By Esther Moloi, Project Consultant Monique Rankine Property Coordinator Chantel Spence Photography Nic Baleta
Having older children means you have the luxury of building the home of your dreams without worrying about keeping it child friendly. This was the case when this couple found themselves at a point in their lives where they wanted to make a fresh start in a home they could enjoy until they retired.
Location is everything, and Waterfall Country Village offered a central location that is developing at a rapid rate, with promises of becoming just as appealing as the nearby northern suburbs.
When meeting with the architects to design the look of their home, the home owners brought a pencil sketch outlining what they wanted for their new home: a U-shaped house that had access to plenty of sunshine. “We wanted a home that let the outside in. We wanted an indoor patio area that we could enjoy whether there was sunshine or rain,” they explain. This brief to the architects resulted in a home that is open-plan, simple and modern. “As much as we love the industrial look, we tried to replace some steel elements with wood, to bring in an element of warmth. We mixed a lot of materials, with the aim of complementing the industrial appeal with a bit of luxury,” the home owners add.
The open-plan design allows all areas of the home to be connected, so you can stand at one end of the house and be able to view the other.
As the home owners have an affinity for gadgets and apps, technology had to be included. While they opted for home automation, they were wary of creating a fully automated house. “We opted to have the house selectively automated, so that the home could suit our lifestyle; we love entertaining, so the house is set up to allow us to enjoy playing music in different rooms from our smartphones.” The dining area can accommodate 14 to 16 guests at a time, making this the owners’ favourite part of the home.
They were adamant about making the space their own, which meant spending countless Saturday afternoons handpicking most of the furniture in their home.
In a bid to make the house more sustainable, it is geared towards embracing more solar energy than it currently does, and provisions have been made for it to be able to function completely off grid in the future.
Currently, the home is fitted with a battery back-up that allows it to function for four to five hours without electricity.
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