House Jones in the Cape Town suburb of Rondebosch, boasts a neatly executed makeover of the entire home; the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom fittings and furniture was of vital importance. Here is what was done.
Images: Michael Lea Photography and Robyn Millenaar
In the second half of 2022, Rondebosch suburb homeowners, Kim and Gareth, gutted their entire house, knocked out interior walls and began a major refurbishment of their home.
Project architect, Robyn Millenaar from Millenaar Architects (https://cifa.org.za/members/robyn-playfairmillenaar- nee sturgeon/), a CIFA-Member, takes up the story: “This existing old Rondebosch home had a layout typical of its era, with separate living areas and a small kitchen tucked away at the back of the house, which was separated (from the living area) by a staircase. The brief from the client was to open up the house and connect the kitchen and living areas, so that the kitchen could become the heart of the home.”
Work done
“Hence, we enlarged the footprint of the house to increase the size of the kitchen and opened up between the dining and sitting rooms to create a generous open plan living area. The staircase to the first floor bedroom, which divided the living areas, was relocated to the middle of the house”, she explains.
As the centrepiece of nearly every home, the kitchen makeover took first place. Its refurbishment was magnificently undertaken by BC Joinery & Furniture (www.bcjoinery.co.za), a Cape Town member of the Kitchen Specialists Association (KSA).
According to Brandon Tuck of BC Joinery, “This project was the first time BC Joinery worked together with Robyn from Millenaar Architects. We loved working with both Robyn, as well as owners, Kim and Gareth, who were very involved in the project! The design and finishes were exciting to watch as they came to life.” It was, however, more than the kitchen. The fitout included the bathrooms and the bedrooms, as well.
At the outset, the installers met with the owners at their showroom to run through the design, showing them 3D renders so that they could visualize exactly what their dream kitchen would look like.
“The client wanted a more Classic look for the bathrooms and kitchen. In the kitchen we went for a shaker style but with a slightly thinner panel for a more contemporary feel. We also introduced some oak and steel elements.
“Increasing the footprint, a new covered patio with brick klompies was added to create an outside room” says Millenaar.
The kitchen
“The scope of work for us was kitchen, bedroom cupboards and bathroom vanities. From the point of view of the kitchen, the floor space is 5.4m x 4.7m with an add-on scullery measuring 2.2m x 2.6m,” said Tuck.
Both kitchen and scullery units received a Duco-sprayed Shaker finish, topped with 20mm Eezi Quartz “Calacatta Fine” countertops. Some wooden and metal elements were also used to bring it all together.
Building work commenced in or about September 2022 and the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom installation were begun in October 2022. The final handover to very satisfied clients happened in late November 2022.
“This was one of our favourite projects to work on and it’s probably because it was a layout that just worked from form to function, helped along by some quality suppliers like GRASS Hardware, Demontfort Doors and Stonehenge Marble and Granite,” says Tuck.
“Kim and Gareth loved watching us transform their dreams into a reality and they had peace of mind knowing that we are KSA members and that they were in good hands every step of the way.”
