South African practice Antonio Zaninovic Architecture Studio has overhauled a 1960s house in Cape Town with designer Tara Bean, adding outdoor areas to make the most of its ocean views.
The four-storey Icaria House serves as a holiday home for a South African who grew up in the city and now lives in New York. The team worked around the rocky site and added two terraces into the hillside, making an eight-meter descent to a new outdoor swimming pool easier. These patios provide areas to lounge and eat outside alongside the home’s entrance, which is covered by an overhanging roof lined with thatch on its underside. The home’s original orientation was also reconfigured as part of the project.
A new entrance was added to its west side, as opposed to the north, and large windows were added on the west and south sides to provide more expansive views. Inside, the team tore down existing walls to create more spacious, light-filled areas. The interior walls are all painted white to complement this, and floors are either grey stone or painted white, further creating a uniform feel across the home indoors and out. Shades of blue and green found in the bathroom tiles and painted ash wood cabinets in the kitchen provide contrast to the neutral interiors and also a connection to the lush surrounds.
Upon entering the home is a living room with a corner window, fireplace and a blue couch custom-made for the project. An eclectic mix of designs from all over Africa features across the project, including a grass rug from Swaziland with a red Berber rug from Morocco layered on top in the sitting area.
![The living room decor continues the outdoor spaces with the same furniture, there's a fireplace and cool art The living room decor continues the outdoor spaces with the same furniture, there's a fireplace and cool art](https://i.digsdigs.com/2020/03/04-The-living-room-decor-continues-the-outdoor-spaces-with-the-same-furniture-theres-a-fireplace-and-cool-art-775x515.jpg)
The living room decor continues the outdoor spaces with the same furniture, there's a fireplace and cool art
![The living room, dining space and kitchen are united in one layout, the kitchen is blue, the dining chairs and chandelier are black The living room, dining space and kitchen are united in one layout, the kitchen is blue, the dining chairs and chandelier are black](https://i.digsdigs.com/2020/03/05-The-living-room-dining-space-and-kitchen-are-united-in-one-layout-the-kitchen-is-blue-the-dining-chairs-and-chandelier-are-black-775x517.jpg)
The living room, dining space and kitchen are united in one layout, the kitchen is blue, the dining chairs and chandelier are black