Ave Fresnaye Villa, Cape Town

This Fresnaye villa is 1400 square metres of carefully designed luxury living – a 4-bedroom home with
separate housekeeper’s suite, cinema room, wine cellar and gym. A broadly collaborative design team ran
a series of design workshops to define the specifications that would make this landmark home rank with the very best luxury residences Cape Town has to offer; a fully automated house which feels easy and can be used intuitively, and which combines the best technology and systems.

Despite the overall size of the house, there is a good balance of privacy and connectedness. The double
volume stairway looks onto the entry courtyard, the core of the house. A splayed skylight feature brings in reflected light which bounces off the angled planes. The kitchen is well appointed and versatile. It can
function as a “family” at-home cooking experience or be closed off for formal catering with large sliding
doors.

JMA worked closely with the interior designer to create a feeling of calm and warmth. Timber floors,
paneling and cabinetry offset the calm, pale walls, and marble floors. A few expertly selected fittings and
finishes express the classic modernism of the house. It is set on a comfortable level lawn with a northwest aspect in this wind-free corner of Fresnaye. A striking L-shaped pool gives way to views of the sea and twinkling city lights. The greenery of the Lions Head backdrop is emphasized by careful perimeter planting; the sense of being surrounded by greenery to create a private sanctuary feel is important to the design team, so the “Green Wall” in the double volume entry is
always visible through the house.