What was once a farm school that stood vacant for more than two decades in Rheenendal, near Knysna, is now the rustic, homely residence of Janet Meintjes.

Janet, together with builder Richard Isaacs and architect Philip Nel of Inizio Homes, have created a space, aptly named The School, that honours the old, embraces the new and functions as a host space with accommodation for creative/healing workshops and retreats. We chatted to Janet to find out more about the renovation process.

What was the original structure comprised of and what was your vision for the renovation?

The original structure was an old farm school built around 1935 for the children of farm labourers and forestry workers in the area. The building was a typical school building of that time: two simple oblong buildings of brick and mortar with high-pitched roofs, sash windows and oregon pine floors. The vision was then to figure out how to partition the large, open spaces without sacrificing or altering the age and integrity of the building, seamlessly marrying the old and new.

The building is now complete (since July 2019) and the result is really fabulous. We added wrap-around verandahs that are ± 2.5 metres wide with steps leading up to the front of the house and one large, deep step at the back. We removed the ceilings to expose the original oregon trusses. The main structural change was to raise the level of the original school toilets (which were at the back of the one building) and to build up the space to the same level as the rest of the building. This addition became my kitchen and scullery.

What was the inspiration behind the interiors?

My source of inspiration is always colour. I spend a lot of time in the mountains and forests and knew I wanted my home to reflect those colours: the blue-greys of rock and lichen and all the tones of green.

I was also inspired by the original exterior walls that were painted in two different colours. I carried this idea into the interior of the main open-plan living area, consisting of the kitchen/scullery, living/dining room and main bedroom. Various shades of green and sage dominate the living/kitchen and bedroom spaces, while the bathrooms feature klompie brick floors, Cemcrete walls, exposed copper pipes and old brass fittings.

Do you have a favourite spot within the new space?

My favourite space is my studio – it was one of the original schoolrooms. We removed the ceilings and stripped the plaster off the upper half of the walls to expose the beautiful old red bricks. A huge sliding barn door made from Japanese Cedar opens up almost the entire front wall, which looks out onto the garden and open fields. The studio is filled with fresh air, gentle light and the calls of so many birds, including the Knysna turaco (lourie).

This is the room that lives up to the The School’s name. Apart from serving as my own painting studio, it is also used as a workshop space – a space for learning and growth.  We have hosted a Memoir Writing course with writer Dawn Garisch, an Art Workshop with Master Printer John Moore and more recently an Alignment Therapy course with Jen Rorrison. I hope to do many more.

Tell us about the original rammed earth and dung methods of construction.

A short distance away from the main building is a cottage that must be close to 100 years old.  It was originally built with a combination of mud, straw and dung and we continued to restore it in this fashion. Underneath ± 1 metre of topsoil, we have pure clay in this area. This was used back then and we continue to use it presently, together with cow dung and hay used for fodder, which is readily available from surrounding farms. These materials have proven to stand the test of time remarkably well.

We also reconstituted old bricks by wetting them, as well as made new ones using a mould and a specific mixture of the three ingredients. The floor features a stronger mix of dung and straw and we are almost at the stage where the final layer of a thinner slurry will be laid before being dried and finished with several layers of a linseed oil, beeswax and turps. There is another cottage on the property that used to be the headmaster’s home – I hope to restore it using the same methods.

Tell us how you upcycled items.

We used old lintels from the school chapel for a kitchen surface and found an old church window in Calitzdorp that we put into a bedroom that was once the school’s chapel. We also used old doors for surfaces and old antique cabinets for bathroom vanities – one of these is an antique wooden ice chest.

Where do you see the space going in the future?

The garden will need many years of work and planning. I would love to have large, caged vegetable gardens – this is a necessity because of the baboons and monkeys in the area. I already have a fairly well-established fruit orchard, but the main drawback is that there is no municipal water supply. We rely on rain tanks only, so indigenous, water-savvy plants are the way forward. I am constantly taking cuttings and growing trees from seeds but I may consider getting help with a team of volunteers in the winter months to plot out a ground plan.

