Neighbourhood 7 OCTOBER 2018
PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE
Looking good Beautiful old homes, charming modern additions and stunning views, Glenwood offers the best of all worlds, page 2
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SUBURB FOCUS: GLENWOOD
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PROPERTY NEWS
7 OCTOBER 2018
Neighbourhood
Suburb focus
Glenwood Here’s what’s happening in property in the area WORDS: ANNE SCHAUFFER
IMAGES: STEPHEN PILBROUGH & GOOGLE MAPS *Map not to scale
Glenwood is a beautiful suburb – accessible from everywhere – with some of the upper areas providing spectacular views of the city, beachfront and beyond. It’s also well known for the very old flowering trees lining the streets which provide a delightful kaleidoscope of colour in spring. PAM SMITH, RESIDENT
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lenwood lies on the lower reaches of the Berea, geographically sandwiched between Rick Turner and Alan Paton roads, yet for locals, even though the map would argue the point, it essentially stretches further up than that, and is termed Upper and Lower Glenwood. Aside from Glenwood’s relative affordability compared to a number of other Berea suburbs, it’s positioned around two of the key hospitals, Life Entabeni and Netcare St Augustines, which makes it a handy home for nursing and medical staff. In addition, right on the crest of the slope overlooking Durban, is the iconic University of KwaZulu-Natal, so student accommodation is in high demand and the buy-to-let market responded to that need. To add to that demand – five minutes across the busy N3 freeway – is the Durban University of Technology.
Property
Glenwood has a wide range of property types, different within little pockets of the suburb. On the slopes of Glenwood, many of the gracious old homes and even older apartment blocks have sensational sea and harbour views. Wise buyers snapped up the old flats there with beautiful parquet floors, high ceilings and oversized rooms (compared to contemporary buildings), and these still come on the market today at appealing prices. A number of really charming roads in Glenwood are populated by delightfully restored little Edwardian or Victorian cottages, some still residential, others businesses. Resident Duncan Good adds, “We’ve lived here since 1989, and you can’t beat it for sea and harbour views and accessibility. Parks, bus routes, a university, hospitals, the beachfront – you name it – are on our doorstep, and just perfect for our Airbnb unit.”
Schooling
Glenwood and neighbouring suburbs have a wide range of good schools with excellent reputations, like Glenwood High School, Glenwood Preparatory School, and Glenwood Junior Primary School. In addition, PUBLISHED BY TIMES MEDIA PROPERTY PUBLISHING 1st Floor, Block H, Sable Square cnr Bosmansdam and Ratanga roads Milnerton, Cape Town
there’s the well-respected Penzance Primary School and Durban Girls’ High School. Long-standing private school St Henry’s Marist College is in the heart of Glenwood, but in close proximity are the private girls’ and boys’ schools of Durban Girls’ College, Maris Stella, and Clifton School across the N3. In Esther Roberts Road, the well-known Open Air School for children with special needs has been open since 1921 and caters to about 250 children.
Explore
One of the key areas in Glenwood, is around the KZNSA Gallery, a complex with an art gallery, workshop space, art and craft shop, and a popular cafe with a great indoor-outdoor vibe, complete with kids’ play centre. There are a number of creatives who inject energy and drive traffic to the KZNSA, and who’ve kept it alive and well when the arts countrywide is low down on the priority list. From weekend drawing workshops to the Christmas Buzzart shopping spree and wonderful gallery openings, the KZNSA is a favourite spot to meet up with friends. Glenwood is an urban space, with a couple of green belts like Bulwer Park and the 10ha forest that is Pigeon Valley Nature Reserve – this reserve has trails, over 110 species of trees (notably the Natal elm) and wonderful birdlife. The Friends of Pigeon Valley undertake a monthly walk, remove alien species, and are contactable on their Facebook page (@FriendsOfPigeonValley) . The community responds well to lively events on the calendar like markets and First Thursday events. Glenwood’s quirkiness is particularly appealing in the shape of second-hand, vintage and cottage furniture stores. Resident, artist and teacher Dee Donaldson concludes, “Glenwood feels like a neighbourhood. It may be that I’ve been here longer than anywhere else, but I know the local shop owners, dog walkers, car guards, waitrons and neighbours by name. It has an unpretentious intimacy about it. It feels older and a little more ‘worn-in’ and easy-going than other parts of Durban… be that true, or not.”
