Into the wild With a lush vista this new build brings the outdoors in

WITH NATURAL FOREST LAPPING AT THE BOUNDARIES, THIS NEW BUILD BRINGS THE OUTSIDE IN WITH MASSIVE WINDOWS AND A DARK AND MOODY PALETTE

Addicted to the great outdoors, Emily and Clifton couldn’t help but fall in love with the site of their new home, part of an eco estate built on an old sugar farm in South Africa and largely reclaimed by the wild. “We love the area, it’s beautiful and peaceful,” says Emily. The couple’s other great love is design – Clifton is the founder of design and construction company Union 3 and Emily is an interior designer with her own textile design label – so building a home from scratch was a thrilling opportunity to flex their creative muscles and collaborate with clever architect friends at Metropole Architects in nearby Durban. “The architect is our friend and Union 3 built the house for us, so we were very involved,” says Emily. “Homes are our passion and this was our first build together for ourselves – it was very exciting.” The goal was to build a home that would sit lightly on the land – the single-level build, at 300 square metres, is small for the area but is certainly big enough for the couple and their children, Henry, seven, and Charlotte, six. Another aim of the build was to celebrate its surrounds, and from the front of the property you can see right through the windows to the forested area at the back. Once the house was complete, it was time for the final decorative touches, with texture, colour and pattern used to effectively soften the angular forms of the very modern architecture. “But Cliff and I have different styles,” says Emily. “Cliff is really contemporary, minimalist and functional – when we met he had a really organised, modern bachelor pad – whereas my style is much more eclectic. I’m all about the patterns, colour and textures.” The home makes a happy marriage between these two distinct styles: the hard-wearing black-tinted polished concrete may seem stark, dark and functional, but then the dancing dappled sunlight shines through the trees outside and suddenly you see entrancing curves and patterns. “Palette-wise, I like it dark and moody so that we know we’re in the forest,” says Emily, who has punctuated the interior scheme with bold pops of colour, while sticking within the jungle theme. Think eye-catching pops of lime green, chartreuse and teal, like bright foliage within the forest gloaming. Though the house feels complete and considered, neither Clifton nor Emily are the type to rush things: they waited seven years between buying the land and moving in, so will continue to add to, and change, the home over the years to come. “We don’t really hunt for things or buy everything in one go,” says Emily, describing how the couple love to explore second-hand stores for pre-loved pieces. It’s safe to say, the home will benefit from this slow but steady approach and gain more layers of loveliness in the years that lie ahead.