at one with the slope of the mountainside. The “box” shape was cast on site from reinforced concrete and the severe rectangular lines are softened by the curves, as well as by the fact that the exterior of the concrete shell is entirely clad in rough-hewn, dark-stained timber. The wooden doors at the front allow for the views to be panoramic even when the pod is entirely closed to the elements.

Read the full story on the KolKol Fynbos Pods.

Suidster, Langeberg Mountains

When Suidster’s owners Cobus Van Wyk and Ruan Van De Venter moved back to South Africa after a 16-year stint in the UK, they chose a farm between Montagu and Barrydale for its likeness to the western Scottish isles. “It reminds us of Scotland – the mountains and plants,” says Cobus. “And it has the same rugged beauty,” Ruan adds.

Here they have built their own home, and recently added two remotely situated, solar-powered mountain escapes to which guests can come in search of fresh air and fynbos. When initially imagining the cabins, they knew they wanted something that referenced the cottages they had seen in the Scottish countryside. With this in mind, they asked interior designer Hendre Bloem to bring their vision to life.

Read the full story on Suidster.

The Greenhouse, Hermitage Valley

If you’re looking for tucked-away escapes in spellbinding natural surrounds, Fazenda’s Instagram account should definitely be on your list to scope out. The images in question belong to Fazenda Luxury Retreat & Farm near Swellendam, owned by the Van der Merwe family, whose vision has produced their latest “baby” – a conservatory shaded by monolithic boulders, wattles and blue gum trees. Begun and completed within just three short months during lockdown, the greenhouse is the fourth establishment on the working farm of Fazenda, offering guests a luxury mountainside getaway not far from Cape Town. It follows three existing mountain cabins that hug the dam’s fringes – this one, though, bears little resemblance to its siblings.

Read the full story on The Greenhouse at Fazenda.

Caracal Cabin, Montagu

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.”

Read the full story on the Caracal Cabin at Cabine du Cap.

The Huddle, Rosemary Hill Farm

Using the basic structure of a shipping container, The Huddle celebrates the concept of small spaces. An elevated hideaway made from steel, glass and timber, boasting views of the surrounding bush, it creates a cocoon-like feeling for guests to reflect, relax and unwind in pared-back luxury.

Read the full story on The Huddle.

Southern Yurts, Overberg

Partner team Tobin Davenport and Kate Brink started building yurts as a passion project, which fast evolved into a blossoming company with a one-of-a-kind getaway spot in the Overberg where guests can visit their creations. Guests can enjoy a number of activities at Southern Yurts, from soaking in one of our home-designed wood-fired hot tubs to exploring hiking trails, bird watching or paddling a kayak on the dam.

Read the full story on Southern Yurts.

Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve, Graaff-Reinet

Iain Buchanan, conservationist and founder of Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve near Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, took his family for an extended stay at the reserve during the pandemic. They did quite a lot of camping out in the veld, he says, seeking out some of the more remote (but spectacularly beautiful) spots to pitch their tent.

While the reserve has a lodge and other accommodation, the experience left him wondering how he could offer guests the immediacy of the camping experience – the sense of awe you feel being alone in the vast wide-open – but with a dimension of luxury and comfort. The idea posed several challenges. The Karoo is known for its temperature extremes, so “the traditional old Livingston-type canvas tent just wouldn’t cut it,” says Iain. But conventional building in the “middle of nowhere” is difficult and messy, and scars the landscape. A pod or tiny house, however, might work: a little Scandi-inspired hut, designed just right.

Read the full story on Mount Camdeboo.

Olive View by untether

Inspired by the confines of COVID-19, James Coetzee and Brandon Muller dreamt up untether to be a collection of nature-steeped stays where people can escape the urban noise of the city without trekking too far or forgoing the work requirements of WIFI.

Located on a 24 hectare farm just outside of Wellington, amongst a bouquet of slowly-returning fynbos where a rumoured resident Cape Leopard and curious caracals roam, an hour’s drive from Cape Town, Olive View is just that: a space to reconnect, disconnect or be a digital nomad.

Despite offering every creature comfort a city kid could want – fireplace, SMEG appliances, strong internet, a work station and sunken wood-fired hot tub, to name a few – the farm is entirely off grid. Everything is powered by solar, even the borehole pump.

Read the full story on Olive View.

