Concrete gets cosy in this spectacular Plettenberg Bay home

15 November 2016 - 02:00 By Emma Jordan
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Kim Hough’s mother was originally against her buying The Red Box, which was, until a year ago, little more than a concrete shell overlooking the vlei in the shadow of Plettenberg Bay’s Robberg Peninsula.

Her mom's reticence is understandable – Kim had never seen the incomplete house, and it was only on the recommendation of her sister, Lisa Murray, the owner and designer of the Plett interiors business Ilovani, she was ready to invest.

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“I knew if my mother had a 100% change of heart then it was the house for my husband and I,” she says talking over Skype from the edge of London, where the Houghs are currently based.

After viewing the house, her mom agreed it was a good buy. The papers were signed, the house transferred and a major building project put in play.

Originally designed for two brothers who wanted identical wings – in other words two entrance halls, two kitchens, duplicate bedrooms, bathrooms and more – the house needed a complete transformation to move it from an unusual set up into a home that could be enjoyed by family, friends, and guests. And could also be a repository for Kim’s precious collection of antiques and Chinese collectables.

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“We had a Victorian house in Newlands,” she explains. “And I've been going to auction for years. I love antiques and iconography and I also lived in Hong Kong so I bought a lot of Chinese art and antiques there and in Macao.”

Additionally she has an impressive collection of art. Figurative paintings by Lesley Whittaker hang alongside cubist still lives. “My mom is an artist,” she says. “My grandmother was an artist (she created the first label Robertson’s Spice) and we've always been encouraged to be artistic.”

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The result is a continuum of warmth that runs throughout the house – deep reds and greens offset by gilt frames against the concrete walls of both the more minimalist downstairs and rich upstairs rooms.

“The feel upstairs is so different to downstairs,” says Kim. “I like a cosy bedroom — I don't want anything too clinical. Lisa helped with the style and furniture downstairs, it's such a vast space we had to get a lot of pieces custom made.”

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A concrete house is not for everyone. It can be cold and imposing. But, it can also be a wonderfully liberating space that is open for interpretation — something solid upon which to add a sense of history and life. And that’s exactly what has happened within this space.

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