expert insight

This contemporary estate home bucks The Trend, merging clean-lined simplicity with effortless style and comfort

Tessa Proudfoot, interior decorator To create a space that was simultaneously luxe and restrained, Tessa opted for a warm yet muted colour palette and a tightly edited selection of high-end materials, such as natural wood and velvet.

‘THE CLIENTS WANTED SOMETHING VERY CLEAN AND MODERN, BUT NOT IN THE COLD, STERILE SENSE’ Tessa Proudfoot

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bedrooms, all of which look out over the golf course. even the staircase linking the two floors speaks the same, distilled language, with a straight run of solid oak steps and a sleek metal balustrade of vertical rods.

It’s a careful balance, creating a space that’s stripped back and comfortable. Their kitchen, for example, has an obvious lessis-more appeal, with the guts of its operation concealed behind sleek duco-sprayed doors; but then a row of leather bar chairs with their gently curved proportions and brass footrests brings equilibrium to the scene. Perpetuating that balance, oak has been used generously.

Tessa used a number of fabrics and wallpapers throughout the home to imbue a sense of understated luxury. ‘I wanted as few materials as possible, so I ran the wood through to the bathrooms,’ she explains. opting for contrasting textures such as raw linen and velvet, she has stuck to a mostly neutral palette, breaking it occasionally with shots of green or blue. It’s a departure from the more obviously sumptuous interiors she is known for, yet her brand of luxe still comes to the fore.

as is always the case with evident simplicity, the level of detailing behind the scenes is paramount. Concealed finger pulls are used in place of cabinet handles and even the clothing rails in the walk-in closets have built in Led strips activated by way of a motion sensor.

Knowing where to bring the opulence and where to hold back is an art that few perfect. When all of it comes together it truly impacts the way we live in our spaces, ultimately improving our quality of life. Tessa Proudfoot 8 tessaproudfoot.co.za; n KB Design % 082 462 3737

heidi fourie the lucid veil oil on canvas painting, price on request, salon 91

‘votive’ faceted vase in cut grey, r290, cécile & boyd left: cotton shagpile r4 384 per metre, fibre designs; below: ‘stick’ console table base in antique silver, r13 922, leonardo design

patterned cushion cover in dark blue, r149, h&m ‘spindle’ bench, r9 995, weylandts For stockists’ details, see page 134

‘molecule 16’ light in brass, r21 000, hoi p’loy ‘no. 8’ footrest in velour mustard, r1 999, sofacompany.com

‘octogon’ dhurrie in navy and white, from r10 716 (2x3m), herringbone

‘stretch back’ tall chair in ms tan leather, r3 650, dark horse

upholstered ‘kedua’ chair, r10 000, casarredo

Clockwise, from above Theverandah features a coffee table from la Grange interiors, Pezula interiors cane armchairs and a Paco rug; Tessa Proudfoot; a leonardo Design ‘stick’ console table and Thibaut wallpaper in the entrance hall

clockwise, from top left Acornerofthemain bedroom combines honest textures such as leather and slate; tessa designed the sidetable in the main bedroom in collaboration with laterale. Above it hangs a glass pendant light from Ngwenya Glass; the bar...