Soft floral fabrics and a yellow striped paint effect give this indoor braai room all the charm of a conservatory

swiming pool

What better place to spend the last days and evenings of summer than in this pretty Cape garden room. Built as a special add on – at the loss of a vegetable garden – to the north side of June and Derek Pryce’s Kenilworth home, it’s actually an indoor braai room, but has been quietly furnished with vintage finds and floral fabrics to give it the allure of a conservatory.

Pots

The room’s stylish design features rough sandstone pavers, a lofty ‘open’ ceiling and stacking glass doors that open up completely to the formally laid out garden. The view across the swimming pool and garden beds, packed full of colour and clumps of perennials, leads over the perimeter wall to the soaring crags of Kirstenbosch in the distance.

Dining and living room

Paint effect specialist Barbara Russell worked on the decor together with decorator Hilary Blount from Johannesburg. The room is subtly divided into sitting and eating areas with a built-in braai tucked discreetly between two sash windows. Barbara designed neat shelves to fit in under these windows – just right for housing pot plants and other gardening paraphernalia – to enhance the room’s conservatory feel.

pot plants

To give the space a bright, cheerful look, Barbara painted wide, bold ochre stripes on the wall behind the painted dining table, which she designed to match the set of chairs that June had already purchased. Soft fabrics in shades of yellow and olive green and olive green throws complete the look in the sitting area.

Living room