Comfortable eclecticism in an industrial-style Joburg loft

Filled with light and pre-loved items, this Johannesburg apartment in a converted industrial building serves as an ideal urban sanctuary

“A friend advertised the apartment on Facebook. I didn’t respond immediately but when I bumped into her at a party two weeks later and discovered it was still on the market, I took it as a sign and started packing!” says Vuyiswa Mutshekwane of her home in Milpark, Johannesburg. “It’s seen quite a few people stay here, who’ve left their stuff behind in the flat when they moved on.”

It’s easy to see why the loft apartment, in a converted industrial building, appealed.

Light-filled from the many large windows, the living area is open-plan with enough space for both work – Vuyiswa is CEO of the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners and a director of The Other Girls, which hosts the regular daytime party The Wknd Social, among other events – and play, especially when entertaining friends.

The decor is an eclectic combination of comfortable furniture, practical concrete flooring and bits and pieces, such as the woven rattan chair, inherited from the loft’s former tenants. Eye-catching works by finger-painter Anastasia Pather punctuate the walls, providing colour and interest, and there’s no shortage of quirky objects (a Cape Town number plate, a wire sheep and an old gin jug, just for starters) to ask about should conversation fall short, which, in Vuyiswa’s company, would be surprising.

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“I have no idea where this teaspoon came from, nor the biltong-maker,” she adds, in between chatting about the sexiness of Justin Bieber and laughing about an older generation trying to navigate Twitter, while making tea in the kitchen. In a smaller space, the bright-red cabinetry here might have been over-the-top and claustrophobic, but as the loft is so generously proportioned, with ample natural light, it has a warm vibrancy that’s also in keeping with the creativity of the apartment’s surrounds, which include a performing arts school, a film studio and the hub of 44 Stanley.

In contrast, Vuyiswa’s bedroom is a serene space, painted in a moss green with simple white linen. However, it’s not short of personal touches, featuring colourful scatter cushions, jewellery and belts on hooks on the wall, and a bookshelf with a mix of well-paged fiction and a fashion bible or two. An antique metal trunk, one of Vuyiswa’s favourite pieces, stores an enviable shoe collection.

“I actually dream of living in a hotel room. Imagine not having to leave bed to call for food and drink, and the bliss of fresh, fluffy towels every day,” she says.

It’s an inviting thought, although with the deep tub in the en suite bathroom, modern-day telecommunication and restaurants on her doorstep, it might be more reality than fantasy.

For Vuyiswa, striking a balance between her need for fun and for an inspiring stylish aesthetic is important. “I’m not into anything mad-fancy, but I am a design snob,” she says. “I also really like old things, like antiques, or pieces that have a story… and art.

A home needs art. Equally important, as a busy “serial entrepreneur”, is a space in which to relax.

“The light in the loft is sensational, whatever the time of day,” she points out, and as its many previous inhabitants know, “there’s this welcoming feeling when you walk in. It’s a good place to call home.”