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Iconic local interior designer Hendre Bloem has released a brand new range of bespoke, handcrafted furniture made in South Africa.

With simplicity at front of mind, Hendre designed the first collection using materials in their natural, raw states for a combination of textural elements with unexpected and unique details adding a striking edge.

From tables and benches, to pedestals and servers, the items are considered to add style to a contemporary and classic space.

The series merges my clean-lined aesthetic with organic shapes resulting in a sleek and bespoke look,” Hendre explains. “Pieces have a sophisticated yet playful design approach where primary shapes like squares, circles and rectangles are evident.”

READ MORE: Montague Home with Interiors by Hendre Bloem

Alongside his new collection, Hendre has released a series of artworks to complement the artisan furniture, highlighting the colour hues to create a curated interior space.

The pieces are available online and made-to-order, with customisation available for size and finish.

For more information, visit hendrebloem.com.

Looking for more locally designed furniture? Take a look, here.

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Homeowners Martly and Hanno Calitz collaborated with interior designer Hendre Bloem to create their dream project: a tranquil getaway in the quaint Western Cape town of Montagu.

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 MORE: Suidster in the Langeberg Mountains

On first arriving at STIL – as the house has been named – you are struck by the feeling that the building might have multiple functions. It could easily be a gallery or an artist’s studio, for example. But it turns out to have just one key purpose: to be a serene escape, surrounded by a landscape of wild grasses, with a developing sculpture garden in which world-renowned artist Anton Smit’s works line up against the sky and the perfect backdrop of the mountains. “When I told Anton we were undertaking this project,” says Martly, “he offered to have his art on display here. The idea of the sculpture garden grew from there.”

Hanno, Martly and Hendre decided the key was to build a contemporary house that is timeless, while also encompassing the most important features of an exclusive getaway space. “In the kitchen and living area, I wanted to work with the green view,” says Hendre. “Whatever I did with the interior had to complement that, maintaining the black-and-white theme, then adding touches of colour – such as the reds and blush-pink, which you see with the coffee table and the art.”

These thoughtful decor touches abound; you also cannot help but notice the ingenuity of the door screens in the living area, which echo the gate at the home’s entrance with their “cutout” shapes. These were another of Hendre’s ideas, and they cleverly combine functionality with style. “The door screens were initially wooden slats, but we soon realised maintenance would be a nightmare,” he says. “We decided on lightweight aluminium screens that allow for light and airflow while ensuring privacy.” He adds that creating the shapes was a fun artistic experiment, reminiscent of the abstract paintings that line the floating shelf in the bedroom.

A continuous thread of minimalism runs through the home. In every room, space is maximised, and each architectural detail flows seamlessly into the next, from the curved black outdoor chimney on the roof, sinuously inserted into the interior where the fireplace is located, to the light wood used in the foyer, bathroom and bedroom. “There is so much going on in people’s lives, and STIL was envisioned to be the opposite of that,” says Martly. The couple certainly succeeded in creating a space imbued with a lingering atmosphere of peace and harmony – a place where guests and visitors can simply be.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Sign up to our weekly newsletter, here.

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Interior designer Hendre Bloem injected personality and whimsy into this modern 200 m² penthouse while maintaining a calm minimalism through the choice of colour palette, functional pieces that are beautifully designed, and collections of art and objet.

“It’s all about making an understatement,” says Hendre of his approach to what was essentially a blank canvas. “Everything is rather subtle and toned down, but if you look closer the detail will truly surprise you.”

With a brief for a minimalist space that merges sleek elegance with a touch of quirkiness, Hendre was careful to select items that were “specific and iconic”, as he puts it, while incorporating a few vintage and heirloom pieces that held sentimental value for the owner.

He used these to inform the new additions, opting for pieces that had hints of mid-century retro, such as the moss green Beetle lounge chairs. “The colour, fabric choice and detailing has such a nostalgic feel reminiscent of that era.” Haldane Martin, Gregor Jenkin and James Mudge are some of the other design names he included, with James adapting his iconic Pick-up Sticks server into a 6 m-long version broken into three segments.

Colour was another important element. In choosing calming, muted tones that were influenced by the apartment’s views towards the bay, Hendre proved that minimalism need not only be monochrome.

“The dark coffee oak floors set an overall mood,” he explains. “In the open-plan living areas, the walls and ceilings were kept light with the furniture pieces bringing in colour, texture and contrast: oak and velvet; a steel Gregor Jenkin dining table; black bentwood chairs; a Haldane Martin laser-cut brass coffee table set.”

