This was not a cosmetic renovation of one of the oldest unrenovated houses in Fresnaye, bought bought sight unseen by empty nesters.

Working inside strict planning restrictions, the fragmented old structure was squared off, which brought its apparent height down and turned the leftover corners into the rooms the house never had. New staircases, balconies and terraces connected the three storeys properly, including something the original house lacked entirely: a proper entrance hall, reached straight from the garage.

The plan is built around two people who host. At garage level, his study and private retreat open onto their own courtyard, beside a guest suite that can become accessible living later in life.

On the middle level, she parks, unloads the shopping and walks through the service courtyard straight into the kitchen, and the kitchen, dining room and lounge all open onto the garden.

Up top, her study sits at the head of the stairs and her yoga studio opens onto a private balcony. In the main bedroom, the ceiling came off to expose the original timber trusses, and French doors with small step-out balconies face the mountain on one side and the ocean on the other. Even the bathtub looks at the landscape.

The garden was designed as part of the architecture: a pool with an electronic cover, a stone vegetable garden, dining under newly planted olive trees, and a fully equipped outdoor kitchen with gas and traditional braais. Solar panels on the roof, rainwater collected for washing and the garden, and fireplaces for Cape winters. The furnishing and decorative fit-out afterwards went to a local interior specialist.