If you combined the glorious arching space of a country church, an art gallery with enough volume to showcase fine works and a modern take on the great hall of a manor house, you may begin to take in Cloudbreak’s grand proportions. But for all this, it has the look and feel of a sophisticated urban farmhouse in colours, textures, fabrics, furniture and collections that combine to create a comfortable, embracing lifestyle for family and friends.
The house, says the owner, grew as it was rebuilt and morphed into its current proportions and is filled with inherited artworks and commissions. It accounts for the ‘surprise and delight’ factor of the home. There are works by photographer David Goldblatt, provocation and engagement by Willem Boschoff and Guy Tillim, a striking armchair in fabric inspired by the late Wonderboy Nxumalo of Ardmore Ceramics fame.
It is a home that invites instant and easy relaxation; sofas are large and comfortable, floors screeded or maple wood and are silky underfoot. In the study, books reach to the rafters and demand that you drift from title to title and wonder why anyone could even suggest that the book should take second place to the Kindle.
Bedrooms are generously proportioned with bathrooms in cool marble and wood with ample space for seating. From the main bedroom, dawn light strikes the southern side of Table Mountain turning the stone to amber.
There are whimsical areas: Between the living area and the kitchen, a miniature conservatory is stocked with a collection of glass vases, all waiting for their load of flowers and greenery. The kitchen is in itself a cathedral: high arching white walls and struts carry your eye upwards and then down to marble working surfaces. A grand red Parma ham machine, the culinary version of a vintage Bentley, is the kitchen’s sculpture.
Beyond the main living room, a broad veranda has loads of comfortable seating and overlooks a long lap pool and broad slab of grassed field for informal soccer or touch rugby to be played by the energetic members of the family, guests and their friends.
What we love
The house comfortably accommodates 10 people – a large or two-family holiday option but with enough space for personal, quiet zones.
Cloudbreak’s proximity to Kirstenbosch and lovely walks in the nearby greenbelt.
The art collections and creative use of fabric will send you scurrying for notebooks and a camera for future inspiration.
What you should know
With strict water restrictions in place, guests should be mindful of the short effective shower option rather than bathing.
Reviewed by Les Aupiais
