An arcade of green escorts you all the way up to the front doors of Tres Ossos. Passing the little pond, into the entrance hall, through the living spaces and back out into the garden. Chaperoning your every move like a sanguine wave of calm. Connecting you to the soil, much like the roots of the soaring old oaks and venerable vines of Constantia.
There’s a visceral reaction to the property that reaffirms its role as your chosen Cape Town destination. As if you’ve always belonged here. Settled within the Southern Suburbs, embraced by the elements of the natural surroundings, and all of the spaces in between. The evocative works of art that have been discerningly sourced and curated. The narrative that ensues of local artisans, craftsmen, and sculptors. The relationship between contemporary and antique furnishings. The literature and the light, that dances across the walls with little silhouettes from the leaves. The home’s attributes become almost ethereal.
As you meander the spaces of Tres Ossos, you’ll discover the occasional meditation spot beneath little windows to the moon. Curved corridors that carry the tranquillity all the way to the master ensuite with its secluded sitting room and private office. An additional single bed for the little one, and enough cupboard space for the Mother City. The other four ensuite bedrooms scatter themselves around the bends and folds of the home. All opening out into gardens with their own seating areas. The giant old oak stoically standing centre stage.
An avalanche of sublime inspiration
Walkways encased in glass escort you down the west wing where a gaming room rests in the loft. For those members of the clan that love a techie moment or two. Ample living dining and entertaining spaces sitting beneath the apex ceilings. Walnut floors and timber frames, slate stone and exposed brick, and more glass. Windows that serve as paintings of the landscape, drawing your gaze out into the garden. It’s an ever-constant narrative on nature creeping back in, at every opportunity.
Once you’ve cartwheeled across the lawn and swung beneath the branches of one of the oaks, you’ll tend to some laps in the swimming pool. The perfect length and temperature. Some of you will be gathered around the long table at the pool house. Others getting the flames right for the braai. There’s enough entertainment space for those that like to keep busy, as well as those that love the languid hours. Sun loungers and sofas aplenty, planted in all the right places. Forever chaperoned by greenery.
There’s a little pergola that shades a seating area adjacent the vines of Groot Constantia. For those meditative moments overlooking the vineyards and up to the mountain behind. A step and a skip through the private gateway and you’re on the trails of the grapes. Your own access to some of the most revered vintages of the Constantia wine region. If you feel the need you can walk, hike and jog the slopes that surround the property. At times returning with a bottle of the good stuff, to accompany the feasts that come out of the kitchen.
You will of course venture to some of the other neighbouring wine estates. Visit the nearby art galleries and golf courses, perhaps. Head to the seaside, or into the city. You’ll pivot from the arcade of green with ease, always yearning to return. Back to the soil that pulls your roots with its soul. To the spaces of Tres Ossos, that speak in your newly-discovered ethereal language, uttering the words, “We, the bones that are here, await yours.”
Written by Colleen Ogilvie