The large open-plan living area takes in the sitting and dining areas, both of which open onto the stoep or deck.

Although Eva Kavuma was born in Uganda, “I’m from many places,” she says. She has lived in South Africa, however, since around the time of the first democratic elections in 1994, when she came to the country as a development consultant. The rest of her life takes in schooling in Kenya and the UK, university in the US, time in France learning the language, and, of course, all the travel she does for work. 

When Eva acquired a site at Monaghan Farm, an eco-estate on a farm north of Johannesburg, she asked her close friend, architect Anna Claude Bailey (who at the time had just formed a practice with her late father, Dennis Claude) to design her house. Anna is married to Prospero Bailey, the developer of Monaghan Farm. His idea was to develop only three percent of the 1 260 acres of the land so there was lots of wide open space and the farm’s natural beauty was preserved. 

“Eva was looking for a contemporary African home that wasn’t overtly ethnic,” recalls Anna. While it was to have local resonance, it needed to reflect Eva’s internationalism and her love of elegant simplicity.”

The full article is available in our 8th issue.