Text Tracy Lynn Chemaly
Production Sven Alberding
Photographs Elsa Young
Cape Town’s coastal strip provides the ideal location for an elegant apartment that transitions from day to night through a clever use of space, colour and furnishings.
It’s uncommon for a home to be designed according to the different times or moods of the day, but for Andrea Bowman, this consideration became apparent as the renovation of her Cape Town apartment got underway. Through collaboration with interior designers Bruce Fyfe and Kelsey Boyce of Fyfe Boyce, the four-bedroom abode on Sea Point’s vibrant coastal strip was reconfigured into a spacious three-bedroom residence that caters for every daily hour – from cosy coffee starts to meditative sunsets.
‘It was like a rabbit warren before,’ Andrea says of the need to renovate. ‘Now it’s a real glam pad,’ Kelsey comments on the transformation of what was once a cramped environment with a narrow passageway and tiny, cordoned-off rooms.
‘We tried to create more interest from a depth perspective,’ Bruce explains of opening up the living areas to flow generously from one space to another. ‘There are different angles at play and not just a chunk of left and right,’ he says, referring to their resistance to the formal placement of rooms. This resulted in a seamless fluidity from the front sea-facing balcony, living area and master bedroom to the back kitchen via a much wider passageway that is now a room in its own right. ‘It’s like a pyjama lounge,’ Kelsey says of this transitionary thoroughfare where a teal-coloured velvet sofa curls around a curvaceous wall.
It’s on this sofa that days begin, where this plush seating doubles up as a banquette for the breakfast nook. Later, when the sun is overhead, the lounge calls for attention, gleaming in its calming whiteness. The nearby palm trees and sounds of the ocean complement the interior style that Andrea describes as part Parisian, part Malibu Beach. ‘It’s warm, old and sophisticated,’ she says, referring to the apartment set within a historic Cape Town block, ‘but at the same time, it’s got this very cool vibe.’
Be it through colour, furnishings, art or structural flow, each aspect of the home portrays a purpose, granting every hour its moment and welcoming a lifestyle suited to every mood.