The space | Villa Musta Koira, Somerset West

Villa Musta Koira is a newly renovated home of 262 square metres in Rome Glen, a quiet, leafy neighbourhood on the slopes above Somerset West. The house is built into the hill, so the main living floor sits one flight of stairs up, high enough to look straight out over False Bay to the Cape of Good Hope. This page walks you through it in the order you would see it on arrival.

Size: 262 m², newly renovated
Bedrooms: Two, each with an ensuite bathroom with a bath and a shower
Extra room: A tea lounge that can be set up as a third bedroom
Guest toilet: Just off the living area
Kitchen: Open plan with a six burner gas hob, plus a scullery with dishwasher and laundry
The view: False Bay and the Cape of Good Hope, from the balcony and lounge
Parking: Double garage with an electric door
Layout: Main living floor one flight of stairs up from the entrance

Arriving

The garden, the front door and the stairs up.

The face brick house seen from the front garden, with the tiered fountain in front and the glass balcony across the upper floor — The house from the front garden

The house and garden

The house sits on the hillside in Rome Glen, face brick below and a long glass balcony across the upper floor. The double garage has an electric door, so the car is off the street and locked away as soon as you arrive.

Out front, a tiered fountain stands in a round pond among succulents, stone urns and hardy Cape planting. Turn around before you go in: the view you will have from upstairs is already opening up over the treetops.

The property is protected by an armed security company that patrols the area regularly.

The round fountain in the front garden between stone urns of succulents, with the view beyond — The fountain garden

A white spiral staircase with a black wrought iron balustrade curving up beside an old brick wall — The spiral staircase in the entrance hall

The entrance hall

Inside, a sweeping spiral staircase with a black wrought iron balustrade curls up past a wall of old brick, with an antique carved mirror at its foot. It sets the tone for the whole house: freshly renovated, but with its character kept.

Pause at the top and look back down. The stair forms an almost perfect shell.

Looking down the spiral staircase from the gallery above — Looking back down from the top

The living floor

Lounge, braai, kitchen and table in one open space, all facing the bay.

The lounge

At the top of the stairs the whole living floor opens out at once. A gallery rail wraps around the stairwell, and beyond it the lounge, kitchen and dining table share one bright room under a high, angled ceiling. There is space for everyone to spread out without getting in each other's way.

The lounge is arranged around a deep leather corner sofa facing a wall of glass. Fold the doors right back and the lounge and balcony become one room, with the bay in front of you. A guest toilet sits just off the living area, so visitors never need to pass the bedrooms.

The open living floor seen from the gallery rail around the stairwell, with the lounge, kitchen island and dining table beyond — Arriving upstairs

The indoor braai

Set into the brick chimney wall is an indoor braai, the South African wood fire grill. On a summer evening, open the doors and cook with the view in front of you. In winter it becomes the warm, glowing centre of the room.

A television shares the same wall for the nights you would rather stay in.

Lamb chops on the grid over glowing coals — Dinner on the coals

The kitchen

The kitchen is open to the lounge, so whoever is cooking stays part of the conversation. The island holds a six burner gas hob with room to work on every side, and bar stools for breakfast or for keeping the cook company.

Along the back wall a long white counter runs beneath a wide window, with deep black cabinetry, ovens set into the wall and a large fridge. Straight off the kitchen is a separate scullery with its own sink, the dishwasher and the laundry machines, so the washing up stays out of sight and the kitchen stays clear for cooking.

A long white kitchen counter with a sink beneath a wide window onto the terraced garden, black cabinetry and ovens set into the wall — The long counter beneath the window

A long wooden dining table with grey upholstered chairs beside sliding doors to the courtyard — The dining table beside the courtyard doors

The dining table

The dining table sits at the far end of the room, beside sliding doors to a paved courtyard and the planted terraces climbing the hill behind the house. A row of tall, narrow windows lets in slices of light and green.

Settle in for a long lunch, or carry dinner over from the braai as the lights come on around the bay.

Dinner laid on the table with grilled meat, salad and red wine, the lounge and the view beyond — Dinner at the table

The paved back yard curving around a garden bed, with terraced retaining walls and tall trees climbing the hill behind, and garden chairs beside the house — The back yard, with the terraces climbing the hill

The back yard

Behind the house is a sheltered back yard, paved in a sweeping curve of brick and cobble that wraps around a garden bed. Planted retaining walls climb the slope in terraces, with tall trees above them, so it feels private and enclosed: a quiet counterpoint to the open view at the front.

Sliding doors open straight onto the paving. There are garden chairs and an umbrella for lunch outdoors, and young olive trees in pots by the walls. It is a calm, private spot for a morning coffee.

Looking back across the garden bed and paving to the house, with olive trees in pots and chairs outside the sliding doors — Looking back towards the house

The balcony

This is the heart of the house. The balcony runs across the front of the living floor behind a glass balustrade, so nothing interrupts the view: gardens and old trees falling away down the hill, then the whole sweep of False Bay out towards the Cape of Good Hope.

Chairs and a small table are set out for morning coffee, a glass of wine at sunset, or simply watching the weather move across the water. The clifftop restaurant at Waterkloof wine estate is known for looking out over this same bay. Here you have it from your own chair.

Rooms to retreat to

A quiet sitting room and two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.

The tea lounge

Away from the main living space is the tea lounge, a quieter sitting room with windows on two sides looking over the treetops to the sea. It has a comfortable sofa, a pair of carved wooden chairs, a round rug and a ceiling fan for warm afternoons.

Use it for reading or a private morning yoga session, or set it up as an extra bedroom when you need one.

A spacious bedroom with dark curtains and windows on two sides looking towards the bay — The sea view bedroom

The sea view bedroom

A large, calm room with windows on two sides looking out towards the bay, long dark curtains for sleeping in, and an antique dressing table. Doors lead off to a dressing room with open shelving and hanging rails, and to the ensuite.

The bathroom is modern, in white and charcoal, with twin basins under round mirrors, a separate shower and a freestanding bath beneath the window. Run a bath in the late afternoon and you look straight out into the trees.

A modern bathroom with twin basins under round mirrors and a freestanding bath — Twin basins and a freestanding bath

A freestanding bath full of bubbles beneath a window looking out over the trees — A bath with a view

A bedroom with a black bed frame and windows on two sides filled with green treetops — The treetop bedroom

The treetop bedroom

The second bedroom looks straight into the canopy of the old trees on the slope, with windows on two sides that fill the room with green light. There is a wall of white wardrobes with a mirrored dressing niche, and a ceiling fan.

Its ensuite is tiled in warm stone tones, with a bath under the window, a shower behind a glass screen and a long mirror.

A tiled bathroom with a bath beneath the window and a long mirror — The ensuite, with a bath under the window

After dark

When the sun goes down, the sky over the bay turns gold and then a deep evening blue, and the lights come on one by one along the coast. On a clear night, look towards the far end of the water: the lighthouse at Cape Point blinks back at you from across False Bay.

That is the moment this house was made for.

The photographs show the house itself. Furnishings and decor may change from time to time, and the Airbnb listing is the authoritative description for your booking.