Loved this before and after project? Find more here.

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When a UK-based family built a holiday home in Pezula Estate, it became a symbol of their strong South African roots.

From the moment that Paul Spambo, a South African doctor travelling in the UK at the time, fell in love with his future wife Viki, who was working as an ER nurse, their relationship has been a synthesis of different cultures.

Viki wanted to get married in a castle, but instead of settling on a ballroom in Cheshire the couple held their wedding ceremony in a castle on Noetzie Beach and the reception at Zachary’s at Pezula Golf Estate in Knysna.

The following year, Paul bought a plot of land at Pezula and they reached out to Guy Ailion of KSR Architects to design a house that was not only an aesthetic tribute to two cultures but also a space where they could meet, meld and grow together. “As a South African working in the UK,” says Paul, “I wanted a space that could give our daughters a sense of their South African roots.”

Guy enlisted Rik Ørts-Hansen of TCNO Architects to work within the aesthetic framework set out by Pezula’s design committee.

“In the end,” says Rik, “the scheme is a combination of TCNO’s input and Guy’s original concept of having a hub where family and friends can gather – like the central space in a village for an imbizo [“gathering” in Zulu, usually one called by the traditional leader] – with individual living units attached to galleries that weave the spaces together. Each bedroom is orientated to have a unique framed view of the landscape.”

The imbizo concept came from Viki’s desire to create a space where the two families can come together for celebrations and to relax. “I just wanted a very sociable house,” she says. “I have many good memories of my family from the UK and Paul’s South African family meeting over the Christmas and New Year period.”

For Paul, who grew up in Umtata and whose father had a farm in Maclear in the Eastern Cape, the house also needed to reflect his Hlubi tribal heritage. One of the rooms is a walk-in cold room designed to accommodate a whole slaughtered sheep hung from the ceiling. “Every time we had a gathering, my dad used to slaughter a sheep,” says Paul, “so the butchery is reminiscent of that tradition, but interpreted in a contemporary way.”

The humidor near the bar also takes on an interesting cultural nuance. “Smoking is part of African culture as an after-dinner activity,” says Paul, “but the concept of a cigar lounge itself is European. So again there is a mix of cultural traditions.”

The house is decorated in a style that Paul calls “contemporary tribal”, which blends the family’s modern lifestyle and traditional roots. But this special house is where two worlds will come together to make shared memories for generations to come.

You can book to stay at the family’s Pezula Estate holiday home via airbnb.

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Local craftsman Gordon Rattey was inspired by the natural building methods he encountered while living in an eco-village in Knysna.

After finding some driftwood on a beach near Plettenberg Bay, he decided to design and make chairs. “When I see a pile of forgotten wood on the side of the road, I jump at the chance to make something out of nothing,” he explains.

His latest design, a lounger made from South African pine, recently caught our attention. What started as 60 planks, turned into 600 individual pieces, which Gordon layered “like a trifle” using over 1 200 screws.

“It’s been sandblasted to bring out the texture and combat the shine that comes with the finished sanding,” adds Gordon. “I have stained the lounger because I think every pine tree feels like a teak tree on the inside. I do leave them natural as well, sealed with a non-yellowing varnish.”

For more information about Gordon and his work, visit dreamchair.co.za.

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A Free State farming couple tasked a young Knysna architect with the renovation of their cheerless holiday home and were pleasantly surprised to find that he genuinely walked the talk – with the spiders and baboons too.

Give architect Guillaume Pienaar a renovation project and you’ll soon find him a happy camper – sleeping bag and all – in the empty house, before he even puts pencil to paper. Things were no different when Guillaume was approached by a Free State farmer and his wife to jack up their small holiday house in Pringle Bay and make the utmost of its double-sided views of mountain and sea.

