Fashion designer Lezanne Viviers and her husband, Walter Anderson, hadn’t intended to move from their cozy apartment in Hyde Park, Johannesburg, let alone buy a new house—until they stumbled upon a modernist gem on a kopje, or small hill, overlooking the city at the junction of the Melville, Parkview, and Westcliff neighborhoods.

“When I walked in, I was blown away by the view,” says Lezanne. So the couple put in a “cheeky” offer on the brick-clad, 1960s home. It was swiftly declined. When the property went back on the market some months later, the duo reached out directly to the owners—a couple who had left the house uninhabited for a decade—and arranged a rent-to-purchase deal in 2018.

“We were able to start restoring the home even before we owned it,” says Lezanne, who began pulling out rotted carpets, refurbishing the woodwork, and painting the walls in bold shades of mustard, tarragon, and turquoise immediately upon moving in. “Color is the most emotive tool I know,” the designer says.

“The house is still in its original state. Our job was to bring in some color.”
—Lezanne Viviers, designer and resident

On the home’s lower level, Lezanne’s team of tailors and craftspeople produce clothing for her eponymous label in a glass-fronted workroom that spills out onto a wraparound balcony with garden views. The downstairs level also includes her brand’s by-appointment atelier and concept store. Upstairs, vibrant artworks and modernist furniture that Lezanne has collected over the years decorate the couple’s living spaces.

The biggest overhaul was tending to the surrounding landscape, where indigenous trees had been swallowed by weeds while the home was left vacant. “It was like a scene from Jumanji!” says Lezanne, who worked with her garden-designer friend, James Barry Slabbert, to reimagine the outdoor areas.

The front of the home now features an expressive garden with sculpted trees and cacti from the Karoo desert, while the back garden, located on a rocky ridge, maintains its original jungle-like feel. It’s here that Lezanne recently hosted a Viviers fashion show. “We always wanted to share the space with other people because it’s such a gem,” she says.

Project Credits:

Construction: Concor

Landscape Design: James Barry Slabbert / @_james_barry_

Lighting Design: August de Wet

Interior Design: Lezanne Viviers and Walter Anderson / @viviers.studio

—

Head back to the September/October 2021 issue homepage

Also Appears In

Fashion Designer Lezanne Viviers’s Johannesburg Digs Double as a Studio and Concept Store