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Top Billing tours the stunning home of Julius and Hannon
Top Billing tours the Georgian home of power couple Julius Swart and Hannon Bothma
Like its owners, this house is a collection of influences. Hannon grew up as a small-town boy in the North West and Julius is from Kwazulu-Natal. They met in Cape Town and now live in Sandton, managing a professional cosmetics brand, Hannon’s television career and making a home.
As a master of PR and a stylist, this couple knows how to make an entrance, and the sweeping entrance of their home has an old world charm.
The most prominent features in the foyer are the sweeping marble staircase and glittering chandelier, or jewellery from the ceiling, as Hannon would call it.
The staircase was a passion project for Julius, and is carved from a single block of marble he chose with his own hands. Inspiration for the design came from pictures they’ve taken on their travels. Between them, the couple designed the scroll-detail on the balustrade, and at the top French doors lead on to a portrait of opulence, their master bedroom.
Inspired by the old French hotels and the palace of Versailles, the room was recreated from their travels and features a number of beautiful pieces. Attached is a Venetian pyjama lounge with incredible fabric wallpaper, creating a beautiful cosy feel, something they compare to “sitting in a jewellery box”.
The room leads on to a large patio, clad in wooden decking and featuring a formal roof garden with topiary trees, perfect for breakfast or coffee in the morning.
The Medusa gargoyles were cast by Julius and the downstairs reception areas were thoroughly customised too. Georgian architecture is all about symmetry, and the couple did some renovation work on the home when they first moved in to get it just right. The open plan ground floor features a formal lounge area with beautiful gold features and an eye-catching cupboard and mirror dating to the 18th Century. Even more interesting, it came with a resident, friendly, ghost.
With their friendly spirit in the house, when they host dinners in their incredible formal dining area, no one’s ever quite sure whether there are twelve guests at the table – or possibly thirteen.
As for the kitchen area, slightly off the side to the dining space, if you crack a nod for a more intimate dinner there, you can definitely consider yourself inner circle.
It’s not all about the interior though, and the gardens form an important part of the home’s character, sometimes even making you forget you’re in the city.
They’ve gone for evergreen plants giving them a garden for all seasons, and a simple green and white colour scheme.
The verandah dining table is the perfect spot to enjoy the garden, and a meal, and is made extra special by the fact that the couple chose this spot to wed after 27 years together, following a chance meeting in a hair salon.
While the house is picture perfect today, this wasn’t always the case, and the swimming pool alone had to be redone 5 times.
But if there was ever a couple to pull off the perfect glam transformation, this is it!
