#3 Unpretentious and romantic

Thestoepisan integral part of our lives .Wespend most of our days here! – Trix

WHO LIVES HERE? Trix and

Koos Grové WHERE Napier SIZE 24m² ORIENTATION North-east

When Trix and Koos, who own the Napier Antiques store in town, built this house 12 years ago, a covered stoep with a braai area was non-negotiable – because these former Namibians love having a braai, come rain or shine!

There is also a small veranda at the front of the house, but they specifically built their outdoor entertainment area at the back where it is much more sheltered from the wind. A terrace with vegetable beds in the back garden is flourishing. Trix loves gardening, so they didn’t want to enclose the stoep. Just a narrow strip of latte to the left of the braai, on which a climbing rose is creeping, provides shelter from the morning sun.

“Because the house itself is not very big, we wanted the stoep to be an extension of our home,” says Trix.

The Grovés were keen to extend the almost minimalist style of the interior onto the stoep. It has the same ordinary cement floor treated with a sealant to protect it from the worst stains, and a neat reed ceiling under a corrugated iron roof.

“It’s an unpretentious spot that we can use from dawn to dusk – exactly what we were after!”

It works because…

MINIMALIST With the braai area as the only focal point on one side of the stoep, a table on the other side and a few potted plants, the space has been stripped of anything that isn’t practical or pretty.

NEUTRAL The earthy colours of the ceiling, cement floor and painted brick wall around the braai blend seamlessly with the garden.

RUSTIC The weathered table with its iron legs and the vintage lamps contribute to the laid-back aesthetic of the stoep. >>

Trix loves the green pendant lights, which previously illuminated the Namibian town Otjiwarongo’s streets and quite possibly date from the 1930s. The green table is actually an old door that the Grovés bought years ago; Koos made the iron legs for it himself.