The interior design of a Rustic Home is all about the high quality finishes we use. Windows should frame the views they look over and yet be durable. Timber windows in luxury wooden homes are often chosen for their aesthetic appeal, while we recommend aluminium windows and doors in harsh coastal conditions and high wind-driven rain areas.
The staircases in our wooden homes are often more than just a means of getting from one floor to the next. By selecting a special timber or interesting railings, the staircase can be the focus of a room. A well fenestrated stairwell can be a feature of your home.
Feature fire places are also key to a well designed Cape home. The most cost effective are wood burning, freestanding with closing doors. We use stainless steel flues with a heat shield and double flues through floors and roofs.
As a modern building material, wood offers exceptional possibilities. Its potential for engineering and infinite shapes is limitless and it shows additional benefits as one of the most environmentally sustainable building materials in the world… as long as the wood comes from an FSC approved source and not a tropical rainforest on the equator.
At Rustic Homes we promote the use of local timber, specifically the Pinus radiata, a superior Californian pine tree grown in and around the towns of Elgin and Grabouw in the Western Cape. This wood, in its treated form, is very good for the structural elements of timber homes.
Rustic Homes is all about sustainability. We are careful of our footprint in all respects from carbon to the direct impact we have on the often natural landscapes we build in. Because the bulk of the timber structure is put together in our factory in Grabouw, the impact we have on site is minimised. Our houses are well insulated reducing the need for both air-conditioning and heating. We have installed many solar electrical systems and ensure that the panel installation is neat and inconspicuous.
The Forestry Exit Strategy, that used to rule the management of Grabouw’s plantations was reversed in May 2015. Unfortunately much felling had already been implemented and so the areas had passed the point of sustainable plantations. There was also a big fire in early 2016 in the area and a lot of the young pines couldn’t be saved. They clear felled all the regrowth and are planting 400 000 young Pinus Eliottii hybrids which have been bred to be non invasive. Forestry in these Vecon (replanted) areas will be community based. In Grabouw a Park of Unity (along the lines of the Eden Project in Britain) has been proposed where mentorship of community co-ops and trials of alternative species will be undertaken. It is hoped that this project will not only put South Africa back at the forefront of plantation forestry worldwide but will also ,like the Eden Project, highlight sustainability.
In today’s world, the desire for self-sufficiency is no longer a fringe idea but a practical response to the uncertainties and challenges we face. Whether it’s economic instability, rising costs of living, environmental concerns, or…
Timber frame construction has been gaining popularity in recent years as a method of building sustainable and energy-efficient homes. Estimated percentages of new homes built of timber frame are in the USA approx 35%, Canada…
Many people have asked why it is that I prefer to design timber frame homes, and more specifically, what the advantages of a timber frame home are. Here are 10 good reasons to build your…
[Cape Town, 12 September 2017]: Hidden Valley Wine Farm, located on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain near Stellenbosch in Cape Town, has a gentle approach to their craft, leaving much up to the dance…
Cape Town, 26 June 2017]: Rustic Homes, forerunner of timber home design and construction in South Africa and leader in the field since the 1980s, has recently undergone a change of ownership. Werner Slabbert, timber…
[Cape Town, 10 August 2017]: Buildings, be they domestic, commercial or industrial, are major consumers of energy the world over and this applies to much more than just their day-to-day running. From basic components, transport,…
