Elegantly escorting you back to the early 1900’s, her regal façade and classically tiered enchanting garden – reminiscent of a Scottish castle cushioned into the African soil it occupies – House Nouveau harnesses the stature that comes with the Victorian era, exposing every vestige of her former years with grace.
Her old-world charm ushers you through the front doors, and into an entirely new epoch. The consciously considered interiors promptly modifying the mood into a Lewis Carroll novel. Where colour, charisma and a compendium of quirky statements bind all of the opulent spaces together. Nurturing that narrative of you being Alice, and House Nouveau being your wonderland, at the foot of Table Mountain. Follow the emerald green palette, around the kitchen, down the corridors, up the stairways, through the formal dining and reclining spaces, into the suites, across the hallways, and out to the verdant landscape.
Set across three levels of incredibly generous living, entertaining, dining and reclining spaces, this hideaway embraces the rhythms of holiday life, allowing it to flow and flourish in accordance with your travelling clan. The bonding and daily rituals of life are anchored in the open-plan kitchen and dining area that are an ode to an epicurean’s memoir.
Four bedrooms stagger themselves around the villa with dreamy beds and their luxury linens enrobing them. The master suite being nothing short of a botanical masterpiece. Curios, story-telling bathrooms, evocative artworks, collector’s antiques, French cabinetry, high ceilings and tall, glass windows, allowing all of the natural light to flood through the grand rooms.
An urban escape in Cape Town’s verdant little village of Higgovale
Chaperoned by the indomitable presence of the mountain, House Nouveau encompasses every vista that’s flanked by Signal Hill and Lion’s Head, the boundless cityscape and her harbour. The greenery of the garden creeps through every open window and back out with the views. Citrus trees, wisteria and jasmine covered pergolas, ancient figs and plum trees. Rose, herb and lavender patches scatter themselves around the walkways and garden benches. A koi pond adjacent to a lovely terrace that holds the space for those morning stretches or meditation rituals. A tranquil pool house with outdoor pizza oven and braai area sit beside the wonderful swimming pool. Where many of your holiday hours will be spent. Lapping up the African sunshine, dipping in and out of the water like the sugarbirds do.
In all of her Victorian splendour, House Nouveau bares her lavish bones with a humorous nod to rebellion. Imploring Alice to venture down any path that tickles her fancy. From the state-of-the-art kitchen, the desk in the romantic study, the grand piano in the living room and its accompanying comfy sofas, the fire places aplenty, the master suite’s four poster bed on a lazy afternoon, and all of the little secret nooks and relaxing hiding places will become her wonderland. Throughout all of the resplendent moments in this extraordinary hideaway, that become curiouser and curiouser.