LIVING
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he muted tones of greens, grey and brown bring a sense of the outdoors in. Filtered light fills the living room, highlighting the collectable Danish classics and mid-century memorabilia, while various vignettes draw your eyes into the mind of its owners . ‘You’ll love it or hate it,’ words relayed telephonically via the Allisons would-be estate agent. Fortunately for Matt and his wife, Kathy, it was love at first sight. ‘I walked in, took one look around and knew it was going to be our new home. We made an offer, it was accepted and within days we’d procured finance. If only buying a home was always that simple!’ laughs Matt. It’s easy to see why the self-proclaimed modernist and interior stylist fell in love with this ranch-style, mid-century modern home: it’s a time capsule of a different era, straight out of a ’50s architectural journal, previously lived in only by the retired couple who purchased it
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new. ‘We did update a few things, the electrics and plumbing had to be redone and we reworked the bathrooms. One was entirely duck egg blue, including matching basin and toilet, the other pale yellow and black. And while they both had their charm, we decided to update the fittings. Other than that, we just added a lick of paint, sanded and sealed the original wooden floors and moved in.’ Most of the work was done outside, as Matt—a passionate gardener—went about designing landscapes to match. The front garden brims with clusters of indigenous aloes, crassulas, proteas and various succulents that come alive with colour throughout the seasons—hues of red, orange and yellow, chosen to be a striking accents against the dark grey exterior of the house. The back yard is squared off into partitions planted with form plants: flaxes, wild grasses, restios, bamboo and a solitary prunus tree, divided up by industrial-like concrete pavers.
From left: Outdoor living with a custom-built steel and balau table and Joan Gaspar-designed Lisboa chairs from Sean Williams Contracts. The Nordic cabin-style playhouse was designed and built by Matt, and the custom-made Kreep planter by product designer Joe Paine is filled with exotic cacti and succulents; The front garden is a mix of stone chips, large stone pavers and rockeries, each housing an extensive array of indigenous aloes, crassulas, proteas and succulents; A vintage macramé planter houses a collection of hanging plants.
G R E E N HOME
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