So, Guillaume took along his drawing tools, packed good coffee and got to know the square little face brick inside out: the good, the bad and the ugly. He woke up with the birds every morning, stood on the stoep with his cuppa, and scoured the landscape for the tell-tale signs of its relationship with nature. How the wind blew was vital; how the sun managed its way around the mountain too, which he examined while plotting and planning around the 2 448 square-metre fynbos erf in order to heed the light at the best angles and times.

The couple’s only other requisite was lots of space: for braaiing and visiting with their ever-expanding brood of children and grandchildren.

No man’s an island though and pretty soon Guillaume’s holistic approach of simply and beautifully solving all of the home’s design challenges (including its furniture and fittings) included the approval of his only partner during his recce: a rain spider. Would this eight-legged occupant deem his work good enough to still stick around afterwards, he wondered?

Not all that’s wild was welcome during the house-building scheme of things, however. Keeping Pringle Bay’s ballsy baboons and their families’ fingers out of the kitchen was a task Guillaume took on with gusto. He had the outsized glass sliding door, leading from the kitchen to the wooden deck outside, fitted with 150cm-wide aluminium frames.

It remains rock solid in the wind and is too heavy for a pesky primate to slide across and slip inside. What’s more, leave this door open during hot summer months and simply glide a separate aluminium shutter across to have free-flowing air while resting assured.

All of the house’s windows are fitted with heavy-duty latches, and although they open wide enough for circulation, the gaps are too narrow for even the tiniest of hairy thieves to squeeze through. To further ensure constant ventilation, Guillaume had small top windows fitted to all the bedroom and bathroom door frames. Balau wooden shutters also double up as a dramatic front facade while allowing the cool sea air inside.

Back to what happened to the face brick… Guillaume expanded and transformed the original three-bedroom, one-bathroom house to have five bedrooms, three en suite. He designed everything, from the wooden beds with their pull-out drawers to the benches and window shutter designs. 

This private part of the house he smartly connected to the living area with an angled extension, doubling up as a bright storage space where glass sliding doors open onto a protected mountainside courtyard.

The extension leads straight into the expansive living space the family wanted, complete with a ginormous inside braai. Here, the views are all-round breathtaking: eat at the extra-long table in the kitchen while having a close encounter with the mountain cliffs and fynbos through the paned windows, or cosy up in a chair in the lounge area and gaze out over the blue sea yonder.

Total family holiday satisfaction with space and views for Africa… Mind you, a certain rain spider also gave it the nod. 

His perching spot? Ask Guillaume. 

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Ongoing

V&A Market on The Wharf
Nobel Square, between the Two Oceans Aquarium and the V&A Hotel, Cape Town 
The V&A Market on The Wharf is quickly entrenching its position as Cape Town’s ultimate gastronomic destination. An array of artisanal foods, on-site demo kitchens and a kids entertainment area are just a few of its laurels. The market is open all day Wednesday to Sunday. 

Neighbourhood Goods Market
The Old Biscuit Mill, 373 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
Every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9am to 2pm, this is the hotspot for locavores. Expect over 100 specialty traders including local farmers, fine-food purveyors, organic merchants, bakers, grocers, mongers, butchers, artisan producers, celebrated local chefs and micro enterprises – not to forget the designers. Get there early for parking. 

Neighbourhood Goods Market
73 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
Every Saturday, from 9am to 3pm, this is the younger cousin of the Cape Town mother event. Not quite as big and epic, but steadily growing alongside the exciting Braamies rejuvenation. 

City Bowl Food Market
14 Hope Street, Gardens, Cape Town, citybowlmarket@gmail.com 
Every Thursday from 4.30pm to 8.30pm and Saturday from 9am to 2pm, this food and wine market offers easy access to fresh produce and tasty fare. Thursdays in particular have become quite a social affair and Saturdays sometimes also have a fashion component. 

Capital Urban Market
107 Corobay Avenue, Menlyn Maine, Pretoria
Capital Urban Market is a Pretoria inner-city market forming part of the Cool Capital 2014 citizen-driven initiative to revitalise and restore the inner-city, and give local designers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase and expand their brand. Read more here. 