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7 OCTOBER 2018
Neighbourhood
PROPERTY NEWS
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GLENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
EAT: • Parc Cafe: fresh, flavourful and seasonal menu options • Glenwood Bakery: breads that are hand formed, slow fermented and baked in a hearth oven • The Bean Green Coffee Roastery: light meals to accompany your cup of Joe • Olive and Oil: Mediterranean-inspired cuisine • Mooki Noodle Bar: Japanese noodle bar offers fun decor and fresh food • KZNSA Arts Cafe: a bite before exploring the KZNSA Gallery • Julios Continental Restaurant: a touch of Portugal in Glenwood
SLEEP: • • • •
Tamarisk Bed and Breakfast Mackaya Bella Guesthouse Roseland House The Good Life Mansion
HOSPITALS: • • • •
Life Entabeni Netcare St Augustines Durban Oncology Centre King Edward VIII Hospital
For sale
For rent
Median asking price:
Median asking price:
R1,972,500
For a typical property (three-bedroom house)
R1,175m In a complex
For a typical property in this area
R776,500 R2,495m For an apartment
R7,400
Monthly bond repayments
For a house
You’ll pay
R19,035
For a typical property (two-bedroom apartment)
R5,250 R9,000 R6,500 R12,300 In a garden cottage
per month
Property type:
46% house
49%
apartment
5%
complex
Property type: Based on
R1,972,500
In a complex
For an apartment
For a house
19% house
median asking price
over a period of 20 years at 10% prime
2%
garden cottage
64%
15% complex
apartment
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PROPERTY NEWS
7 OCTOBER 2018
Neighbourhood
My business neighbourhood Stephen and Sophia Misplon share their love of art with the community of the Midlands WORDS: TIVANIA MOODLEY IMAGE: SUPPLIED
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ith a combined and impressive personal art collection, couple Stephen and Sophia Misplon opened The Gallery at High Garden in Nottingham Road in September to provide a platform for local artists to showcase their work. Q: How did your business start? A: A rt has no value if it’s not shared and our love for art and South Africa is what gave birth to this gallery. We wanted to make local art accessible to as many people as possible. The Gallery showcases beautiful art and stocks art supplies, gift cards, artist prints, scarves and bags. Q: Why did you choose this area to set up shop? A: We wanted a quality life where we are able to give expression to our many passions. The Midlands is the absolute perfect place for this.
It has an expansive, creative and welcoming energy about it. Q: How did you find your premises? A: Estate agents in the area, specifically Pam Golding and Meander Real Estate, were most helpful to ensure that our exact needs were met. Q: Why are they ideally suited to your business? A: The Gallery is situated 6km from the N3 along the R103, a small but beautiful detour. This is ideal for us because our shop is at the very first shopping centre as you enter Nottingham “town”. Q: Who are your neighbours? A: The Wildfly, Pam Golding, Beauty Fusion, Nottingham Hotel, Rawdons Hotel and Bierfassl. Q: What are the shop rental/sales prices like in this area? A: Shop rental prices are incredibly affordable. The average shop rental price along the R103 is 40% cheaper than at any of the big centres. Q: How many people go through your gallery each day? A: During the week, The Gallery has on average eight visitors a day and over weekends, on average 15 to 20 people.
Q: Do you have any expansion plans? A: We will in the next few months open a whiskey and tapas lounge, offering a wide variety of international whiskeys along with food and chocolate pairing. We are also opening a framing store in the Meander Square to supplement the gallery and also to do immediate framing assignments for travellers who bought and would like to have their art framed. Q: Do you operate online as well? A: We operate online through our Facebook page (The Gallery at the Highgarden) and our online store. Q: What’s your most popular item? A: T he small, affordable and easy to transport original paintings, as well as original-artist printed pillows, greeting cards, laptop sleeves and bags.
SEE FOR YOURSELF: The Gallery at the High Garden 073 640 7148 thehighgarden.co.za
A touch of summer Is it more about how we feel, than what it looks like? Or do the two concepts increasingly talk to each other? WORDS: ANNE SCHAUFFER
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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here’s little doubt that worldwide, there’s a longing for a certain authenticity, a natural and organic look and feel indoors.
