TALL ORDER

With a lot of dedication, planning and smart design decisions, this once dilapidated house in Cape Town's historic Bo-Kaap transformed into a sleek home with infinite views

- LORI COHEN

Behind the rather quaint facade of a minute semidetached house on the slopes of Cape Town’s Signal Hill, lies a four-storey home with ample space and a sense of breeziness that belies its proportions. It’s the kind of residence that one would expect to find sitting snugly along Amsterdam’s canals. This is exactly why the one-bedroomed fixer-upper she stumbled across did not deter Sandra Leyck, who hails from the Netherlands. ‘I’m used to living in small apartments. It felt like a garage, but the incredible views won us over and we knew we could do something special with it,’ says Sandra.

Sandra and her husband, Boris, sought the help of architect Antony Abate of Team Architects to reimagine the space to maximise the living area, views and light. ‘We both wanted a light house, but we knew this was going to be a big challenge because we are tucked in between neighbours. We also like a soft industrial look and open spaces. They were also adamant that the cooking and dining area should be the heart of their home. We wanted it to be a place where we could relax and entertain comfortably. We spend more time around the dining-room table than we do the couch.