Africa Junctions
Goethe-Institut Gallery, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 011 442 3232
Until 4 July, you can see a selection of multi-layered photographic artworks by Lard Buurman. Spanning 14 cities in 12 countries in Africa over a period of six years, the photos not only challenge expectations of these urban hubs, but also the assumed accuracy of “documentary photography”. 

KárriktÉr and Liminal
artSPACE Durban, 3 Millar Road, 031 312 0793
Until 5 July. In KárriktÉr (phonetic for character), artist Stefan Hofmeyr explores the mental and moral qualities of people in 18 mixed-medium portraits. Veronica Peano on the other hand finds herself pausing and reflecting on the emotional space as a parent where her children are entering their teens and she has to let go, in Liminal.

True Colours
Barnard Gallery, 55 Main Street, Newlands, 021 671 1553
Until 10 July, artist Ndikhumbule Ngqinambi will exhibit a range of works that deal with the conflicting discourses around truth, memory and history. Guest speaker Athi Mongezeleli Joja will be present. Starts at 6pm.

Paper is You II
Salon91, 91 Kloof Street, Cape Town, 021 424 6930
Until 19 July, see an exclusively paper-based exhibition celebrating the diversity and richness of paper as artistic medium, featuring the likes of Katrin Coetzer, Paul Senyol, Kirsten Sims and Andrzej Urbanski among others. Opens at 6.30pm. RSVP to attend.

National Portrait Award exhibition
Oliewenhuis Art Museum, 16 Harry Smith Street, Bloemfontein, 051 011 0525
Until 20 July, see this touring exhibition of last year’s winner and finalists, presented by Sanlam Private Investments, in collaboration with the Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery, Durbanville. View the finalists here and read about the winner here. Opens at 7pm. RSVP to attend.

iJusi 1994 – 2014: Towards a New African Visual Language
Michaelis Galleries, UCT Hiddingh Campus, 31 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 021 480 7170
Until 23 July, curated by Professor Stephen Inggs, Garth Walker and Josephine Higgins Michaelis, this exhibition focuses on Durban-based designer and publisher Garth Walker’s iJusi magazine – an experimental, non-commercial design magazine first published in 1995. Recognised as one of the official World Design Capital 2014 projects, there will be a walkabout on 27 June at 1pm. Opens at 6pm.

Floating World
Gallery MOMO, 52 Seventh Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg, 011 327 3247
Until 29 July, join photographer Patricia Driscoll for her third solo exhibition.

21 Portraits
Museum of African Design (MOAD), 281 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, 011 592 0517
Until 31 August, join photographer Adrian Steirn for the first public showing of a poignant and inspiring multimedia exhibition of 21 of South Africa’s greatest social masters, including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Sophia Williams De Bruyn, Ahmed Kathrada, Nadine Gordimer and George Bizos. Opens at 8pm.

Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks and Freedom XX
The University Museum, 52 Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch (Sasol Art Museum), 021 808 3691
Until 31 December, Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks is inspired by the late human rights activist Rosa Parks as well as the hundreds of children around the world who wrote letters to Nelson Mandela. The staff of the university museum crowd-curated Freedom XX, with each member selecting an artwork and writing a short curatorial statement. Both form part the university-wide celebrations of 20 Years of Freedom.

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Drawing Pleasure Workshop 2: Observational Drawing
UCT Hiddingh Campus, 31 Orange Street, Cape Town, 021 480 7156
Due to its popularity, this workshop is being repeated. Aimed at anyone who would like to discover or develop their ability to draw and experience the pleasure of drawing in a supportive environment. Leonard Shapiro will present the second workshop spanning two evenings from 6pm to 9pm. Costs R250. All drawing materials, including paper, will be provided. Bookings are essential.

