As part of the Fazenda Farm, this conservatory in the Overberg nestles gently in a famously beautiful berry-producing 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.

The greenhouse is owners Marilouise and Jacques’s distinctive offering to hospitality – a structure whose inherent cohesion with nature belies its striking, contemporary construction. It’s one that marries their passion for building spaces that are light on the earth with adept skills in handiwork and construction, and a studied eye for design. Their intention was for the structure to capitalise on its location in the wilderness, taking little away from the geography and environment. With one end clad in mirror, the building reflects an image of the surroundings, making it all but undetectable from this angle.

The swathes of glass showcase views of a natural forest and lichen-cloaked rocks, and the silhouette of the Langeberg mountains and kloof. And this connection to nature is augmented by way of French doors that lead off two sides of the rectangular box, folding back flat. It’s as simple in its layout as it is in its motive to escape the demands of modern living, with an undivided interior that spans from the bed and living space at one end to the kitchenette at the other. Protruding from this single room is a light-filled bathroom offering lofty views into the canopy overhead.

“As a designer, it was important to me that the pieces we sourced, both new and old, have a clear relation to the interior, and portray the feel of the final product,” says Marilouise, expressing the sentiment that steers her interior design studio, Experiences and Design. “The interior needs to tell the story without much explanation. To me, that’s good design.” Thus, a gathered anthology of vintage enamel pendant lights, steel trolleys, butler sinks and an arsenal of living plants tells the story of the greenhouse. Most of those furniture pieces and objets are original, antique or vintage, spotted at roadside peddlers, second-hand stores and reclamation sites, and hauled away with glee.

For the most part, the greenhouse sits on stilts, resting gently on the ground rather than anchoring into it. The steel that encompasses it is reclaimed, as are many of the pressed ceiling panels that have been shrewdly repurposed as decorative cladding. To better cope with the elements and to draw less thermally, the space has been fitted with Sisalation reflective foil insulation, as well as fibre insulation panels. That Fazenda is situated in Swellendam’s historic Hermitage Valley is befitting of its atmosphere and values. This secluded retreat urges you to slow down and take stock, and to be present and connect with your surroundings, albeit with the comforts of modern luxury living. In summer, when the doors are swung open, a cool forest breeze draws through the interior, and the dd bord swoops in, feeling right at home – both inside and out.

Looking for more architectural inspiration? Take a look at the Witklipfontein Eco Lodge.

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Whether you camp, glamp, slackpack or live the van life, adventure writer Jacques Marais picks five hideaways you have to visit over the holidays.

WEST SIDE

Doringbaai to Groenrivier, Namaqua West Coast

The West Coast… way too much wine, and way too little time to drink all of it. Add an ocean brimming with fresh seafood, and you’re set for a memorable summer break. Here’s the rub, though: to escape the bakkie-and-beach brigade, you need to get way off the beaten track. The mining strip south of Namaqua National Park boasts ample unofficial campsites where you can pitch your tent right on the ocean’s edge, with only the roar of the Atlantic rollers to keep you company while you drift into the flame flicker zone of your campfire. Summers are balmy, with clear skies and sparkling blue ocean – and if you find the right spots, the surf really cooks.

PLACE OF MIRACLES AND WONDER

Utshwayelo, Kosi Bay

Thongaland constitutes a tiny sliver of paradise where the Elephant Coast nudges up against Mozambique. This section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park lies at the heart of the Thonga community, and the Utshwayelo Kosi Mouth Lodge and Camp is partly owned and run by the self-same warm-hearted locals. There can be few places on Earth with such a kick-ass combo of culture, cuisine and all-out adventure on tap. Paddle out onto the estuary with Thongaland Travel to kayak amid ancient fish traps, while fish eagles, flamingos and palm-nut vultures cruise the sky. Join a trail run or a mountain bike ride, and maybe add an afternoon snorkel or surf session – otherwise, just chill in your hammock with an ice-cold 2M beer.

DOUBLE FOR NOTHING

Double Mouth Nature Reserve, Wild Coast

A hop and a skip from the laid-back seaside village of Morgan Bay, right at the end of a clifftop jeep track, you’ll happen upon the idyllic Double Mouth lagoon. In my books, this is about as good as it gets. Perfect sets roll onto a mile-long stretch of pristine coast and deserted beach, where you can run or fat-bike for days towards Haga Haga and beyond. The campsite itself is in a beautiful spot, with the gorgeous estuary only seconds away from your tent.

