THERE WAS A WONDERFUL FEELING OF GLAMOROUS DECAY TO HER,” says interior designer Etienne Hanekom of the grand old Victorian home he is lovingly restoring in Malmesbury. Languishing elegantly on a ridge overlooking the historic farming town an hour west of Cape Town, the generously proportioned four-bedroom house was built in 1850, when Malmesbury was still a popular destination for its revered hot springs.
Recent history, however, has not been kind. Rapid industrialisation of the town, as well as property took up an entire residential block, and had several unused outbuildings. The main house still retained original, metal-pressed ceiling tiles, timber floorboards and shutters, cast-iron fireplaces, and a deep front so particular to its era.
