Higher Calling

- Jessica Ross

Jaw-dropping’ is an adjective perhaps too often bandied about by writers, who, with a swift series of taps to the keyboard, will generously attribute the reaction to just about anything. It’s the kind of hyperbole employed to bring a sense of lyricality (or ‘clickability’) to writing, so when it’s used to describe something genuinely remarkable, the term no longer lands with just the right amount of oomph. That’s until you set foot in this summer retreat in Cape Town, a perch at the top of Tamboerskloof that offers views so indulgent and luscious, ‘jaw-dropping’ doesn’t quite seem to do it justice. Spread over four lavish yet restrained storeys, this home lends itself to the slackening of the mandible in every way, with pockets of design so artfully curated that tangible feeling is imbued through colour, pattern, texture – and a 180-degree panorama of the entire City Bowl.

‘The property’s location within this area is perfect and, architecturally, it really appealed to me,’ says the homeowner, who spends his time between his home base, Sweden, and this elegant bolthole. ‘The views are spectacular and it has a real sense of place wherever you are in the house.’ It’s no wonder that this building, tucked away in one of the quietest roads in Tamboerskloof, appealed to his penchant for the contemporary. Designed by Greg Wright Architects, the sequence of three squat cubes that make up the top stories are craftily engineered to maximise outlook onto the harbour and the city.