Summer trends
Decor usually reflects ourselves in some way, but at the moment, we’re decorating more around how we’d like to be and feel, than how we are. Words and concepts such as the Scandinavian “hygge” – translated as a cosy serenity – and “lagom” – less is more – focus on a lifestyle philosophy, yet it’s at the heart of our decor. Debbie Schuurman, fabricologist and owner, Walnut Interior Fabrics, says, “Clearly our environment influences our lifestyle, and our homes will reflect this. Never has the trend in interiors encompassed so much vibrancy and, often, over-the-top greenery in wallpaper, carpets and other accessories. Delicious-monster leaves, fern and banana leaves and exotic botanicals are absolute favourites.” Moving into summer, nature’s abundance is ramping up its role. As the architectural trend of opening up the interior to the exterior accelerates, aside from the connotation of embracing summer, it’s also about opening ourselves up to the environment – from indigenous and botanical prints, to recycling and repurposing furniture. “Our clothing is printed with elephant ears as much as our scatter cushions,” Debbie adds.
Colours and patterns
Talking colour, Debbie explains, “In studying trend predictions, and taking note of fashion, we notice a marked change in the forthcoming colours and patterns. There is a definite
shift towards golds, mustards and indigo blues. Every hue of green is popular.” She adds that checks are being replaced with geometrics, while florals have lost their blousy feel and are now a lot more abstract giving a clean modern feel.
Wall art
That modern botanical feel has a highly digital element, with virtual realities becoming popular – a wonderful sensation of stepping into a forest in your dining room. Psychotropical is the buzzword this season, where the natural world is juxtaposed with the manmade, and you’ll find this largerthan-life world in digital printed wallpaper, enlarged on feature walls, or as framed wall art. Theresa van Wyk, MD and owner, Smart Art, says their Misty Forest themes and vintage painted floral collections are the most popular themed wallpapers. “Up and coming, too, is the revived raw concrete, and whitewashed, brick-faced textured look,” she says. “When it comes to colours, neutrals are still popular, or prominent featurethemed colours.” It’s quick and easy to change, too – one hour, and you’ve created a new world.
Nature
Natural materials continue to dominate, whether it’s authentic bamboo screens and seagrass mats, or chunky slices of wood as side tables. There’s something summery about offsetting nature with a loud limegreen cushion or shiny metallic lamp. No longer limited to copper, mix it up with other metals like brass and silver, and introduce black for drama.
7 OCTOBER 2018
Neighbourhood
ADVERTORIAL
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POP in to Shoppe Owned by South African creative Sonia Vosloo, Shoppe is a unique retail space offering the best in local art, gifts, curios and decor
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ffering the best in locally made art, gifts, decor and more, Shoppe launched at the Market Restaurant precinct in Durban in 2012, the perfect ambient space, after owner Sonia Vosloo experienced the Design Indaba in Cape Town. She was so in awe with the talent of South African designers and realised that Durban had very little exposure to designers and artists from other parts of our beautiful country. This idea of sharing these talents with Durbanites inspired her to source a collection of locally designed and crafted decor items and art pieces. In 2016, the development of the vibrant creative community in Station Drive beckoned and Sonia relocated Shoppe to this dynamic hub, where it became a firm favourite of the First Thursday crowd looking for something quirky, original and unique. Sonia also began hosting an annual Divine Open Day in 2013 for the Christmas gifting period in November. For these, she opens her gracious
old Durban North home to a variety of exciting clothing, footwear, jewellery, confectionary and decor vendors for a three-day period. Always evolving and conscious of her customers’ needs, Shoppe has now relocated to Sonia’s home – 1 Belgrave Crescent, Durban North – where one can expect personalised service, advice and gift-wrapping in a delightfully tranquil setting with ample parking. Operating hours are weekdays from 9am till 4.30pm and by appointment on weekends. Sonia’s next Divine Open Days (https://bit.ly/2IsxkM3 ) are from 7 to 9 November. Pop into Shoppe before then or come stock up for Christmas at the event. Be sure to follow them on Facebook (@ShoppeLocalMadeSA), Twitter (@SHOPPELOCALSA) and Instagram (@shoppe_local_sa) for a sneak peek at what’s on offer.
Shoppe SEE FOR YOURSELF: Shoppe 083 626 6088 shoppelocalsa.co.za
20964
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PROPERTY NEWS
10 JUNE 2018
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