Everything I have here,
Elzanne spent many weekends working on her ‘treehouse’ after she bought it. “The upper part became My Haven and below that I set up an apartment, The Haven Flat, which I rent out during the holidays. I made the top section liveable by first getting rid of everything I disliked. Then I painted the walls white.”
It became increasingly difficult for her to return to the city after a weekend at Fisherhaven. “All I wanted to do was live here. I wasn’t sure when I would be able to make the transition from my busy life in Cape Town to this peaceful Hermanus suburb.”
But shortly before lockdown started in March this year, Elzanne lost her job and moved to My Haven permanently. “Ironically, in the midst of a world crisis, I ended up exactly where I was meant to be – in the place where I’m happiest. The lagoon is only a five-minute walk away and it’s a paradise for birds; there’s even a hadeda breeding pair that returns to the same nest next to my deck every year. My dog Luna and cat Penelop-hê keep me company and my neighbour’s dog Rusty comes to visit every day while his owners are at work.
Elzanne says her house is not a typical beach home, but rather a lagoon abode in a farm setting. “Even though I can hear the sound of the sea from my house, it is closer to the lagoon. I didn’t set out to create a holiday home or a particular aesthetic, but rather threw together everything I love. The look of the house now is the end result of a process; it has grown organically. I had no idea how it would turn out.”
It is filled with treasures that Elzanne has slowly accumulated over the years. She says her collection started when she backpacked through Europe years ago.
“I had already started collecting textiles by then. In Turkey, I had to make room in my backpack for a kelim I’d bought – that rug is now in the flat. While working on a cruise liner, I bought a valuable picture frame for next to nothing and had it cut into pieces so that I could transport it home. It now hangs above my bed and frames the Gustav Klimt print that I bought at an exhibition of his works in Vienna.”
Eventually, Elzanne had accumulated so much stuff that she had to store it in three different places. Only once she’d moved to Fisherhaven and everything was under one roof for the first time did she realise how many things she owned. “I didn’t think it would all fit in my house but I found a spot for each and every item.” >> (left).
(below)