By Sungula Nkabinde, Project Consultant Monique Rankine, Property Coordinator Chantel Spence, Photography Nic Baleta
Situated in an estate in the north of Johannesburg, this home is completely north-facing, allowing its occupants to always be able to enjoy the vast and tranquil greenbelt upon which it sits.
The estate was a prime location for the building of this home – not only is it in close proximity to the Fourways business centre, but the shopping malls are also only 10 minutes away and when they are home, the owners are surrounded by a scenic valley, along the banks of the Jukskei River.
“We wanted something modern, yet still homely, so we chose architects who would enable us to build a home that, from the outside, looked contemporary, but inside was a comfortable family home,” say the owners, whose spacious home incorporates myriad textures with each room having a distinct ambience.
Clean, smooth finishes to the floors and surfaces are complemented by soft furnishings, while rough textures, in the face-brick interior, for example, add a natural raw element to the various spaces. A neutral colour palette comprises, mostly, various shades of brown.
There is a feeling that special attention was given to each room, and that no room was perceived as being more or less important than another.
From the outset, they had wanted a home that blurs the line between the interior and the exterior, and that is what they have managed to achieve, with a design that seemingly went against the increasingly commonplace open-plan way of living.
“We wanted a house that had outside rooms that blended with the interior, so that it all flowed from inside to outside – almost as if going from the inside to the outside simply seemed as if you were moving through many different rooms.”
When it came to the decor and choice of furniture, the lady of the home had it all mapped out in her mind and didn’t need much assistance. She did 90% of the interior design because she knew what she wanted from the look and feel of each room.
Starting with a particular centrepiece, which would set the tone for the rest of the room, she went about bringing personality to each space. “In the master bedroom, I used a leather sleigh bed which we had purchased about a year-and-a-half before the house was ready; that was the central piece, and the rest of the design flowed from there. For the main lounge, I found a fabric that I fell in love with and that’s how the whole charcoal-and-cream theme came together,” she says.
The kitchen also has a unique touch. In addition to being awash with luxurious finishes, it is kitted out with top-of-the-range taps and mixers, cooking apparatus and appliances.
“We had a house-warming here where we had a band and a caterer, who put a whole buffet together in the kitchen that ran throughout the home to the outside. We had champagne flowing and people sitting out on the boma. It was like a winter cocktail party from the afternoon to the evening, and our guests said they felt as if they were on holiday,” she says. It is in the evening, however, that the house is visually at its best. Its many large windows and glass doors combine with the lighting to make it a sight to behold long after the sun has set.
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