MODERN RURAL RURAL
Interior decorator Faline Edwards’s contemporary home near the vibrant village of Franschhoek in the Cape Winelands is a modern sanctuary
“Even civet and buck pass through, and there are otters and wild ducks in the river. I am surrounded by mountains and 360-degree views,” says homeowner Faline Edwards
HIDDEN behind a grassy berm and nestled on the banks of the Kastaiing River, the Afrikaans name for the chestnut trees lining its clear waters, Faline Edwards’s contemporary villa is only a few minutes from the village of Franschhoek. Yet, standing in the lush garden with the river rushing past, you feel like you’re in the heart of Winelands farming country. Moody lateafternoon light catches the magnificent mountain peaks ahead through oak and willow trees, and guinea fowl scuffle through the undergrowth and up to the summer deck overlooking the river, calling as they go.
“Klein Kastaiing” is what Faline has called her ultimate “lifestyle farm”. When she first drove into the plot with its 1970s bungalow, Faline fell in love with the convenient location, the river running through it, the rows of ancient oaks, vineyards, and fruit and nut trees that have now become nesting grounds for herons, squirrels and owls. “Even civet and buck pass through, and there are otters and wild ducks in the river. I am surrounded by mountains and 360-degree views,” says Faline, who designed the new house herself.
“We grow wine grapes – merlot – and produce around 600 bottles a year, just for our visitors, of course, and there’s a cellar used for storage and bottling.”
Fruit trees bear apples, mulberries, figs, avocados and pecan nuts, and herbs and veggies including plentiful basil are grown in the kitchen garden. The entire top half of the farm is irrigated and fertilised, ready for planting more grapes, olives or capers.
“I designed the house to blend into the site and merge with the colours of the surrounding mountains. In summer, with all the trees and vines, it’s barely visible from the road. The structure, rendered in charcoal grey, echoes the mountains behind, giving you the perfect outdoor feeling while still keeping different seasons in mind,” she says. Large wooden ceiling fans whirr in the summer and enormous eye-level fireplaces roar with welcoming log fires in winter.
The house is oriented along a north-south axis, allowing for ideal temperature control no matter the weather. The leafless trees in deepest winter open up the farmland in front of the house, giving expansive views that you don’t see when cocooned in summer greenness. And on hot days when the cicadas are singing, all the glass doors can be opened on both sides. But particularly lovely is the seamless flow to the pool from the bedrooms leading off the light-filled passageway.
Every effort has been made to recycle the alien vegetation that once lined the river. “The floorboards in the living room and passage are all crafted from this alien wood, which was planked and laid out to dry