Small spaces often pose the biggest challenges as there are all sorts of design elements and techniques that can be combined to produce a stimulating effect. We got rid of most of these and listened to Claudia’s whimsical journeys through countries she’s temporarily called home in the past. Purple blue Moroccan doorways, powder fine Arabian sand, European nooks and hideaway corners.
We seeked to create a cosy, yet minimal and vibrant outside extension of the living room to be enjoyed throughout the year. At the end we promptly stopped naming concepts and painted the braai in hot paprika red and the vibracrete walls in hourglass sand. A gum sleeper bench was built, left untreated to weather, for the wood to remind us that life is ever changing and we are just that. Alive.
Soon-to-be handsome Aristada junciformis was surrounded by brown crushed stone, dancing in the West Coast wind. The planting palette took us to the Mediterranean with lavender and rosemary for the kitchen, a local confetti bush for a stroke of winter white and of course the focal point wild olive. All hail Olea europaea subsp. africana. Your versatility and hardiness continues to astonish us. With its grey green leaves it takes us to courtyards far far away, as we sail off on the journey of watching this small space mature into an urban existence escape. The birds already moved in.
