Rolling views of a neighbouring pasture, traditional styles and architecture with a touch of modern elegance, this gorgeous house is the perfect home for the young family of three it was built for.
Devilliers du Toit gave us a look inside this incredible living space located on Southdowns Estate in Centurion, Gauteng. The stand is bordered by a pasture where cows who supply milk to the nearby Irene Dairy Farm graze. Du Toit said that the spacious stand allowed him the freedom to use the open views as part of the property’s aesthetic.
‘The design was inspired firstly, by the exquisite location which is bordered on the south and east by the pastures of a working farm. To make the most of the location I placed the house and the cottage parallel to each other to create a courtyard and to ensure proper solar exposure for all of the rooms.
‘The style of the house references the unembellished Victorian residences built in the Highveld around the turn of the century. Contemporary design elements include exposed steelwork on the veranda and balcony as well as timber screens for privacy,’ du Toit said.
The architect added a few modern touches to the home in the form of exposed steelwork for the balcony and veranda that overlook the meadow.
‘The construction process ran very smoothly. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of working the right contractor, in this case, Ada Kleynhans. The ‘biggest’ obstacle during construction concerned the detail of the precast concrete window sills. They were bigger than expected but we quickly found a solution,’ du Toit added.
Photography: Malan Kotzé
