The town of Nieu-Bethesda has 150 residents. Two of the newcomers are Marc Watson and James Moffatt, who were drawn to the remote, semi-arid landscape of South Africa’s Great Karoo and the drilled-down lifestyle it offers. The couple chose the house based on its charming iron friezes and traditional wooden shutters, only guessing what was hidden behind the heritage façade. “We bought the property without viewing the inside, but we had a good sense of what such a traditional home would hold,” says Marc. Retaining the cottage layout and many existing antique pieces, they added layers of rich hues and hand-picked treasures, and thoughtfully selected South African art to imprint their energy and vision on the 142-year-old property.
The town is most famous for its once reclusive resident, artist Helen Martins, whose eccentric property is now The Owl House museum and the primary drawcard for visitors. A solid eight-hour journey from Marc and James’ Johannesburg base, the couple committed to creating a second life in this scorched outpost in 2018 after they, too, had swept through the dusty streets as tourists. The advertising duo admits they didn’t really think through the challenges of renovating from afar, but Marc took on the project with a clear vision of what he wanted and stuck to the plan.
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Denne historien er fra Winter 2023-utgaven av Modern Living.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Colour Compact
Interior designer Kim Stephen’s terraced home in Barnes, London, combines her signature flair for colour with a clever use of its relatively compact spaces
Paris Panache
Designer Robert Normand’s unerring eye for colour and aesthete’s appreciation of decor, objects and art are on full display in his Paris home, where a series of interleading, beautifully dressed spaces each contributes something unique to a house that is an artwork in perpetual progress
The Art Of Chic
The ideal recipe for eclectic chic 21st-century style? Combine the classic details of a Haussmannian apartment with owner Emmanuel de Bayser’s eye for the finest mid-century furniture and design objects – plus a growing collection of contemporary art. Parfait!
In The Zone
A tightly knit curation of design-savvy details, furniture and finishes makes for an innovative spin on apartment living in Cape Town
The Fabric Of All Things
With a nod to traditional English decorating and with references to its Asian locale, this Singaporean family home is a visual tapestry of pastels and patterns
Brute Force
Referencing the industrial architecture of Chicago and New York, the stylish design of a Sydney home offsets raw, Brutalist surfaces and hardware with softer, seductive furnishings
Black Magic
Dark colours and graphic forms combine to create an urban ‘bush lodge’ look in this luxe family home on KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast. The result is serendipitously sexy
I'll Take Manhattan
...and Italian summers too. A New York City loft remains true to its industrial roots while undergoing an upgrade inspired by the warm light and soft textures of the Med
Quiet Riot
By offsetting elegant restraint with strong notes of natural, artistic and design exuberance, architect Frederic Berthier’s Paris apartment combines architectural stillness with human energy to beautiful and refreshing effect
Fresh Start
Interior designer Lynne Harris-Whitfield has melded old and new in her relaxed family home in Cape Town, which combines considered space planning with a trove of creative touches
