Squaring Off In Modern Living Spaces

I’ve always been a big fan of modernism in living spaces. As a teenager and through much of my early 20’s I would spend an inordinate amount of time designing house floor plans, imagining that one day I would live in one of these creations of mine. They all had the same thing in common; open plan, spacious proportions. There was never a sofa up against a wall (I grew up in a small 2 bedroom apartment where everything had to be up against the walls).

While my dreams of becoming a house designer never came to fruition, the practice of designing those spaces has definitely influenced the way I go about photographing the homes I find myself in these days. Recently one of them made quite an impression on me because it was built very much in the same way that I would have designed one of my own spaces back in my floor plan sketching days.

This is a 441m², 5 bedroom home with an adjoining, self contained flatlet, right in the heart of Westville (one of the best places to live in Durban in my humble opinion). The living areas are big, high ceilinged and open plan. the entire one side of the home opens up to a great big patio. Something very interesting about the home is that unlike many modern homes I photograph, this one doesn’t have a pool. Now this can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your preferences. If you have ever lived in a home with a swimming pool you will know that they require constant maintenance and this can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. In this particular case the home is beautifully situated amidst a cluster of trees, so I reckon the developer realised that having a pool in this spot might not be such a good idea. I would have come to the same conclusion. What is possible though, is the option of installing a big jacuzzi on the massive patio. Those are much friendlier to maintain and unless you have kids who need to express themselves by jumping in and out of a big pool, a good size jacuzzi is all you really need to cool down on a hot day (or warm up on a cold one).

I like this house. It would make a really good home for a modern family. Check out my square format images below.