The Kohling

The Kohling is a restored double-storey Victorian home on a quiet street in Gardens, at the foot of Table Mountain and a short walk from the cafes and restaurants of Kloof Street.

The restoration keeps the bones of the house: pressed ceilings, marble fireplaces, the original timber staircase and wide wooden floors, now layered with antiques, Persian rugs and a serious collection of South African art.

Downstairs, the formal lounge gathers two sofas around a Victorian fireplace beneath a chandelier, and the eat-in kitchen pairs a gas range and a retro fridge with a marble-topped dining table beside its own hearth. A second sitting room opens onto a private courtyard with an outdoor shower, and there is a guest cloakroom papered in flying cranes.

Upstairs are two air-conditioned bedrooms. One opens through French doors onto the balcony, with Table Mountain filling the view; the other has a dressing table and a freestanding clawfoot bath. Up its own staircase, the attic loft makes a third bedroom under the rafters, with exposed brick walls, mountain-facing skylights and its own bathroom.

Every bedroom has a proper desk to work at, and the front veranda and upstairs balcony give you two more places to sit and watch the mountain change colour.