Le Poirier – Franschhoek

This unique home sits on a pear orchard in the heart of Franschhoek and has been a labour of love from all involved. The three to four-year project was a wonderful journey of collaboration with a dear friend (the owner of the house), architect Martin Kruger and Ebony. Creating this piece of heaven was decorating at its best!

The surrounding pear orchard and ancient oak trees already existed on the property. We started off with excavating into the orchard, keeping the established orchards and trees as they were. They have now come to cocoon and hold the house, offering an ideal spot for the house to overlook the small nearby river. An angled roof allows for the opportunity to enjoy the surrounding landscape either vertically or horizontally from inside the house.

The design of the house is centred around functionality – a U-shaped home with the living quarters in the middle proved to be the best way to take advantage of the stunning location. The living area is found in the core of the house, with two main bedrooms on either side.

We incorporated the textures from the site into the design of the house, while combining clever lighting to highlight specific features. The design incorporates incredible attention to detail with the use of contrasting colours and dark concrete floors. A mosaic-like design of darker concrete blocks is used on the floors to separate the rooms. While a large raw whitewashed brick and rock arched doorway leading into the living area softens the mostly asymmetrical house. Slated vertical raw oak pieces help bring the acoustics of the house together.

The house is punctuated by an eclectic collection of artworks, fabrics of soft sage greens and strong tan leather. Stronger colours of blacks and whites are paired with textured fabrics, creating a strong yet organic feel. A simple repetition of style and design perfectly stitches the whole house together.

The final result is truly something special and something that we can all be proud of. It was a pleasure to work with Martin Kruger and his team as well as Ebony on selecting unique art and décor pieces.