STAR STRUCK

Rooikloof Guest Farm, Roggeveld

The Roggeveld unfolds along the edge of the agoraphobia inducing Great Karoo, and this is where you’ll find the starstudded little dorp of Sutherland. Just a few kilometres outside of town, on the edge of an elevated escarpment where the landscape tumbles to the lowland plains, lies a historic farm named Rooikloof. Hiking, biking, bird-watching and bush breakfasts will keep you busy, or you can go in search of your inner Zen with a forest yoga session. Book a cottage or pitch a tent – or, even better, get in touch with the glamping gurus at Hey Pioneer to kick up the glamour levels. 

OVER THE MOUNTAINS

Buffeljags Dam, Overberg

Cradled within a verdant valley at the foot of the Langeberg ranges, Buffeljags is one of those secret treasures hidden in plain sight. Turn off the N2 just 12km east of Swellendam, and you’ll soon be plugging into the natural wonderland that is Umshanti. This private (and tiny) resort is set right on the edge of this pristine dam, with waterside camping spots where you’ll be able to kayak, fish, swim and waterski literally a step or two from your tent, before hitting the MTB and running trails.

Looking for more local escapes? Take a look at these off-grid tiny cabins and local destinations that are off the beaten track.

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Then there’s the design of the pod itself, which Rudi – along with his wife Karen – also dreamed up pretty much in its entirety. “I’ve always had this sort of shape in my head, so when the time came to build this, I drew it all, and then got an architect to make detailed plans for council approval.”

From the outside, the pod is almost a rigidly rectangular box – except that the roof and floor are connected to the structure’s sidewalls via a gentle curve. 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. This softening effect is further enhanced by thick wooden panels that form the rear wall, in combination with large sliding glass and wood doors at the front. The latter allow for the views to be panoramic even when the pod is entirely closed to the elements, but can also be pushed away completely in front of the main living area and bedroom-bathroom areas.

This is a compact structure: the pod features an indoor space nominally divided into two sections – for living and for sleeping – by a large central fireplace with an integrated copper chimney. The living-area side of this fireplace is open, and the back of it faces the bedroom, with a glass panel that adds a dimension of space-enhancing transparency to the interior while also allowing guests to go to sleep in the colder months with the glowing embers of a warm fire comfortingly visible through the glass. The wooden front deck of the pod runs along its entire length and outside the bedroom-bathroom is an outdoor shower. Then there is a sunken wood-fired hot tub and beyond that, an outdoor dining table, which is in turn adjacent to the interior living and dining area – as well as to the deck’s built-in outdoor cooking zone, right at the end. It all works together as an almost seamless and very pleasing open-plan space.

Along with the many innovations and thoughtful details, it’s finishing touches such as these that make such a small abode both attractive and unique. | kolkol.co.za

Looking for more? Read our feature on 10 Eco-friendly Lodges and Villas. Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.

The post KolKol Fynbos Pod: A Contemporary Nature-inspired Cabin appeared first on Visi.

Architects and husband-and-wife team Johan Swanepoel and Ann-Mari Da Silva of Swansilva Architecture are behind the design of this environmentally- and budget-conscious contemporary holiday home in the small coastal town of Kleinmond in the Overberg region of the Western Cape.

Situated 200 m from the coastline with views to the north of the Palmietberg mountain, the property’s corner plot influenced its layout, as did the owners’ brief for connection – to have the cooking, dining, living and braai activities at the heart of the home. In addition to the communal and entertaining spaces, the house has three en-suite bedrooms and a ground floor bedroom-cum-library or office. There’s a one-bedroom apartment on top of the garage with separate access via an external staircase and a balcony that affords sea views to the south and mountain views to the west.

The house consists of two boxes that sit on top of one another and “grow” in the direction of the respective views: The living room expands in volume and scale towards the mountain, while the main bedroom box, cantilevered over the living room, extends towards the ocean. The walls have been slightly sloped to emphasise this idea and a variety of window types take in the views, including a skylight in the living room space.

The living room roof has been covered in a fynbos roof garden, which provides a seamless “green view” from the main bedroom towards the mountain. Johan and Ann-Mari also wanted to replace some of the flora disturbed and removed during the build and to encourage local bird and insect life to inhabit the roof. “The building has been pulled back from the street to allow for the fynbos to take over the remainder of the plot,” says Johan, referring to the rejection of the manicured green lawns of neighbouring properties in favour of exhibiting the beauty of the natural flora.

