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The spiral staircase leading up to the deck is clad in Zaha stone by Neolith, and features a handcrafted recessed oak handrail. -
A 14-seater Roche Bobois Diapo table and Steeple chairs dominate the dining area. Just beyond is a Roche Bobois Lift server. -
Reflected in white high-gloss timber ceiling panels, the lounge area includes a curved grey Minotti sectional sofa as well as the brand’s Lawson armchair. Two Ovni coffee tables by Roche Bobois sit on a hand-tufted rug by Julia Swanepoel Pepler. -
With double-glazed windows to protect against the elements, the upper deck features seamless solid Accoya wood decking by Lalegno. -
Coffee from the built-in Gaggenau coffee machine in the kitchen can be enjoyed at the counter on one of the Cherner stools. -
The Glacier White backlit marble bar, surrounded by Roche Bobois U-turn barstools, is one of the penthouse’s focal features. -
A Glacier White backlit marble sink in the guest bathroom is complemented by a custom bronze mirror. -
Timber wall panels with touches of gold surround the guest bathroom, which is accessed through a hidden pivot door integrated into the panelling. -
Organic curves continue in the main bedroom in the Sense sofa and ottoman by Roche Bobois, and Ralph Lauren bedside lights in polished nickel and ebony. -
The walk-in wardrobe and dressing room are finished in Eclipse panelling, with the central island topped by Nero Marquina marble. -
The main en suite bathroom has Gessi fixtures throughout, and large-format tiles from Tilespace in the shower.
WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Paris Brummer
This double-story penthouse in a 70s-era beachfront block offers a unique take on contemporary luxury. The only things missing are a large funnel and the deep baritone of a ship’s horn…
Step out of the elevator on La Camargue’s top floor, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been teleported, not lifted. Instead of walking into the penthouse of this Sea Point apartment block, you’re welcomed into the cabin of what appears to be a superyacht. The long, rectangular space, angled windows, high-gloss wooden panelling, slabs of marble and curved walls are all classic signatures of luxury nautical design – and if there’s any lingering doubt, the windows are filled with the uninterrupted blue of the Atlantic Ocean. To your right is a sweeping staircase that ascends to what is, for all intents and purposes, the vessel’s upper deck. There, at your feet, is maritime-quality wooden decking – and above your head, nothing but open skies and sunshine. You can see the ocean and feel its breezes on your cheeks. Clearly the science of teleportation does exist – and you’ve just experienced it.
Well, there’s good news and bad news. Unfortunately, teleportation has yet to be invented, and you’re not on a yacht. You are, however, privileged to be experiencing a unique duplex apartment designed for a client by Ben Kotlowitz and his team at KAA Architects. The duplex had belonged to the parents of Ben’s client and, over the years since he’d taken ownership, he and Ben had mulled over how to renovate it from something Austin Powers would have loved into a unique expression of contemporary luxury. “We talked about the project for four or five years,” says Ben. “He would call me up and say, ‘Let’s have another look at it to see what we can come up with.’ He owns a boat too, and we would sit up here discussing what it feels like to look out at the sea from the deck of a superyacht. So, yes – we used seagoing vessels as inspiration, and incorporated how the spaces would work and what the flow would be.”
On the lower level of the two-storey apartment is the living area with a bar and kitchen, as well the main bedroom suite and a separate study. “The main bedroom was modelled to look like the master suite on a yacht, with a big, open-plan bathroom and a dressing room,” says Ben. From this bedroom at the rear of the floor plan, long, thin LED lights set into a ceiling of high-gloss walnut panels lead you past a TV room on the left and the kitchen on the right, to a large living area with a 10-seater dining table, a bar and a curved sofa by high-end French brand Roche Bobois.
In charge of those ceiling panels and all the joinery in the apartment was Mark Rossi of Kitchen Emporium. “Installing the ceiling panels in the lounge and main bedroom was the most demanding aspect of the project,” he says. “From sourcing the appropriate fixing methods to the meticulous lifting, aligning and installation, every step presented its own set of challenges.”
The soft furnishings are the work of interiors doyenne Di Morris, who chose tones of blue, yellow and grey for the colour palette. “I like to start with the carpet and work my way up from there,” she says, referring to the colourful rug in the living area. “Once I saw this design and colouring, I knew it would form the ideal base for the furnishings, which I didn’t want to be completely neutral. It was an opportunity to bring colour into the overall scheme.”
As tempting as a seat on one those plush Roche Bobois sofa cushions may be, you’d be well advised to turn right and up the curved staircase, towards the mezzanine level above. It houses three more bedrooms at the rear, a sauna, a steam shower, a small pool and accompanying Jacuzzi, another small kitchen with an indoor barbecue – plus the apartment’s real party trick. Like almost everything else, from the lights to the pool cover, the motorised roof slides back at the tap of a virtual touchscreen button. And that’s when you get the exclamation point of Ben’s vision: with the floor-to-ceiling windows concertinaed back, the roof retracted and nothing but ocean in front of you, it genuinely feels like your next stop is Rio de Janeiro. | kaa.co.za | kitchenemporium.co.za
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