Thursday 3 July 2014

National Arts Festival
Various locations around Grahamstown
Until 13 July. Celebrating their 40th anniversary, prepare to be challenged and inspired as never before. Whether you’re looking for art, comedy, theatre, dance, jazz or ballet, you’ll find it here. This landmark edition will feature some of the Festival’s most accomplished alumni, as well as strong new artistic voices from more than 20 other countries. Book tickets here.

Friday 4 July 2014

Pick ‘n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival
Various locations across Knysna
Until 13 July. Whether you’re the outdoorsy adrenaline junkie, travelling gourmand or just looking for a mid-year break, with more than 100 events planned, this annual highlight is sure to have something for you. Get your tickets here.

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Dreams to Reality
ErdmannContemporary, 84 Kloof Street, Gardens, 021 422 2762
Until 29 August. This photographic exhibition brings together a host of emerging and established talents working both locally and internationally in a variety of photographic styles. The theme aims to explore the nature of the conscious and the unconscious world around us, and reflects the ideas of dreams and realities of the human condition. Opens at 6pm.

Thursday 10 July 2014

Design Dialogues V5.0
The German Club, Roodehek Terrace (off Hope Street), Gardens
Learn from leading creatives as they share the lessons they’ve learned on their way to success – what they wish they’d known when they started out, and some of the tough decisions they have had to make along the way. RSVP to attend. Starts at 6pm. 

Saturday 12 July 2014

Franschhoek Bastille Festival
Various locations around Franschoek
Until 13 July. Join locals of the South African gourmet capital for two days in which they’ll be celebrating 21 years of their French-Huguenot heritage. Good food, wine and entertainment are the order of the day. There are also two return tickets to Seychelles up for grabs! Get your tickets here.

Thursday 17 July 2014

Turbine Art Fair
Turbine Hall, 65 Ntemi Piliso Street, Newtown, Johannesburg
Until 20 July. Begin your art collection here. Started as a platform for those wanting to start collecting South African art in a unique and accessible way, the best galleries and artists will be showcasing a fantastic selection of artwork all priced below R30 000 under one roof. Immerse yourself in Jozi’s culture with some fine artisan food, art and architecture. Buy tickets here or at the door. Opens at 6pm.

Thursday 24 July 2014

HOMEMAKERS Expo
The Boardwalk Exhibition Centre, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, 041 373 6616
Until 27 July. Connect with some of PE’s leading home improvement experts and experience and discuss the very latest home improvement, décor, furniture and home lifestyle trends and products. There will also be a great selection of food and deli produce at the Gourmet Garage. Don’t forget to enter the competition at the expo and stand a chance to turn your home into techno heaven.

Thursday 31 July 2014

Good Food and Wine Show
Coca-Cola Dome, Corner Northumberland Road and Olievenhout Avenue, North Riding, Johannesburg, 021 464 1144
Until 3 August. Get the latest trends and tips from the world of food and see celebrity chefs in action such as Masterchef Australia Judge Matt Preston, Cake & Kitchen Boss Buddy Valastro, and the first South African Masterchef Deena Naidoo to name but a few. With 3D glasses and a ‘sensations tunnel’, you will be taken on a sensory journey like no other.  Get your tickets here.

Save the date

7 July
Cobra Product Design Competition Deadline

30 July
PPC Imaginarium Awards deadline

3 to 7 August
Architecture Otherwhere
37 Margaret Mncadi Avenue, Victoria Embankment, Durban

6 to 10 August
Decorex Johannesburg
Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg

7 August 2014
PG Bison 1.618 Competition Deadline

31 August
Rado Star Prize deadline

4 to 7 September
Cape Homemakers Expo
Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town

25 September to 5 October
Cape Town Fringe
Various locations around Cape Town

16 to 18 October
Spier Secret Festival
Spier Wine Farm, R310 Stellenbosch, 021 809 1100

30 October to 2 November
Photo & Film Expo
Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg

This page is constantly updated, so browse back regularly to stay in the loop. If you would like your event featured, email details to web@visi.co.za.