As for the connectivity, the communal spaces are all arranged in an L-shape around the central courtyard, which sees timber decking surround a wild white pear tree, with the bedroom block placed on the other side. “The courtyard has been conceptualised as an extension of the living and dining areas and the feeling of being connected to the outside is enhanced when the large stacking sliding doors are open,” explains Ann-Mari.

“The window openings have been apportioned and arranged according to the view it frames, all the while letting in the level of sunlight required to keep the spaces cool in summer and warm in winter. The western elevation has been left devoid of any window openings to prevent the harsh western sun from penetrating the house and excessively heating the interior.”

To work within the budget, the team chose cost-effective materials that have a feeling of the handmade: bagged brick, off-shutter concrete soffits and a “raw” Cretecote skim-on floor coating. “The bricks are locally sourced non-face brick, painted to expose the texture and enhance the feeling of engaging with a handmade object. At the same time it renders the building in a white coat that reflects the changes of atmospheric light,” says Ann-Mari.

In the kitchen, timber counter tops and dark grey cupboards contrast the “blank canvas” white interior: The owners are art lovers and, while the decor has been kept relatively simple, Johan and Ann-Mari worked with them to decide on which walls to hang colourful pieces.

Stay up to date with other Swansilva projects on Instagram (@_swansilva).

Looking for more architectural inspiration or dreamy local escapes? Take a look at these local beach houses.

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The interior of a renovated home on the guest farm Halfaampieskraal makes a strong visual impact but also evokes a feeling of calm.

A sense of serenity is your first impression as you step inside the living room of the restored farmhouse surrounded by barley and canola fields. The interior palette is white and black, which is slightly surprising only because you’ve just come from the main house on Halfaampieskraal, which is characterised by walls painted in dark colours like forest green, ceilings of dark wood, velvet curtains, tapestries, murals and riotous colour combinations.

The latter is the house in which Jan-Georg Solms grew up and lived for most of his life. And it still is the hub of activities on the farm, especially when people are staying over in the outbuilding that he and his partner Cobus Geldenhuys renovated and turned into guest suites in 2006.

READ MORE: Rural Retreats: Farm-Style Houses

By 2013, with everything on the sheep and grain farm running smoothly and guests returning again and again, a new project presented itself: Looking down the hill, there was an abandoned house in the middle of a rams’ paddock, empty for 50 years except for the sheep sheltering under its roof and bees’ nests and a family of dassies that had moved in. So they set about turning the ruin into a home for themselves.

Structurally, the house was sound, with thick walls and a corrugated iron roof. The main alterations they made were extending the front stoep to twice its previous depth, enclosing the back stoep to accommodate the kitchen, knocking out some brickwork to install stacking doors and building a low perimeter wall. A round concrete reservoir on the one side of the house became a pool, and a small rectangular reservoir abutting the house on the other side is now a small stoep with a set of French doors leading out to it.

Jan-Georg and Cobus have been holidaying in Greece for 17 years, 12 of those in the same bungalow on the island of Paros in the Aegean Sea. Naturally, the culture has influenced their style, so when it came to the interiors of the house they opted for the time-honoured Greek aesthetic of white, and, to provide contrast with the white, instead of Mediterranean blue they chose black for the doors and the door and window frames.

Even the timber ceilings are painted white, except in the kitchen, where the original corrugated iron stoep roof with its curved bull-nose profile was left exposed. Interesting vignettes of mementos from their travels adorn the living room, like a framed sailing map of the route between Athens and Paros, postcards from the New Acropolis Museum, and figurines in marble and bronze that give a hint of the Hellenic.

In the living room, the white-and-black colour scheme is softened with warm neutral hues in elements like rugs, the sofa, the dining chairs and a camel saddle stool – a Solms family heirloom. The stoep with its comfortable armchairs and footstools, tables and pot plants is a second living room. Off the stoep is a bedroom that features images of boats and ships and touches of blue, giving the room a nautical feel. It’s where Jan-Georg has his workspace for building intricate scale models. Then there’s the wonderfully austere all-white bedroom juxtaposed with an inky bathroom. Cobus is the one who prefers a spare, unadorned interior style, whereas Jan-Georg likes to add layers.

Together, they have managed to create harmony out of contrasts.

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