The more moody dark shades of the study are lightened with a blush pink powder-coated chair, antique brass-top desk and collection of wall clocks. On the master bedroom’s pink feature wall hang a cluster of vintage mirrors.

Curated focal points, whether it be art or objects curated in an artistic way, introduced that sense of quirky individualism without it feeling cluttered.

Check out a cottage and weekend home in Greyton that Hendre designed, visit hendrebloem.com to view more projects and follow @hendrebloeminteriors on Instagram. 

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The newly opened Bar Keeper, located in one of Cape Town CBD’s till recently neglected heritage gems, is like no liquor store you’ve been into before.

Picture industrial concrete floors, sleek metallic surfaces and solid wood; cool, contemporary pendant lighting, understated downlights and spots displaying sparkling bottles; bespoke shelving and glass cabinetry; and a boardroom-esque 14-seater table with leather chairs for chic urban tastings. Not to forget the walk-in wine cellar and two beer cellars showcasing local craft beers and imported ales.

The sought-after address in the CBD has all the right historic credentials. The building was once the head office of the Van Ryn Wine and Spirit Company Limited, the oldest established wholesaler and retailer of wines and brandies in the Cape. Its structure was left untouched and all measures were taken to restore the exterior facade to its former glory.

Hendre Bloem, of Hendre Bloem Design, was responsible for the transformation. The design aims to create a nostalgic feeling, incorporating old with the new. The iconic arched entrance –­ that retains the Van Ryn signage – remains, with solid timber doors, hand-baked bricks and detailing reminiscent of the rich history of the building. Contrasts are at play – the bringing together of the old world and the new, light and dark, natural and manmade, and raw against polished.

The interior is all monochrome moodiness. A series of black laser-cut screens naturally delineate the space, partially concealing and revealing areas and creating artistic patterns of light and shadow. Solid woods in various finishes bring to mind textures found in distilleries. Shiny metallics and leather further break the monochrome of the utilitarian black metalwork, used in elements throughout, including the slatted facade at one of the entrances, further adding to the industrial atmosphere.

Visit Bar Keeper Liquor Store at 103 Strand Street, Cape Town or check it out on Facebook.

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When a young couple invested in a quaint Greyton cottage, they asked interior designer Hendré Bloem to give it a Scandinavian makeover, with lots of white wall space to show off their London-acquired modern artworks.

Hendré Bloem was the right man for the job. A young Cape Town couple knew this straight away when they saw the designer’s stylish revamp of Greyton Lodge.

The couple, back in Cape Town with their two toddlers after a stint in London, wanted the right person to redesign and renovate their newly acquired weekend cottage on Regent Street, one of Greyton’s quaint treed lanes.

They were in luck, because not only did their house become a project Hendré loved, but he was also the man about town concerning all things renovation in Greyton. Like where to buy building supplies, who the best local contractors were and where to get plans signed off. And getting approval wasn’t easy.

“The house may not have heritage status, but we still had to get the go-ahead from the Greyton Aesthetics Advisory Committee,” says Hendré. Based on the design guidelines of town founder Herbert Vigne, houses have to look like a simpler version of the Cape Dutch home. And the Regent Street cottage ticked all the boxes: small gables, front door flanked by two symmetrical windows, and an outside staircase leading to the attic.

That typical Greyton look Hendré wasn’t going to mess with. Well, maybe just improve on a little… which he did. He moved the outside staircase inside, and turned the attic into two loft bedrooms and an en-suite bathroom.

That’s really as far as any major outside renovations went (apart from the single garage he converted into a guest cottage – a story for later). The bulk of the work happened inside.

“We opened up living spaces and turned a dark room off the kitchen into an airy stoep with views across the wooded garden and mountains,” says Hendré.

The interior design brief was simple: Go clean Scandinavian lines, use white and grey for colour, and get locally designed furniture and fittings. Hendré happily obliged.

So, save for a bare brick wall in the downstairs bedroom, nearly everything was painted white: floors, walls, living spaces, kitchen, you name it. Even the metro tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen are white.

It worked magic. Colours popped: the owners’ artworks, bright-green chairs, kitchen shelving by James Mudge, the impressive raw steel staircase… The cottage was sorted.

