WHO LIVES HERE? Debbie and Andrew Whitley, their daughters Emily (17) and Molly (15), George the Rottweiler and rescue cats Zara and Gypsey
WHERE Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal
SIZE 442m2
Building a new house that looks as though it’s been lived in for years might not appeal to everyone. But this is the approach that Debbie and Andrew Whitley took when they built a house on an estate in Hilton.
The reason behind their decision? A years-long appreciation for old homes and their character and the desire to recreate this charm in their family home.
Andrew, who works for a conservation NGO, grew up in Hilton, a picturesque village on the hill above Pietermaritzburg. Debbie, a botanist turned Montessori preschool teacher, is from nearby Estcourt. When they married in 2003, they bought an old house in Hilton which they gradually renovated. “We fell in love with the charm of living in an old house and
