Top Billing tours a luxury penthouse

Top Billing tours a beautiful Cape Town penthouse

Brian and Cecile Paul will go to the ends of the Earth for a room with a view. Their last apartment looked onto a castle – but with the vista from their latest home in Cape Town, they’ve peaked and are sure they’ll never find better.

Above a hive of activity from nearby Long Street is where the Pauls chose to settle. A Scottish architect, Brian’s worked as far as Russia and the US and Namibian born Cecile has run fashion businesses from Pretoria to Edinburgh. Together, they’re a décor and design force of nature!

After five months of stripping and painting the former office space white, they could begin to express themselves in the space. Initially the structure had an ancient ceiling and had a terrible old wooden floors which had to be lifted, while Brian enjoyed working on the beautiful interior doors that needed a revamp.

Against the white shell, every bit of craft and workmanship stands out. While the pared down kitchen strikes a balance between conversation pieces and practicality. The interior has décor from all of the places they’ve visited, and has a variety of pieces that Celeste loves, many of them with a 1920s feel.

Most of their pieces also have incredible stories, such as the light fixture from Edinburgh, the keys from a country house in Scotland, and the baroque dresser that has followed them around the world. It doesn't hurt that they have a stunning throne in the home too!

The house has a sort of drama to it, and the main en-suite feels subtly medieval. With a gold tray and wine goblets from Krugersdorp where the couple were wed, its fabrics pick up old metal colours and are rich in natural texture - like a chamber in a Scottish castle. The paintings compliment the aged metal and organic colour scheme.

While they have an incredible collection, the vintage piece they prize the most is the four hundred million year old rock they look onto!

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