“Everything we do is bespoke. Every single thing in all our projects is designed or put there because it was what we would personally want. Every choice we make is governed by a single question: could we have it in our own space, enjoy it, love it and live with it? So it's never about what's commercial or easy or most financially rewarding. It's about doing what we love, what we're passionate about and what keeps us up, talking.”
Join Top Billing as we meet Julian and Trevyn McGowan, two of South Africa's top interior designers!
More about the house:
The McGowans designed the house themselves on the site of a former cottage, using plenty of glass to create a semi-transparent building arranged around a double-height living-room. There is a choice of outdoor zones, from a beach-side canopied deck to a rear terrace partly shaded by trees, and a roof deck complete with outdoor fireplace and a family-size bath.
It took the McGowans two years to tie up their lives in London before moving to South Africa full time. They had originally thought they might just renovate the cottage, but it soon evolved into a much more ambitious project.
The house opens up to views of the sea to the front, and banks of folding glass doors to the rear create a seamless flow between the interiors and the rear garden and its more sheltered terrace.
The house is furnished with a mix of junk-shop finds and 20th-century classics, with art by Marc Quinn and others. Much of the furniture is by South African designers and the McGowans have just launched Southern Guild, selling limited-edition commissioned pieces. (The Guardian)
