LivingSettembre2015

space. I also chose noble materials with a strong personality. My frst step was
to create an open space between the dining room and the kitchen. And then to
make the sumptuous reception room liveable, and add a bathroom and a cabin
wardrobe to the bedroom. My idea was to turn everything into a stage suitable
for displaying the art and design collections of the owners. The objective was to
obtain a warm atmosphere that’s nothing like a museum. I obtained it by taking
strong and ambitious stylistic decisions. I used marble and brass, oak parquet
foors, and a colour palette based on dusty tones. In particular, I gave a porcelain
efect to the walls and ceilings, and brought the stuccowork up to date by using a
bisque colour». The furniture and works of art required separate consideration:
«my husband and I were already collectors before we met. When we got married,
our patrimony of objects doubled in size. Our friendship with Didier and
Clemence Kzrentowski, the owners of the Galerie Kreo, also played a role in
this». Her preferred piece: «The Parabole lamp by Pierre Charpin, a designer I
adore: that was a wedding present from my siblings. My husband’s favourites are
defnitely the Liane lamps by the Bouroullec brothers». Today those lamps have
been renamed AIM: the two brothers of French design put them into industrial
production with Flos after they had presented them as one-of pieces at the
Galerie Kreo, which was where the couple discovered them. The built-in furniture
was designed by Parente: «I worked with imposing forms and noble materials»
he explains; «from the cabinet in brushed walnut to the kitchen counter in marble
and brass, the bed covered with raw silk, and the velvet-lined doors of the walk-in
wardrobe». The result is an haute couture creation with prêt-à-porter solutions
and capsule collection fashes. This is Paris, after all: where fashion is at home.
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ARChI-COttAGe
The owners wanted a garage. When works were underway, they changed their
mind and asked for a micro-villa. Voilà. Fifty-fve square meters and a single
multi-functional room, entirely made to measure: from the doors of copper to the
large glazed doors, opening onto the warm sun of Johannesburg
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The linen curtain stays open until dusk. «The important thing is a strong
relationship with your surroundings – that’s all you need. A bed, bathroom
and kitchen are more than enough: keep it simple», say architects Silvio Rech,
Lesley Carstens and Jack Alexander. They have chosen Westclif, a Johannesburg
suburb, to create a 55 sq. m. cottage in green surroundings. «This was meant
to be a garage approached from a cul-de-sac, one of those dead-end lanes, but
the owners changed their mind when the works were already underway». It
was conceived as a single open-plan and multi-functional space, with all the
essentials. There’s even a desk for working at; the toilet is in an adjoining annexe.
From here, the city seems a mile away, yet we’re within a stone’s throw from the
117 suites of the new Four Seasons Hotel, the Group’s frst in South Africa,
and fve kilometres from what used to be the home of Nelson Mandela, now a
pilgrimage site. Almost everything is hand-made and customised, including the
sofa-bed; the long, narrow kitchen; and the table made of oak wood. The large
windows and the round ones were also designed ad hoc. «We wanted interiors
fooded with light that changed with every passing hour», they explain. So they
turned to Ariane Janse Van Rensburg, a teacher at Wits University specialised
in the study of glass. Colours are neutral. The only fuorescent accents are the
tropical birds in the trees. Walls are rough; there are sliding doors of copper; and
ceilings over three and a half metres in height. The design, assertive and sober,
forms a constant dialogue between rustic and metallic. There’s even room for
a four-door wardrobe, all white like the kitchen; and for two vintage armchairs,
and a Persian carpet bought from a local craftsman. The foor is still that of
the original project, as are the sleepers retrieved from an ancient railroad. «Our
frst aim was to respect the surrounding context: everything else followed. The
basic idea has remained unchanged», explains Jack Alexander. The environment
resents intrusion so, right from the start, we conceived the edifce in the manner
of a tree growing out of the ground. Oxidised Corten steel for the porch, whose
red-orange recalls iron-rich sedimentary rocks; exposed concrete; the wooden
patio leading to the garden, created by landscape designer Patrick Watson to
harmonise with local wildlife. «Our most radical intervention was the toilet», an
asymmetrical shard of concrete piercing the roof and integrated into the cottage:
it looks like a meteorite freshly fallen out of the sky. The shower is outside. «We
tried to stay attuned with the four elements: air, water, earth; and fre, meaning
light and heat». Unobtrusive and respectful of nature. This was also the wish of
the owners, a young couple who choose to remain, anonymous, behind a linen
curtain drawn at sunset.
the living room of a cottage in Johannesburg, half rustic half metallic