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Top Billing visits a dream Mossel Bay home
Top Billing tours a luxury Mossel Bay home
This cliff-top location commands a sea view like the bridge of an ocean liner and if you walk out the front-door you step right onto the fairways of the golf-course voted best in South Africa, two years running!
With a location this exceptional, the trade-off was that it was no easy build. The slope, height and size restrictions were each major factors for developer Stiaan Herbst to tackle.
The stand widens out into a one hundred and eighty degree panorama of The Indian Ocean and to make the most of it took bold choices. The design itself was done to maximise the ocean views. By creating pointed edges to the house, thrust out towards the waves, and walled in floor to ceiling glass – each room gets the greatest amount of ocean frontage possible.
Building on the literal edge of a cliff was challenging and at one stage the architects were designing around two massive builders in the main living area. While they were able to push the boulders off without damaging the building structure, they stuck with the plans that lead to a split level lounge, perfect for giving the space more depth and creating an amphitheatre feel.
As for the beautiful interiors, they reflect the influences of designer Yvonne Piet’s heritage in The Netherlands. She sums up her approach with the Dutch word ‘Stoer’, which saw her mix oversized furniture and colours like greys and blacks with organic woods.
Yvonne felt that the interior design didn’t need to try compete with the view, so she chose subtle and classic pieces, including African elements like woven baskets and imagery by award-winning photographers.
A Southern-East Africa theme runs through the over-sized black and white as well as sepia prints by award-winning local photographers. Simply framed in wood or mounted on canvas, the scale of these works matches the fittings and furniture.
The furniture is luxurious and largely custom-made. One of the more striking pieces is the 12 seater wooden table in the main living area. The three-quarters-of-a-ton table is from a golf estate tree, struck by lightning and collected by Stiaan. With the size of the wood, they had to bring it in first then complete the house around it.
The nearby stunning kitchen is an unusual dark shade, adding texture and dimension to the space, while the lower level is devoted to everything you’d like to do on vacation without leaving the house, and includes a stunning pool table, bar and braai.
The Gauteng couple who commissioned this holiday home wanted five bedrooms, each en suite, as well as several, different spaces for enjoying life at the sea. While she’s followed a consistent theme in colour, Yvonne used subtly different, textured wall-papers to set each of the five rooms apart.
Designed with the lines of a super-yacht, the house offers an endless cruise with none of the downsides. The bow looks out over a breath-taking view and to the stern is an eighteen-hole golf course.
