Knysna couple find their dream home
A weekend break became a permanent move to Knysna when Andries and Jayne Brink happened upon their dream home. We use our stoep every single day, come rain or shine. We love relaxing around with friends and braai a few times a week, all year round. – Jayn
In 2012, Andries and Jayne Brink decided to spend a weekend away in Knysna to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
But this short break was more than just a romantic getaway – they needed time to lick their wounds after having had a highly unsuccessful house-hunting experience in what they call “Cape Town’s cut-throat property market”. “Our hearts were broken several times and we soon realised that we would have to double our budget and lower our expectations with regards to size and outdoor space,” says Jayne.
“While in Knysna, we saw an advert for a really interesting property,” Jayne recalls. “But the agent must have misunderstood our description of the property and brought us to this house instead.” It was love at first sight and, as luck would have it, the Knysna Provincial Hospital had a vacancy for Andries, who is now the clinical manager. And with the couple having spent two-and-a-half very happy years in the coastal town from 2009 until 2011, while Andries was doing his community service at Knysna Provincial Hospital, the move felt like a homecoming.
“We had no idea that our anniversary weekend in Knysna would bring us back home and we still believe that the house may well have been the deciding factor!”
The transfer went through in June 2012. “After months of house-hunting in Cape Town, where everything was simply too expensive, we were so impressed with the sense of space and complete privacy that the property offered. The house lies next to a green belt, which creates a real feeling of isolation, and our wild garden ensures that we don’t really see or hear our neighbours or passers-by.” >> Jayne’s passion for table settings began when she was a child – her parents’ dining room was always crowded with people. “I believe that a thoughtful table setting can make a simple meal feel like a real spoil.” Cutlery, bird plate and napkin from Madam Botany
No window treatments are needed in the lounge, thanks to the dense coastal vegetation that transforms the floor-to-ceiling steel-framed windows into a beautiful focal point. A vintage army stretcher, a second-hand find, serves as a coffee table. The floors in the kitchen, dining room and lounge are all cement. Cement floors finished with Cemcrete Cretecote in grey; charcoal wall painted with Plascon Inspired in Magic Noir; metal framework made by Knysna Steelworks (closed down); sofa from Klooftique
For the entrance hall, the Brinks used understated yet functional furniture pieces. “It has taken me a while to find the right items to define the entrance area,” Jayne says. The William Kentridge Nose print – a wedding gift – above the console table was the only piece of art Jayne packed when she had to evacuate the house during the devastating fires in June.
I love how our kitchen isn’t closed off to the rest of the house and that our guests can pop in as I scramble to get a meal on the table. As a messy and fairly disorganised cook, I really value our scullery! – Jayne