WHO LIVES HERE?
Pauline Nossel and her poodle Gigi
WHERE Morningside, Johannesburg
SIZE 120m2
TYPE OF SOIL Well-composted loam
AGE OF GARDEN 9 years
Dark and dreary is how Pauline Nossel describes the property she bought nine years ago. “And this was both the house and the garden,” she adds. At the time, she was looking for a single storey as she wanted to downsize and as the retired, former head of the piano department at Wits University, she needed space to accommodate two grand pianos to continue her work with students. “I also had to find a house where the sound of the pianos would not disturb the neighbours,” she says.
“This property is in a complex and it ticked all the boxes, but I didn’t find it visually appealing at all,” Pauline recalls. The garden was tiny, just a wide passage the trees and an old-fashioned trellis covered in dusty creepers. “These created so much shade that the lights had to be on all day,” says Pauline.
