Photographers, Rebecca and Bruce Meissner of Love Made Visible purchased a small, less than desirable home ideally positioned diagonally across the road from Rebecca’s parents in mid-2016 with aspirations to convert it into a small but comfortable “cabin-like” cottage of their dreams. Together, we worked out a brief for what they were after in the longer term and then pared it back into a Phase 1 that was achievable with available budget and a Phase 2 which would follow later.

The original house was ideally orientated towards the North and set back onto the South boundary.
There was potential for views up towards Muizenberg Mountain to the West. The house had no connection to the outside and a garage positioned at the back of the property meant that much of the available garden space was paved driveway.

Working within the existing footprint of the house and retaining existing plumbing for bathroom and kitchen to save on costs, the roof was removed and exterior walls elevated slightly to allow for the addition of a main bedroom ensuite in the loft space, big airy volume over the living area and views up the mountain.
Bruce and Rebecca worked very closely with contractors with Bruce doing much of the detail work himself including tiling and beautiful reclaimed timber kitchen counters. Several windows were reclaimed and purchased second hand; fireplace and gorgeous spiral staircase bought for a song on Gumtree.

Precast garage was repositioned to the street allowing garden space to be made with edibles and indigenous fynbos dominating the front of the house.

The addition of sunny dining area and extensive deck will bring the project to completion in 2020. The project as been featured in several local design blogs as well as French Interior design mag, Home Cuisines and Bains: Best of 2019 Issue.