Rawsonwille South Africa 2017
A whitewashed stone cottage, die Kliphuisie is situated on a 100 ha working wine and fruit farm with 360-degree mountain views. Ear-marked for demolition, the dilapidated cottage was saved and lovingly restored to preserve its character and charm and dressed in crisp white cottons with old Cape furniture. Built from river stones and mud, in bygone days it housed two workers’ families, hence the two hearths and chimneys. The cottage suffered damage in the Tulbagh earthquake in 1963, and modern brick work was used to repair it. The building renovations were small: a good paint job, a new kitchen and a bathroom. The landscaping intervention involved creating an outdoor braai and seating area, dropped into the landscape and protected by a pergola and an informal garden of orchard almond, fig and lemon trees scattered in disarray with herbs and roses and local plants.