 

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Imagine being able to enjoy an island holiday as often as you please. Guillaume and Heidi Masson have made this dream their reality – and the best part is, it’s a mere five hours’ drive from Cape Town.

As it basks in the first rays of sunlight while the reflective shadows of the lagoon play catch on the walls, the house seems to smile at the all-too-familiar scene taking shape in front of it. The gazebo – complete with scatter cushions and low tables – has been erected on the jetty as usual, and breakfast is about to be served. Two little girls sprint outside, giggling with delight as they count to three and jump into the pool. Mom and Dad come chasing from behind, one bearing an assortment of towels, the other with enough sun block to last the entire summer. And so begins another blissful day in Knysna for the Masson family and their beautiful Thesen Islands home, rightfully called Serenity.

Guillaume and Heidi fell in love with Thesen Islands eight years ago before a single house had been built – the only building in existence at the time was the small sales office. Knowing that they couldn’t afford it, but being the ambitious dreamers they are, the couple went inside and put their names on the list for prospective homeowners. It didn’t come together immediately but after several years of hard work, during which they started their own company – Natural Stone Warehouse, the Massons were able to buy a beautiful piece of Thesen Islands.

A year has passed since the completion of the house and every bit of planning, working and dreaming has paid off. “For us, Thesen Islands is the ideal holiday destination,” explains Heidi. “The moment we arrive, the hustle and bustle of Cape Town is replaced with a feeling of calm, silently announcing that it’s holiday time.”

Though the specifications regarding the style and colour of the houses might have proved restrictive for other Thesen Islands homeowners, this was part of the allure for Guillaume and Heidi. “If we had built anywhere else, we probably would have built in the same style.” Guillaume says. It is therefore understandable why architect Wilhelm Lochner was so delighted at the prospect of working with the Massons. And the feeling was mutual.

“During our first meeting with Wilhelm, he insisted on visiting our Cape Town home before drawing up any plans,” recalls Guillaume. “He wanted to get a sense of our personal style and preferences before coming up with ideas of his own.”

That said, Heidi adds: “In our Cape Town home we’ve used a lot of dark wood and classical reds, browns and creams, creating a more dramatic feel. We wanted the complete opposite in our holiday home.” This was achieved by using a soft green on the outside and an aquamarine palette on the inside, which is offset by the off-white walls and tiled floors.

A warm, inviting ambience

A warm, inviting ambience is the first impression created upon entering the house. Splashes of bright blue accents in the furniture, a quilted cowhide carpet in the living room and fairy lights hanging like a patch of fluorescent grass from the ceiling above the bar capture the essence of the Masson style perfectly: modern, yet fun in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

The fact that the couple conceptualised most of the furniture and interior decorating themselves therefore comes as no surprise. “Often during the building process, one of us would wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for a certain area or furniture piece and scribble it down. If it was legible the next morning, we’d excitedly discuss it and start planning the implementation. It was great fun,” remembers Guillaume.

This talent for design seems to run in the family. Guillaume and Heidi are blessed with two beautiful daughters who have a grandmother whose sole purpose is to spoil them. She therefore designed bunk beds that resemble doll’s houses, complete with windows and curtains that can open and close, as well as brightly painted blue roofs. “When my brother comes to visit with his two daughters of the same age, the girls disappear for hours on end while enjoying tea parties and playing with their dolls or pretending to be the dolls themselves. Who needs babysitters?” says Guillaume.

In the same way, the main bedroom, with an exquisite range of blue mosaic tiles on the bathroom wall and a built-in eco-friendly ethanol fireplace, is such an enchanting space that it can also keep one captivated for hours.

With their fun sense of style, ability to dream and firm belief that one should never work harder than one plays, Guillaume and Heidi have given this house what many others lack: a personality so vivid that it almost seems life-like.

First published in VISI 32. See more of our favourite beach houses online and buy the Endless Summer edition of VISI for the ultimate beach house collection.

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