Located in a luxury residential estate in Cape Town’s Constantia Valley, White House is a home that exudes self-assured sophistication through a minimalist approach.
The initial architecture conceptualised by Vivid Architects was refined and developed by leading South African Architecture firm SAOTA. It reveals a dramatic façade, with honed stone floor and wall slabs lending themselves to the bold aesthetic. Tasked to create an interior that could confidently fit into this dominant setting, and working closely with the owners, Mark Rielly, of interior design studio ARRCC, revelled in the challenge.
‘I was conscious of not letting the furnishings compete with the architecture, but I also didn’t want them to take a back seat,’ says Mark, who selected a neutral palette to achieve his objective. Taking full advantage of the myriad glass panes and open volumes allowing daylight to stream through the home, Mark allowed this choice of natural hues to be engulfed in sunshine, accentuating the stark white walls and the green outdoors filtering through the oversized-window views.
In the gallery-like corridor, the client’s personal art pieces become focal accents. On the upper level a bridge links the passageway to bedrooms and bathrooms that provide sanctuaries of respite in their muted tones. Warm wooden wall panelling, guinea fowl-feather lampshades and patterned marble define this peaceful luxury. In the casual living space, a touch of African minimalism presides, too, with brown leather sofas and the client’s existing ottomans decorated with zebra stripes maintaining eye-catching intrigue.
Where volumes could appear overwhelming, they have been cosied up – the slatted timber ceiling within the double-volume entrance divides the overhead space while allowing shards of light to penetrate it from the skylight above. Such shadow play continues in the dining room, where a Venetian glass lighting feature, resembling a cascading waterfall, reflects and refracts rainbows of illumination across the open-plan living area.
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