THE PERFECT ESCAPE
Finding dream homes year in and year out for almost 20 years has put Perfect Hideaways well and truly ahead of the game. ‘The idea was planted when we were looking for a weekend house for our then young family,’ explains Helen Untiedt, co-founder and curator. ‘The more we looked, the more we realised that the idea of a holiday home means different things to different people, and that every space has its own story to tell.’
It became a passion project for Helen and her husband David. ‘We were obsessed with finding more examples of spaces where the marriage of good design, personal interiors, a curated experience and an incredible location transformed the ordinary into something extraordinary.’ Before they knew it, their curiosity for homes that offer remarkable experiences became a business. ‘We didn’t set out to do this, but our wanderlust and joy in finding places that hold a palpable magic is what drives us,’ says Helen. ‘We love what we do and we do what we love – the Japanese call it ikigai, a passion that brings you purpose. It gets us up in the morning!’
The common thread in every home they felt drawn to was the human experience it offered. ‘The places we love make life feel better because they have been created with love, curated for comfort and designed as a canvas upon which to create rituals, make memories and find much-needed quiet time in the most sublime settings,’ Helen enthuses. Now with over 300 extraordinary holiday escapes on their books, Perfect Hideaways has honed their recipe for success. They’re known for pioneering a collection of offgrid houses in Churchhaven on the West Coast (long before ‘loadshedding’ even existed) and were the first to bravely market the most remote escapes in the Karoo, embracing all the challenges of climate change along the way.
It is no surprise that Perfect Hideaways is now expanding its horizons. Knowing that the best overseas holidays are those where a knowledgeable team has already completed the groundwork, they launched their Mauritian portfolio earlier this year, along with their Italian collection – starting with Puglia, but soon to include Tuscany and Umbria. The sun-drenched islands of Greece and the Maldives are hot on their heels, after a summer spent sleuthing for the most gorgeous properties. On some days, her team will agree that this is the best job in the world. On others, it’s the behindthe-scenes reality of never stopping until the most beautiful house in the land is found, no matter how many miles of dusty roads need to be travelled or how many messages it takes to meet an owner and experience their world.
In November, Perfect Hideaways will launch their third book featuring South African homes that reflect the values, dreams and aspirations of their owners and that have been personally vetted by the Perfect Hideaways team. Every one of these homes is grounded in a sense of place that will touch you physically, emotionally and spiritually, for each home has an indefinable genius loci that sets it apart. Each home is best described as an ever-changing story to which we can add our own particular and personal ending. Lived in, loved, welladjusted homes – this is what Perfect Hideaways offers and what sets it apart.
• Perfect Hideaways Book 3 will be available in November from all good bookstores.
CONTACT PERFECT HIDEAWAYS ON 021 790 0972 OR INFO@PERFECTHIDEAWAYS.CO.ZA.