A holiday and retirement home

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Dear Jonno
We need help with the design of our new home in eMacambini on the KZN North Coast near the Amatikulu Nature Reserve. The site, about 1 000m2, is on the southern border of the nature reserve and the ocean side of the N2. It falls gently, then steeply, towards the north. We would like it built on the highest point, which is accessed via the southern approach dirt road.

This part of the property is level and originally had mud huts and rondavels on it. We’ve provided a layout of a three- to four-bedroom family home (about 250m2), with two bedrooms en suite. We intend using the house for holidays at this stage, and for our retirement later.

We would like the fourth bedroom to be close to the kitchen with its own entrance in case we employ a caretaker. The ‘pyjama lounge’ can double up as a bedroom if sufficient space is created. Our children often join us on holiday, so we need sufficient lounge and activity/recreational space.

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The east, north-east and south-east sides have sea views, so we’ve positioned the main bedroom at the far end for privacy and views. The passages are about 2m wide, which can be adjusted. However, we want the house to be airy, and the sleeping and living areas to be well separated. Ideally, we would like to enjoy a sea view from the main bathroom as well.

The braai area/patio should be semi-integrated into the house, with access from the main bedroom. We also like the idea of a tin roof.

Regards,
Harvey

Greetings Harvey
Thank you for the request and descriptive layout of your new home. I’ve made some pertinent changes. I have flipped the bedroom and living areas around: the living areas now have a sea view and the bedrooms are at the rear of the house. I did this as we tend to spend most of our time in the living area of a house rather than the bedrooms.

The house is very long and with the slope of the land from the back to the front, I’ve shown how it could be a split level from the pyjama lounge. This would help to divide the house up and save on building up the foundations in the front over that 2m fall, as per the photos you sent.

Your north- facing side will still have a view over the nature reserve and hills beyond. The garage entrance can be from the side or the back.

A lot to think about! Kind regards,
Jonno