Sometimes the key to making something great out of an imperfect situation isn’t optimism, but ingenuity. That was true for Robyn and Clinton “Clint” Campbell, a Cape Town couple who, after living in a studio apartment for five years, were ready to purchase their first property.

Unfortunately, their budget was at odds with their desire to maintain a short commute to the pricey city center, where Clint works as a creative director and Robyn helps lead an advertising agency. They found themselves drawn instead to Vredehoek, a suburb at the edge of town that’s tucked into the foothills of Table Mountain.

Its remote location and high winds—known to have sucked windows right out of their frames—factor into the affordability of the area’s compact homes.

After more than a year of looking, the pair toured a single-story 1940s structure that sat opposite one of Vredehoek’s many parks. Clint brought along his longtime friend Michael Lumby, a Melbourne-and Cape Town–based architect, to get his take.

“It was an unremarkable, cheaply put-together worker’s cottage,” Lumby says, recalling the disconnected interior. But the price was right.

The Campbells bought the property in 2016 and hired Lumby to redesign it. His plan—to keep the framework intact and build upward—was thwarted when a test revealed the foundation wouldn’t support the weight of another story. So the plan changed to a teardown and starting from scratch.

The news fazed no one. “We wanted a home that was uniquely ours,” Clint says. “This was a way for Michael to really put his mark on it.”

At the start of the design process, Clint found a book on 1970s brick buildings at Cape Town’s Milnerton Flea Market and showed it to Lumby, noting his fondness for the style. “Other than that, he gave me a simple brief,” says Lumby.

“Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living area.” Clint saw the project as an opportunity to make the most of working with his friend. “I’m a designer, too,” Clint says. “I know from experience that if you give someone the chance to use their voice, they tend to really shine.”

“The whole building experience was tough, because of the financial strain and because we moved in before the house was completely finished. But now that we’re on the other side, everything was so worth it.”
—Clinton Campbell, resident

Lumby delivered a three-floor, 1,520-square-foot brick building that stands like a beacon in the neighborhood—its curves nodding to Vredehoek’s Art Deco heritage. “The theme was to invest in craftsmanship and custom detailing rather than expensive finishing and materials,” Lumby says.

Lumby achieves beauty through a kind of alchemy, elevating humble materials selected for their low-maintenance and patina-friendly profile. Take the bricks, laid in various orientations on the rounded facade. (The composition isn’t contrived— they were placed that way to create a smooth curve, since a traditional method would make them jut out at the corners.)

“We chose the cheapest brick we could find,” Lumby says. They were then rubbed with a grout mixture, using a sponge to create a textured, whitewashed finish. He took a similar approach with the bathroom tiles, which cost about five dollars per square meter, cutting them lengthwise into four thin pieces so that the roughness of their edges produces an “interesting flutter” in the finished surface.

“The experience of volume is much greater in a small space than in a large one, and that’s what contributes to the house’s feel.”
—Michael Lumby, architect

A steel streetside gate leads to the front door, which opens to an entrance area and the dining room. The floor drops down three feet into the kitchen/lounge space, where an outsize window frames views of the garden. Lumby incorporated planters throughout the home and planted creepers around its base; eventually, they will envelop the structure.

Poured concrete stairs lead to the second level’s bedrooms and bathrooms, then up to the terrace, added late in the design process with Clint’s penchant for barbecuing in mind. Sitting on the terrace’s built-in bench, he can take in a panoramic view of the City Bowl.

“There’s something special about the puzzle of figuring out how to get the most out of a small site,” Lumby says. “I almost like them more than big ones—it becomes too easy then.”

His space-maximizing strategies are hidden in plain sight. He integrated cupboards, shelving, and furniture into the house, including a concrete bench that runs along the living room’s perimeter.

The Campbells find the home’s compactness practical. “It’s small enough that we don’t have to spend our entire lives trying to keep it maintained,” Clint says. “It’s the perfect place for us.”

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Michael Lumby Architecture / @michael_lumby_architecture

Builder: Katull Construction and JTL Structures

Landscape Design: Room to Grow

Cabinetry: Holz Cabinetry

Windows: Metal Windows

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Humble Materials Get an Elevated Treatment in a ’70s-Inspired Cape Town Home