A View to the Future

Clever architecture and savvy spatial planning has resulted in a stylish and laidback home that can grow with its family.

- By Kerryn Fischer. Photographs by Greg Cox/Frank Features

Set amidst the leafy country lanes and lush paddocks of Noordhoek, a sleepy suburb in the farthest reaches of cape Town’s Deep South, a contemporary barn-style home that Francien van Eck and Casey Bertie share with their children, Freya and Felix, is the perfect expression of their desire for simplicity.

As a commercial photographer and the owner of a stills production company respectively, Casey and Francien fell in love with the rural atmosphere of this horsey neighbourhood and its incredible 8km-long beach a decade ago.

“I was born in Holland and grew up in London,” says Francien. “But when I arrived in Cape Town for work about 15 years ago, Noordhoek was the first place I stayed. Of course, in contrast to Europe, the generosity of space, the proximity and instant access to nature, and the ‘gezelligheid’ of the English, Afrikaans mix made me feel right at home.”

A few years later when Francien, who had by then moved to the city center, met South African Casey and discovered that he too loved Noordhoek, the seed was sown to move there one day.

Taking on a challenge