I specialise in designing homes- either renovating an existing home or building a new one. I’m fascinated by how people live in their homes and how a well-designed home improves your life.

Clients tend to be a combination of talented creatives, finance or IT whizzes and savvy entrepreneurs. They’re innovative and not scared to get their hands a little dirty. The idea of renovating or building and creating their forever home for their family excites them. They live in Cape Town’s city bowl, the leafy Southern Suburbs or relaxed Noordhoek.

If you’re the kind of person who wants to have a well-designed home that fits your lifestyle and you want to work with a team who can give you that and have fun during the process, we’ll be a good fit.

Actually, I'm neither. You didn't expect that, did you?
I'm a registered architectural technologist. It's a bit of a mouthful, really and doesn't explain what I do, which is why I prefer to call myself an architectural designer.

We're the relatively unknown group that falls between a draughtsman and an architect. We bridge the gap. We're trained to have fantastic practical and design skills on more of an applied than theoretical level. And we're perfect for designing homes, both renovations and new builds.

What makes me unique is that I'm also a qualified interior designer, and I blend my architectural and interior design expertise.

How do I do that?

Well, I know what it takes to make a home look beautiful from the outside, but I also know what's needed to make it look fantastic and, very importantly, to be practical and work on the inside. It's a marriage of two fields and gives you the best of both worlds. And isn't that really what you want for your dream home?

Red Cat homes aren’t designed to draw attention; they’re designed to suit your lifestyle and to sit comfortably in your neighbourhood. For instance, I’d never create a shiny glass box nestled between classic Victorians.

I naturally favour a design that doesn’t date and am drawn to older heritage homes. When designing a new home or significant alterations to an existing one where the style is re-imagined, I work with classic proportions and lean towards a modern farmhouse style.

We kick off with an in-depth questionnaire that helps me learn more about you, your home, expectations, budget and timeline.

If it looks like we’re a good fit, we meet at your home to chat more. By this point, I’ll also have done research on your property and any restrictions it might have.

This is followed by preparing a very detailed fee proposal outlining your wants and needs, my fees and the anticipated timeline. We meet together to talk through it, and your home is booked as soon as I receive your booking fee and signed contract.

You and your home are unique, so I tailor my service to your needs.

I want to make the process as easy and fair to you as possible, so I base my fees on my actual involvement rather than a percentage of your build cost.

A home can either add to the way you experience your life or take away from it. I've seen firsthand how my clients' lives have changed for the better after their renovation or new build. This is why I've created 3 different services to make sure that we work together in a way that fits your personality and budget. You get to decide how involved you want to be and how much you want to spend.

I divide your project into different stages of work. Where I can easily anticipate what's required of me, I work at a fixed rate. Where stages are out of my control, like heritage or council approval, I give you an estimated cost based on my hourly rate.

Each stage is invoiced on completion, although I request a small booking fee to set time aside for your home.

This is really dependent on your home and what’s required. I’ll discuss your anticipated timeline with you when we work through your fee proposal, but as a guideline it usually takes about 3 to 4 months till your plans are submitted to council.

I create additional drawings like working drawings, electrical and lighting drawings, joinery drawings, and run builder's final quotes simultaneously with council approval to help save time. My intention is always for you to have your builder appointed before your plans are approved so that you can get cracking as soon as possible.

I’d really love to, but my skills are best suited to larger projects. If you’d like me to design your bathroom as part of a larger renovation, just shout! Otherwise, I can recommend a few interior designers who will be able to help you.