Nothing could prepare a first-time visitor for the playful energy that characterises Gary Sher’s Cape Town home. Indeed, the creative entrepreneur – whose eclectic CV includes stints in fashion, design and online retail, in addition to business ventures and volunteer work – says that uninitiated guests are often ‘pretty overwhelmed and excited’ by all the vibrant colour in his house.
Built around 2012, the house is perched high on the slopes of Lion’s Head in the sought-after suburb of Tamboerskloof, where it commands breathtaking views of the city and Table Mountain. Gary had viewed ‘65 homes in two years’, when, in 2020, he came to see the apartment slotted underneath what is now his home.
Not much taken with that space, he agreed to have a look at the property above, which was also for sale, albeit beyond his budget. The owners were keen to sell so the price edged downwards and, after a few months, Gary decided to take the plunge. Set over three floors, the house is topped with a petite roof deck that feels like the crow’s nest crowning the mast of an old sailing ship. This impression of verticality is reinforced by the central stairway, which functions as a connecting thread between the levels.
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There’s a sense of being in a forest, linked into the city and mountain views – also emphasised by the courtyard garden on the basement level, which Gary calls an ‘extremely grounding’ element. This earthy quality is offset by a sense of height, as if the house is on stilts. ‘It’s the best of both worlds,’ he says. Gary remembers the original interior as ‘a clean canvas, grey with red accents, rental-style’.
Today, functioning as his personal gallery, the house also includes space for his own creative work, including pottery – hence the spacious workshop and kiln. He is most attracted to eccentricity and humour, as is clear from the unusual collectables found at junk stores or auctions, and the many pictures on display.
Unsurprisingly, when Gary began to work on the interior design with Adri Clery of Atelier Interiors, the pair frequently found inspiration in a piece of art or a decorative object. ‘The picture often led the colour,’ he says. Adri and Gary met via mutual friends, and, as evidenced in the freewheeling, effervescent spaces in this home, have most definitely hit it off as a design team.
It was ‘immediately obvious that Gary wasn’t afraid of colour’, says Adri with a smile, but she is clear that, while the pair wanted to push the use of saturated and unusual tones as far as possible, the process was ‘absolutely not about randomly throwing shades at a space’. It was also vital to pay attention to the relationship between form and colour; for example, the choice of a bold orange Pierre Frey bouclé for the living-room sofa was influenced by its chunky 1970s proportions.
Facing north and east, this is ‘a sunrise house’, says Gary, who describes the morning light that floods the balconies and his bedroom as ‘mesmerising’. In the end, it’s the way the home blends contrasting energies – nature and culture, groundedness and verticality, tranquillity and exuberant colour – that makes it such an attractive abode.
Next up on the renovation list? A baby-blue kitchen. ‘And yes, that does mean every element,’ says Gary with a mischievous grin. Cabinetry, countertops, splashbacks, wall paint, appliances, lighting… ‘We could carry on forever,’ says Adri, laughing. Gary sums it up perfectly when he declares: ‘You should be excited when you get home!’ Who wouldn’t be, if this house was theirs? atelierinteriors.xyz
