“When we arrived, it didn't look that way,” says Juan Moreno López-Calull from the apartment in Cape Town, which he bought with his partner Pieter de Groot. “But when I saw this view, I knew that we could do something special.”
López-Calull, founder and director of John Brown Projects, and de Groot, founder of the graphic potential for graphic design and branding, live in Barcelona, but use their respective houses for work and play. Each house shows its personal styles: López-Calull's lively and playful spirit seems in its bold, artistic space, while de Goots gets through more subtle and more organic sensitivity in its own Mediterranean apartment. After the couple had spent a lot of time in de Groot's native of South Africa in recent years, he finally decided that it was time to invest together in a Pied-à-Terre. “We wanted a place that belongs to both of us,” says López-Calull.
The 900 square meter unit is located in the Bakoven district on the west coast of the Cape Peninsula and required an intestinal renovation. The cramped original layout did not work for the entertaining needs and the nature-centered lifestyle of the couple, so that they tore down walls and inserted oversized windows to create a spacious living and dining room. The small kitchen (it is “mini, mini, mini,” says López-Calull) emerged from a former bathroom, while the second bedroom turned out of the kitchen. “We moved everything to ensure that the main areas in which we spend most of our days are always in front of the sea,” he says. The sun goes down at the foot of the Mountain table, only out of the window and flooded the entire apartment in a pink every evening.
The discovery of the original wooden beams, which hide over an artificially lowered blanket, felt like a magical revelation. “I could see that the outdoor roof was gable, so I couldn't understand why the ceiling of the unit was so low and flat,” says López-Calull. After advice with engineers, the team recognized that it was hollow and structurally unnecessary. “It was such an exciting moment,” he says. After some care and repair, the rays inhale new life to the now airy space.
López-Calull wanted to bring the sensory experience of the Atlantic Ocean in the interiors and chose blue ceramic tiles as floors. The rest of the palette follows a calm, earthy feeling – mixing coastal and mountain influences over neutral linen textiles, tactile art objects and warm wood paneling. The Safari chairs designed by Wilhelm Kienzle combine leather and wood in a way that refers to the history of camp furniture outdoors.