Colorful Scandi Style in a Family Home in Cape Town

Name: Georgina, Gideon, Hunter and Case
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Size: 2583 square feet
Years lived in: Owned 3 years

Situated in the bohemian and arty suburb of Observatory, Gideon and Georgina’s home is filled with warmth and creativity. This young family home has many personal touches and custom-designed elements thanks to Gideon. Although Gideon specialized in landscape architecture, he likes to call himself a design generalist. Furniture, lighting, interiors and graphic design are all areas he likes to explore. Having a little one also meant adapting his designs to make their home child friendly.

On moving in, Gideon and Georgina decided to modify the back of the house by knocking out part of the back wall to extend both the kitchen and bathroom. The bricks that were removed were then re-purposed and used to build the shelving in both of these areas. Being a designer certainly has its perks! Gideon also designed the custom sliding bathroom door which gives the dining area a more industrial feel.

The heart of their home is this open-plan dining and kitchen area, which opens out onto a courtyard. Natural light floods in through the large doors and sky lights creating a bright and inviting space. Georgina and Gideon love entertaining and Sunday lunches have become a firm favorite.

They also created statement walls in their bedroom and office by choosing strong colors, which add a modern touch to the Victorian house. Georgina’s love of color and Gideon’s functional aesthetic combine well and together they’ve created a fresh, contemporary home that oozes character.

Our Style: Our style resonates with a Nordic design style of using beautiful hardwood with clean lines incorporated with industrial steel elements, glass and planting material. We also love bold colors, for fun and inspiration. Georgina grew up in a home where beauty was always celebrated and revered, and I love great design. We decided when we bought our house to get rid of everything and only start using pieces that we absolutely love and adore, and to build our home style up slowly like that.

Inspiration: For Gideon, it’s Nordic and Danish industrial and product design…and natural planting materials. For Georgina it’s color and pattern.

Favorite Element: Central light atrium filtering into kitchen, dining and living space. This provides a great space for playing with Hunter and Case, while cooking, and for entertaining! Georgina loves cooking and having friends over, so the openness between the lounge, kitchen and dining room, with great light, makes for a good party space.

Biggest Challenge: Renovating while living in the house. Georgina was pregnant, working hard and finishing her Masters at Cambridge University in the UK. She was ultimately ‘the client’ and I was the project manager—if your relationship can survive large renovations, it can survive anything!

What Friends Say: Friends enjoy the natural light, clean look of our furniture and the color that plants and art bring into the space.

Biggest Embarrassment: We still haven’t quite finished off all the small joints and sealants in the kitchen…. some tops are still loose!

Proudest DIY: Gideon has designed and constructed so many elements of our home—from furniture pieces to interior design alterations—I think for me, who never does any DIY, I’m so proud that he actually got them done before our son arrived! Gideon would consider the technical challenges associated with the kitchen interior design, the green barn doors and balau deck in backyard with DIY pride.

Biggest Indulgence: Carrara marble laid on the floor of the guest bathroom and shower. And beautiful weekly fresh flowers, a must for any home.

Best Advice: Keep the design lines clean and simple and there is nothing like using “too many plants in a space.” Georgina also believes that stylish homes are created by people who know how to have fun with beauty and aesthetics—they can balance both ‘lightness’ and attention to detail in a space.

Dream Sources: Menu and West Elm

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