House VD Merwe
The Sourcing Lab
The Sourcing Lab are a team of design and procurement specialists led by Johanna vd Merwe. Originally from The Netherlands, Johanna’s passion is sourcing unique interior finishes that align with her minimalist inspired motto of less is more.
For years Johanna and her family dreamt of building a modern black timber clad barn amongst the farmlands of Friesland, the province in The Netherlands where she was born. Many of us spend our lives just thinking about or dream home. Johanna of TSL, took the plunge and made that dream a stylish reality set in the suburbs of Cape Town. ‘No one ever said, “Build or renovate your dream home, it will be easy.” But one thing’s for sure, with big risks come great stories. Be scared, be excited but whatever you do, do it anyway’ (Johanna vd Merwe).
The couple designed and architected their own home which meant a very flexible hands on build. Playing designer/architect/client allowed a more organic decision making process . The most exciting part was that Johanna documented the journey together with Caeserstone in a design series with weekly progress episodes, called “From the Ground Up” Here’s a link to their Kitchen episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNw2sp1s0Gg
When designing their new home, there were two things that The vd Merwe family “had to have”, to balance out life’s occasional crazy moments: landing zones and pause spaces. Johanna created one of these spaces shown here with a basket of cosy blankets, some firewood, her beloved leather chairs, a beautiful textured rug and a pair of symmetrical Forman Brand slimline steel windows.
This cheeky wine cellar was on the top of their ‘wants list’ when they started dreaming up the interior layout for their own home. Wine cellar: Forman Brand steel doors by Metal Windows; Joinery Installation by @kitch_me_up ; Stone by @caesarstonesa in Rugged Concrete Stone Fabrication by @rockandstoneworks ; Tiles by @tilespace cut to size and installed in a herringbone pattern Joinery Boards by @pg_bison colour Kalapana in SupaMatt.
A pair of double steel doors, custom made with Forman Brand systems, separate the study (work area) from the lounge.
Johanna’s vast knowledge, extensive experience and use of locally sourced materials has culminated in a family home that is simply stylish. Bronwyn of Metal Windows worked with Johanna to custom design, supply and install large scale steel picture windows and steel doors for the wine cellar and Office. For more info contact Bronwyn@metalwindows.co.za or 021 448 4333.
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