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A clever revamp of this 1960s house has resulted in a light and spacious abode that flows effortlessly from the interior to the garden – without compromising its footprint or the many indigenous trees.
WHO LIVES HERE? Paul and Mona Haumann with their kids, Paul (9) and Kate (8) WHERE Mostertsdrift, Stellenbosch SIZE 325m²
In 1965, Rousselot and Antoinette Pienaar planted the first of 52 indigenous trees in the garden of their brand-new home in Stellenbosch. One of Rousselot’s favourites was a black ironwood, which the South African National Biodiversity Institute celebrates on its website (pza.sanbi.org): “Happy the grandchild who inherits a garden shaded by a black ironwood tree, for they have grandparents of great foresight and intelligence”.
It was these trees that led a young couple to buy the house in 2015 – and today their children and their friends play under their shade.
“It was definitely the garden that sealed the deal when we bought the house,” confirms Mona Haumann. “I started looking at houses without my husband’s knowledge and when I saw the trees, I knew that this was where I wanted to live.”
Mona and her family lived here quite contentedly for a year and a half before the painter in Mona began to long for a bigger studio.
“Paul wasn’t keen to renovate the house but I persuaded him to get an architect to draw up plans, and said we’d take it from there.”
Unsurprisingly, the original plan to create a studio above the garage soon expanded to include various other parts of the house.
“The architects proposed hundreds of other ideas,” says Mona. “They suggested that the studio should be part of the house and that the bathrooms on the second floor be redone. They also proposed a stoep for the back, with a new kitchen into the bargain.”
These ideas were far from unwelcome as the Haumanns had no stoep for entertaining outdoors, always having to drag a table under the tree where they’d braai in the Weber. The bathrooms did need attention, especially the main en suite with its uncomfortable sloping ceiling. And then, of course, there was that studio for Mona – which she never ended up getting!
Paul had one major precondition if they did decide to build on: that they would keep to the original footprint of the house as far as possible. “And it was vital that no trees would be felled in the process,” he says. “I hope to also cultivate Oom Rousselot’s love for trees in my kids. We’ve planted quite a few new ones since we moved in.” >>
More light and space
In 2018, the Haumann family moved out temporarily and construction began.
“The simplicity of the floor plan made the process easy,” says Paul. “We retained most of the elements of the old house in the front, such as the steel windows.”
The only change was to add a pergola of wooden beams resting on a steel beam; in spring, a beautiful wisteria tumbles down to meet the star jasmines being trained up the poles.
The section that was built on was supposed to be Mona’s studio. “That’s why there’s so much natural light in the room, with windows from top to bottom,” she says.
“But then I felt guilty for keeping it to myself because it’s so lovely. We then shifted the entire house around to turn the space into one huge living area.”
Mona refers to the “inside-out effect” and this is indeed obvious when you enter their home; it feels as if the greenery of the garden is right inside the house.
The couple decided on double-glazed windows with aluminium frames for this space and for the back of the house. Paul says he would never be without double glazing again. “It ensures that the house is nice and cool in summer and warm in winter,” he says. “Plus, it also blocks out most of the noise.”
There are no curtains in the living room as these would spoil the view. And while there appears to be no burglar-proofing, Paul explains that their home is secure.
“We used Trellidor Clear Guard sliding doors, which are extremely secure and keep insects out in summer when the doors are open at night. The same product was used as fixed panels on the top floor in front of our tilt-and-turn windows. This means that the windows can be opened, but unwelcome intruders and mosquitoes are kept at bay.”
In contrast to the façade, the back of the house has an attractive box shape. This was the solution to creating more space on the top floor.
“The house originally had no showers, so we expanded the bathrooms at the back to accommodate these and to gain a little more space,” says Paul.
He reckons that the most successful aspect of their building project is that there are no wasted spaces and that everything is well utilised for comfortable family living. “And the living area that makes you feel as if you’re part of the garden!”
Mona agrees. But what about her studio?
“Oh well, maybe one day when the kids are big and out of the house. For now, we have everything we need,” she says. >>
The architects’ perspective
For Anthon Bernard and Hein Visser of architectural firm VKDB, the major success of the Haumanns’ house was the newfound connection to the garden. “Paul and Mona’s love for nature was a huge driving force behind our design,” says Anthon.
“The layout of the house was typical of its era, with separate rooms serving different functions. The project created an opportunity for us to open up spaces so the kitchen, lounge and dining room became a cohesive unit, with a view of the garden from all aspects. The largest windows possible were selected to take full advantage of the view of the many trees in the garden.”
Previously, one couldn’t fully appreciate the lush outdoors from inside, and the lack of a covered outdoor entertainment area didn’t help matters.
“Adding stoeps on the south-facing side and pergolas on the north-facing side of the house created outdoor living areas that softened the transition between the interior and outside and offered the opportunity to use the garden as an extension of the home’s living areas,” says Anthon.
The architects and the Haumanns agreed that the original wooden floors should be retained and protected during the building project. “To complement those floors, we used a wooden floor in a similar shade in the new open-plan living area and kitchen, and laid it in a herringbone pattern. We discovered parquet floors under the wall-to-wall carpets in the bedrooms on the top floor; these were carefully removed block by block, sanded down and re-laid,” says Anthon.
Part of the Haumanns’ brief included a modernised main bathroom with more space and light. “The old bathroom was situated in the roof area behind the main bedroom on the top floor,” explains Anthon. “With the introduction of a contemporary box element that enlarged this bathroom, we maximised the potential of all the rooms in the roof space on the south side of the house.
“The box was extended along the full width of the house.
This enlarged the guest room and space was created for an additional bathroom for the kids and visitors. In terms of view and volume, the guest room was given preference over the bathrooms in that the roof was raised and the exterior walls were clad with the same material as the new addition on the ground floor, namely S-profile steel roofing sheets similar to those on the roof.” >>