This grand old house in Durban, South Africa, is the perfect home for an architect and his kids
Located in the subtropical South African city of Durban, this grand old home effortlessly makes the transition to a 21st-century family retreat
Set on a leafy street in the city of Durban in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, the relaxed, rambling family home that architect and designer Rick Stretton shares with his two daughters Olivia, 14, and Edie, 12, is as much a testament to good architecture as it is to his love of simple, obvious and well-resolved design. Rick purchased the 250-square-metre house 15 years ago when he and his then-wife Angela Shaw, a photographer and curator, were looking for a home with more space for their young family. “We were attracted by the graciousness of the architecture, but I was also familiar with the house, as my father had been involved with an adult-education institution that was based here for years,” says Rick. “As soon as I heard it was on the market, I knew I’d like to own it.”
Built in 1914 by a master builder from Scotland who was contracted to build the main staircase for the Durban City Hall, the brick, wood and glass house was originally a family home. “It was undoubtedly inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s school of design,” says Rick, referring to the movement’s penchant for a mix of strong right angles, floral-inspired decorative motifs and subtle curves – all evident throughout the house.
“The tall, narrow sash windows in the dining room are a good example of this style – they really give the house an exaggerated sense of vertical space,” says Rick. “But perhaps what’s most interesting about the house is its asymmetrical plan. The entire bottom floor has been given over to a really large, L-shaped living area that would have been very unusual in its day.”
Laid out over two storeys, the house has four bedrooms upstairs, while downstairs you’ll find the living, dining and cooking areas. “We didn’t make major structural changes,” says Rick.
“Although the spaces had been institutionalised with no ensuites and few creature comforts, the beauty of the architecture remained.” They set about making it more hospitable for a family by opening up the enclosed balcony upstairs and adding bathrooms that connected to the balconies and the leafy garden beyond.
Downstairs, the previously crowded kitchen was reconfigured with storage down one wall and prep areas along the other. The fridge, stove, oven and sink were positioned at the cusp of the kitchen, with a TV room placed at the other end. “The kitchen seems small, but it has everything you need to cook for as many as 30 people,” says Rick. “We spend a lot of time in here.”
It’s obvious that Rick saw in the home’s architectural language the same sense of restraint that he strives to achieve in his own work as both architect and designer, through the use of simple forms and natural materials. It’s a philosophy that has paid off for him, with his recent architectural project in KwaZulu-Natal, ‘The Lake House’, bestowed with an Award for Excellence by the South African Institute of Architects. The organisation extolled the design for “a simplicity that only the highly talented and dedicated can achieve.” The same is true of the furniture range Rick designs under the Koop label, which has seen the delicacy of his ‘Linen Fold’ table, ‘Slow’ chair and ‘Pretty Filly’ bench showcased internationally through Southern Guild and found throughout the home.
For Rick, good design is more about instinct than intellect, as is evident in his use of paint throughout the house. The band of grey contrasts with decorative details such as cornices, picture rails and dado rails, while he selected the contemplative shade of indigo in the living and dining room as much to accentuate the darkness of the space as to highlight the light coming in from the tall windows. The dark walls of the dining room also function as the perfect foil to the brightness of the TV room that lies beyond it. “It’s a moody and reflective space, as well as a constructive and communal area,” says Rick.
“It feels like it’s taken 15 years to learn how to live in this house, particularly the downstairs living area, as it’s so huge,” says Rick. “Over the years, it’s had many different incarnations: a play space for the kids when they were small, an office for both Angela and me, and then a storage area for all the prototypes I’ve designed over the years. Eventually, I got rid of everything that wasn’t absolutely essential, and that’s when I cracked the secret to inhabiting the house – now the joy is in all the empty space.”
“The tall sash windows give the house an exaggerated sense of vertical space” RICK STRETTON, HOMEOWNER