Happily Ever After

from Outside & In | Spring 2022

Let’s Talk Texture in the Kitchen

HAPPILY EVERAfter

A bold makeover transforms a dream family home in Cape Town into a poster child for indoor-outdoor living

With grand rooms and a park-like garden, this graceful Cape Town abode held the promise of a comfortable family home for Laurie and Danica Slatter. However, it lacked the warmth and personality they sought for their tribe of six — including pre-tween triplets. Fortunately, interior designer Simone Hirsch was given a clean slate to craft inviting living spaces suitable for enjoying family time and entertaining friends.

The couple's previous house in Johannesburg was slick, cool, and modern. After the shift in cities and lifestyle, they required a softer touch for their new home. Simone took her cue from Laurie's quirky tastes. 'Laurie is quite eclectic and likes fun things, but also pieces that are timeless. He's not afraid to push the boundaries,' she says. 'If their first home was minimalist, the move was towards maximalist for this one,' she explains, and she set out to bring the home to life through the use of fabrics and interesting objects.

In the hallway, a beautiful round table with dried plants and books welcomes visitors and sets the tone for the house. From there, the view opens up to the striking staircase and dining room, and a lounge they converted into a 'games room'. Both were spaces Simone wanted to reclaim. 'They were dead areas, and I wanted to make them interesting areas the family would be drawn into and want to be in,' says Simone.

A signature of both rooms is plush curtaining that gave Simone a starting narrative to work from for the rest of the furnishings and design choices. The games room – by day a TV and music room for the kids, by night a poker room – is dominated by Christian Lacroix Reveries Vert Buis fabric, featuring mythical creatures. It was the ideal choice for the dual-role room, perfectly balancing it with playfulness amid practicality. Simone had a leather fireplace fender made as a nod to a 'gentlemen's club', and the piano is housed in a custom-made casing that transforms it into a homework desk.

The dining room, which flanks the games room, was another underutilised zone that Simone felt was a missed opportunity to make a statement. She selected a bark-like, textured Zimmer + Rhode fabric for the dining room curtains, and commissioned a forest scene to be handpainted on wallpaper in soft charcoal tones. The touch of whimsy can also be seen in the dramatic, oak leaf chandelier that hangs above the dining room table. Removing, reimagining, and then reinstalling the bar from outside to create a feature wall totally changed how they used the space, says Laurie. The wallpaper and glamorous bar combination made all the difference. 'It made sense to make a wow statement in this room because it's the first thing you see when you enter the house,' he says.

Bordering the dining room and the neighbouring rooms is a patio that runs the house's full length. Doors can be flung open to connect the inside and outside. Simone wanted to create a unique destination, converting the space into a truly comfortable outer lounge with a less formal dining space, all consumed by greenery. A Designer's Guild fabric and combinations of natural textures expressed in the rattan furniture, grass matting, and side tables in stone and ceramic deliver warmth and understated luxury.

PROJECT INFO:

PHOTOGRAPHY

Elsa Young

TEXT

Lori Cohen

PRODUCTION Sven Alberding

RIGHT: The dining area on the patio is both inviting and contained thanks to a layer of hanging plants, which define the area, and laidback canvas chairs, creating an informal feeling. Table by Simone Katherine Interiors; canvas and wood chairs, Private House Company; black cane chair, owners. But this is a home filled with children, and as much as Simone responded to Laurie and Danica's design brief, it was the children who inspired many of her decisions. The kitchen, for example, already housed a breakfast nook, and Simone wanted to make it the heart of the kitchen and the home. It needed warming up as well as a colour update. A bold blue pinstripe was chosen for the seating, the walls were wrapped with textured paper, and the existing cabinetry was refreshed with navy paint. This is where the family now congregates for meals and homework.

Upstairs, the fun she had working with the foursome is evident. 'Each of the children told me what kind of room they wanted, and then I interpreted these,' explains Simone, who, as she often does, collaborated with local artisans to create unique pieces. In Mila-Belle's 'horseinspired' room, artist Michael Chandler handpainted wooden mules in hot pink and orange, and these were mounted on the bedroom walls. Layla's 'jungle' room features a signature monstera leather leaf chandelier, created by Clarisse Design. Textured or vibrant wallpapers complete the themes and give each room a signature identity.

The merriment of the children's rooms is contrasted by the simplicity of the homeowners' ensuite and open-plan bedroom. With vast windows and a balconette, the bedroom is dominated by views of the verdant garden below, which prompted Simone to keep the room pared back.

The garden below is shrouded behind walls of trees, with the swimming pool nestled to one side of the greenery. 'We wanted the pool area to be a place where we could go and enjoy spending the whole day without having to run back to the house,' says Laurie. Here, cane furniture surrounds a bar featuring ceramic tiles in moss green. A ceiling strung with hanging plants and day beds gives it its own character and bragging rights as the ultimate retreat.

Whether one is inside or outside the house, the success of Simone's excellent choice of colours, textures, and patterns ensures the home feels contemporary yet cozy. 'It was so fun to bring what was an already wonderful house to life, and reimagine it through the eyes of this family,' she says.