Classic With Clout

An eye for detail and clever planning transformed this house into a contemporary home with all the (quiet) bells and whistles the owner adores.

- Anne Schauffer

I’m a retail planner and work with numbers, so I don’t have a creative bone in my body,” laughs homeowner Jenni Lee. She tempers this statement by acknowledging that working in the clothing industry has rubbed off on her. “I love decorating and entertaining, but I knew nothing about building.”

After a two-year search for a house in Newlands Village, so son Callum could access school easily, the phone rang: “There’s a fixer-upper around the corner.” Jenni viewed it, took her parents and her builder, and was brandishing a signed sale agreement by the next day.

Then Jenni met Jenny Collins, architectural designer at Red Cat Design. Yes, the Jenny/Jenni thing was problematic, but only in name. The two connected. “We had a rapport – Jenny said she could work well with my vision and was an unbelievable sounding board for me.” And on the flip side, Jenny loved that her client was so organised. “She’s very spread-sheet orientated. It made things so much smoother.”

The two walked through the house, which the neighbours had dubbed ‘The Mustard Palace’, and made decisions according to Jenni’s needs. Her brief was clear: “I wanted a lock-up-and-go, security was a priority, and something low maintenance. I needed a wonderful kitchen, a covered patio and off-street parking.” Jenni says her friends called it “the house that Pinterest built”, because she sent Jenny a Pinterest board for every room in the house. The designer also visited Jenni’s rented house to get the feel of her furniture and taste. Some pieces, like the dining room table, were trimmed to fit the new house.