Top Billing features the contemporary home of architect George Elphick

Top Billing features the contemporary home of architect George Elphick

To answer the demands of building on and preserving a dune, architect George Elphick turns tradition upside down with a concrete masterpiece that is warm, practical and beautifully understated. 


The contemporary, concrete design of George and Karin Elphick’s South Coast home is an answer to the demands of the steep site; and to the wear and tear which the humid sea air inflicts on materials and finishes. A practical solution to its environment, it is also a beautifully understated structure.

Having been built on a conservation zone, once building was done, the site was fully replanted.

If the interiors and architecture seem made for one another it is because all the oak furniture was a collaboration between George and designer Mike Long - crafted by a local joiner.



A shared love of design and travel was the spark when Karin and George first met. She was studying pharmacy and waitressing part-time, he was an architecture student playing in a band. This is the third home they have conceived, he has designed and their shared sense of style has been perfected here.



The Elphicks consider it a privilege that their three children still choose to stay at home, each with a generous suite of their own, along a shared patio. As Karin has increasingly been part of selecting interiors for her husband’s clients, she has also collaborated with the couple’s two daughters on a hit, new fashion venture.



Everyone gets in on preparing lunch or dinner and over their family table is where any number of original, refreshing South African furniture, architecture and fashion ideas are born and tested.

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