FABRIC OF LIFE

A CAPE TOWN FAMILY HOME CHANNELS ENGLISH CHARM THROUGH RICH MATERIALITY AND AN ABUNDANT USE OF COLOUR

- MILA CREWE-BROWN

HAPPY DAYS For homeowners Laura, Nic and their sons Lucas, Alfie and Rafferty, this house ticks all the boxes. "Our home has all the space we need for three busy boys and visiting family and friends. I sensed a happy environment the moment I set foot in it and knew we would make lasting memories as a family," says Laura. The generous veranda, that runs the length of the house, can be opened or enclosed with stacking glass doors making it an additional all-weather living space.

Go bold - no-one remembers the grey wall," advises Laura whose affinity for colour is palpable in her Constantia home in Cape Town, South Africa, which brims with soul. Here, where pattern is revered and tradition respected, rooms spill over with an eclectic and hearty aesthetic.

It was on a 2021 holiday that she and her husband Nic half-heartedly viewed a property in a bucolic corner of Constantia and discovered the home they would leave England for. The six-bedroom abode with its large garden and peaceful aura was the epitome of wholesome family living and would serve as a happy base from which to raise their three young boys - Lucas, Alfie and Rafferty.

"You could see that it held amazing memories; all it needed was aligning to my own style," she recalls. And by that, she means a profusion of traditional patterned textiles and lashings of colour, which make for a spirited marriage. In addition, Laura opted for built-in joinery with decorative profiles, updating the bathrooms and kitchen and generally injecting her trademark soulfulness into the interior. This is a home that embraces you from the get-go, dialling up on comfort, personality and whimsy and nodding to Laura's British heritage. "Were it not for my husband's reservations, I'd happily go for top-to-toe chintz," she quips.