Set in stone Transformed into a luxurious country retreat, a rustic farmhouse comes back to life

A HERITAGE FARMHOUSE HAS BEEN REIMAGINED AS A LUXURIOUS COUNTRY RETREAT IN PERFECT HARMONY WITH ITS PAST AND FUTURE

HISTORY LESSON With stripped-back timber and exposed stone walls, this centuries-old farmhouse can be seen in its truest form after architect and homeowner Greg and his wife Nancy, restored their farmhouse to its former glory. As you enter the front door, an expansive central room appears – the living room – which Greg has expertly defined with smart furnishings. The kitchen and two bedrooms lead off this space, so the flow of the room needed some thought. “The semi-circle sofa I designed for the lounge goes some way in connecting the rooms,” says Greg. Try the ‘Adele’ curved modular sofa in Ink Grey from Coco Republic, for similar. Drawing the eye up, is a standout chandelier from Greg’s company, Okha. For similar, try the ‘Black Modo’ 12-light replica glass chandelier from Temple & Webster. In one corner, a vintage red table and chairs (opposite) are used as a work station, where the couple capitalises on the warmth of the fire. More vintage store purchases form a vignette alongside a painting by Lynn Chadwick. >

With a reputation for designing trailblazing buildings across the globe, architect Greg and his wife Nancy chose to use a different design muscle when they took on the renovation of a 200-year-old farmhouse. Instead of putting their own spin on the structure, or adding a contemporary extension, they breathed new life into the property in the most respectful way. “The idea was always to keep what I found on the farm as pure as possible,” says Greg, who with Nancy, shares the home with the couple’s children Zwiki, 21, Luca, 17 and Shama, 13. Lured by the charming farmhouse in Buffelsdrift – a small farming district nestled in the middle of South Africa’s Klein Karoo (Little Karoo) – Greg embarked on a design and renovation process that spanned four years, and would transform the neglected property into a working olive farm. A muddle of outbuildings came as part of the package, but Greg saw their potential early on, earmarking an old wine store as a guest house.

One of the renovation challenges Greg faced, was that some of the additions to the existing buildings weren’t done particularly sensitively. The couple can verify the farmhouse dates back to 1852, when what is now the kitchen would have been a small flat-roofed structure. “I wanted to strip the farmhouse back to what it was, and let it sit in a less encumbered way in the landscape,” says Greg. The historical buildings had been constructed by a poured earth method and been covered with various types of plaster over the years. Greg collaborated with architect Jaco Booyens who had experience working on remote sites as well as an interest in building with clay and earth.

Peeling back the layers was the first step. “We stripped the walls first to assess the state of the mud structures, which were then repaired with clay collected from the property’s irrigation dam, which had been the source of the original material used,” explains Greg. Since the floor was in bad repair, Greg used local poplar floorboards, and the original yellowwood ceilings were cleaned. The poplar pole roof structure was fixed and all original dowel fixings kept. Fortunately, the original thatch structure had been retained and a specialist thatcher was able to restore the roof, consistent with the home’s original Cape Dutch vernacular architectural style.

Gables and sash windows were repaired and internal poplar shutters were added. Greg kept poplar lintels above the doors, leaving elements of the construction history visible. The commitment to the restoration’s purity scooped SAOTA (Greg’s architecture firm) and Jaco Booyens Architect a gold medal at the International Domus Restoration and Conservation Awards in Italy.

Thanks to the thatched roof and thick earth walls, the thermal qualities of the building are amazing. “Even when it’s 40 degrees celsius outside, the house remains cool inside,” says Greg.

Greg designed a series of terraces outside to “knit everything together”. “It was really just wild, so I wanted to shape the spaces to make sense with the buildings,” he explains. “The idea was to grow a new orchard around the house to create a series of livable spaces.” The area is now densely planted with olive trees, which will eventually form an avenue, and shroud the farmhouse with shade and privacy.

Inside, Greg carefully considered the design, with the lounge forming the heart of the main farmhouse. “These houses weren’t designed with passages,” says Greg. They only had rooms connected to each other.” Doorways off the lounge lead to two bedrooms and the kitchen. Another smart design decision to connect the rooms was to install a double fireplace, linking the lounge and kitchen.

The house has a very particular character. “I wanted to feel like there was some furniture that had always been here, along with new pieces,” says Greg. While respecting the home’s heritage, it didn’t prevent Greg and Nancy from adding a fresh perspective with African collectibles marrying with Cape antiques and contemporary pieces.

International accolades aside, the triumph of this beautiful home is that it retains the essence of its heritage while feeling like it is very much of the now. The result – harmony, which is just what Greg and Nancy wanted in their Karoo refuge.

KITCHEN & GUEST HOUSE From mounted African masks to olive-green dining stools, it’s in the kitchen (above) where the couple’s eclectic choices reflect the evident fun they had in pulling the project together. Greg designed and installed a raw poplar table, which hugs a terrazzo island, polka-dotted with stones ranging from terracotta to black, complemented with a framed black-and-white photograph by Greg. Similarly, extensive work was done on the simple farm outbuilding, originally used to store wine, but is now a guest house (opposite), neatly poised on the new olive tree orchard.