Now, back to the aforementioned converted garage, where the Scandinavian look continues. It is Hendré’s favourite space. So what’s so special?

“In place of the roller door, we used cottage-paned French windows, letting in lots of light and amazing views. I then thought, why stop here? So we knocked down another wall, and more light and garden views streamed in. It worked beautifully.”

Spoken like a true designer, and clearly the right man for the job.

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A hand-me-down heritage building was given a new lease on life since it found a home in the hearts of the Bloem family. The modern-meets-antique guesthouse makes for a restful abode when escaping to Greyton.

Hendrik and Rensjah Bloem had hardly arrived and wiped the Sannieshof farm dust off their shoes when renovations to their Greyton guest lodge started. Hailing from the North West Province, it was their son Hendré Bloem who convinced them to buy property in the Western Cape, a heritage building they’d never set eyes on, one that needed serious renovations.

Hendré, a newly qualified Cape Town interior designer, was entrusted the entire project, from the plans and renovations to the interior design – a dream opportunity he jumped straight into. He spent the months before his parents’ arrival drawing up and submitting plans to the town council with changes he wanted to make to the building, which dated back to 1882.

It was a prison back in the day, and two of the rooms closest to the main building were the town’s only prison cells. At some point after this, it became a general trading post, with new extensions and rooms added over the years, with the house next door integrated as well. Then, exactly 100 years later, in 1982, it opened its doors for the first time as a 16-bedroom guest lodge. Since then, it has changed ownership at least twice before the Bloems bought it last year.

Because of its heritage status, no changes could be made to the building’s facade. And the only real structural alteration was knocking down a few inside walls to ease the flow between the living and sleeping spaces of the two larger bedrooms.

Instead, it was in the decor where the major changes happened. Hendré’s plan was to integrate some of the antique pieces from the previous lodge with contemporary South African-designed furniture and artwork; things he discovered and learnt to love during his design studies in the Mother City.

Custom-made leather sofas and benches from Klooftique in Cape Town were brought in to keep company with Haldane Martin’s Simplicity side tables, while leather-and-cane light fittings from Weylandts were introduced into the lounge.

A Cube Bench by John Vogel, custom-made to fit neatly behind the rustic chairs in the dining room, snuggles up close to the original fireplace, one of three open hearths in the living and dining rooms. The pots of a Kreep Planter, designed by Joe Paine, are filled with fresh blooms from the garden and perch over a wooden James Mudge table.

Then, in the TV room, more of Haldane Martin’s furniture – his Source Wire chairs and Simplicity side tables – accompany an antique piano and its rickety accomplice, a wooden chair. Also in this room a magnificent paper-cut artwork by Sarah Pratt branches across the wall next to a display cabinet. A variety of bowls are exhibited here, including one with a prickly wire-fence handle, a keepsake Hendré’s mother bought in Sannieshof just before they moved.

The lodge’s quaint whitewashed en-suite bedrooms are all dotted around the large garden and, together with the other house on the property, the Manor House, the buildings are shaded by ancient fruit trees varying from orange and lemon to almond and guava. One tree even bears both lemons and oranges.

A charming elevated pool, seemingly dating back quite a few decades, hides in the far back corner of the garden. Standing here, next to the row of loungers, one gets a clear view across the Riviersonderend Mountains. In the Manor House, all the en-suite bedrooms open on to a passage, unlike the rest of the lodge’s rooms, which have direct garden access. This makes the Manor House suitable for families and larger parties who want to stay together. Hendré had this house’s passage painted a dark shade of grey and, when looking up, one sees open black umbrellas with wooden handles strung all along the bright white ceiling.

In all the bedrooms, antique pieces left by the previous owners are arranged to fit perfectly alongside modern furnishings, like a wooden four-poster next to Hendré’s all-in-one cupboard design. Oregon pine dressing- table tops, looking tired from years of use, were given an update with either a silver or gold spot-paint, where needed.

As the final stages of the project came to a close, and the budget was running low, there were still a few beds without head-boards. Undeterred, Hendré decided to paint large blocks of colour on the walls behind the beds. It is a simple gesture like this, and the umbrellas, that characterise the élan with which he has magically matched polished-up old-fashioned charm with contemporary South African-designed furniture and artworks in the one-of-a-kind Greyton Lodge.

For more information, visit greytonlodge.co.za.

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