IN PICS | Relaxed family living can be really stylish — just look at this Cape home

Tucked away at the end of a panhandle in Cape Town's Oranjezicht — a neighbourhood well known for its attractive Victorian-era villas — interior designer Lynne Harris-Whitfield's home is set back from the road, behind a squad of square-pruned trees. 

But the house soon reveals itself as something special, combining as it does a familiar sense of engaging Victorian poise with a different sense of scale: the building features a very untypical flat roof in its second-floor addition.

When Harris-Whitfield and her husband, Gavin, bought the house 13 years ago, it was a single-storey, three-bedroom cottage with good bones, good scale and an unusual double gable.

A week before they moved in, a fire gutted the interior, but they decided to turn adversity into advantage. So, they rebuilt, replacing many of the original period finishes (including floors, doors and fireplaces) with more contemporary versions.

Several years later — at which point the couple had two daughters and a son on the way — the family needed more space, but didn't want to move because they loved the location. They embarked on further alterations and additions, which resulted in two additional bedrooms for the girls on a new first floor, and generated both better flow and a more modern, user-friendly ground level.

While much of the focus of the rebuild was on opening up the interiors and improving the flow between the kitchen, dining, living and outdoor areas, Harris-Whitfield says she is not a huge fan of completely open-plan living. Rather, it was important for her to find a middle point between expanding spaces and containing them too. “I like to use colour and material finishes almost as structural tools, to visually zone or link spaces where there are no actual physical links,” she says.

Asked about the home's distinctive yet understated palette of colours and textures, Harris-Whitfield says: “Key notes were a blackish burnt umber for metal finishes; white tones for marble and tiles; and a particular grey green eucalyptus colour, which I used for certain walls and all cabinetry on the ground floor.”

While the spaces at ground level feel relaxed, the new first floor has a more lighthearted and playful atmosphere. Seen from the outside, the addition is unapologetically boxy, while inside it's the ultimate attic, designed to max out the available space for two bedrooms plus a bathroom. These rooms are linked by a short passageway that features built-in storage and a desk where the girls do their homework.

Similarly, when decorating the living area downstairs, Harris-Whitfield went for an easy-going look and feel that centres around four seating pieces, all of which are slip covered in white and positioned on a dashing floral rug. The combination works perfectly as a comfy, cosy adjunct to the tight edit of design elements in the reworked space. “I like to start with the best fit-for-purpose finishes,” says Harris-Whitfield, “and simply have fun with the rest.” — Bureaux.co.za