Project Brief:
These small, neglected apartments were ideally situated on a hill overlooking the St Helena Bay coastline. The location was no doubt the biggest drawing card for the new owner.
Each of the 4 units has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and an open-plan living and dining area, all fitted into a compact 41sqm. A small 10sqm patio makes the most of the view.
There is also a small 1-bedroom unit next to the pool area. But apart from the aluminium windows and doors, the finishes were terrible. What started as a facelift quickly turned into a full-scale renovation. We basically gutted the units and started from scratch!
After the units were cleared out, the face brick walls were plastered, and everything got a fresh coat of paint to create a clean canvas to work from.
Because of the small footprint, the furniture had to be carefully sourced to fit the available space. The finishes and furniture also had to be highly durable because the apartments would be rented to holiday guests.
The Design
I drew inspiration from the area, traditionally a fishing village, without being too obvious about the seaside influence. The result is a warm, comfortable and stylish apartment with interesting artwork, quality finishes and curated amenities.
Apart from having to spec compact furniture throughout, the kitchen was especially challenging because it had to include an oven, stove, microwave and fridge/freezer, coffee machine, all the cupboards and the DB, all in just under 3 running metres! It is very tight, but it works!
I designed a dining table specifically for the project. The table doubles as extra counter space because it’s 900mm high, and bar stools that fit neatly underneath are out of the way when not in use.
This was a very challenging and rewarding project – to ensure that the units can accommodate 4 guests each, have a place for eating and preparing food, and enough seating for all the occupants required careful planning!
The result is a very comfortable self-catering cottage with all the bells and whistles. Go have a look for yourself!
