Ornately urban

Karen Roos

Style arbiter Karen Roos, editor of Elle Decoration, one of South Africa’s leading decor magazines, lives a charmed life in a city she loves. What appeal does Cape Town hold for a creative icon who has also lived in New York and Amsterdam?

karen_roos.jpg

What do I love most about living in Cape Town? It’s a city of contrasts, of extremes. There is nothing normal about it. Nothing is easy here. Maybe that’s why we live our lives so intensely. I also love the seasonal extremes which define the city and change the way we live. Summer is a fun, holiday time, whereas winter unleashes the city’s dark, moody side. For me, winter is Cape Town’s dormant time. Then, with Spring comes a vibrancy that’s palpable. You can feel it in the air. It also seems to be the time when foreign visitors start to arrive, many of them here on film shoots. It’s a very exciting time to live in Cape Town. I know that some locals don’t appreciate this invasion, but for me, it lends the city a vibrancy that I really love.

A Russian friend came to visit recently, and before she arrived I called her to ask if she was ready for her trip. ‘Yes’, she replied. ‘I’ve just had my malaria and cholera shots!’ I found that extraordinary. The day she arrived I took her to Wakami restaurant in Mouille Point for lunch, and we drove through the city centre, down Loop Street where a shoot was in progress for a Coke ad for British television. Every street corner was abuzz with stylists and extras … she was amazed!

I told her the city often transforms itself this way. This is the Cape Town I relate to, part movie set, part tourist town. The home I share with my family is in the City Bowl. We have been there, at the foot of Table Mountain, for six years. Prior to that we lived in Amsterdam for six years. I have lived on the other side of the moutain too, in Newlands Village in the southern suburbs. I have always wanted to live near the sea in Bakoven, but living in the City Bowl is great. I am an urban animal, so it suits me. And I find the mix of people intriguing.

I could be quite happy in a warehouse in downtown Cape Town. I don’t really need a garden – even though I have a beautiful garden and I still have a lot of gardening in me – but I would happily settle for a terrace garden. The thing I love most about my job is discovering, or uncovering, the way Capetonians live in their city. Every day we encounter places that are mind-boggling, each one unique with a different view of the city, different vegetation.

We recently did a story on a house in Observatory where two artists live behind a huge wall. You wouldn’t expect to find anything extraordinary on the other side of that wall … but we did. We found a house composed of 1 000 pictures. There are very interesting people living in Cape Town, making use of this incredible location in creative ways. My favourite parts of the city? I love walking in the city centre, in Long Street and its surrounds. It’s always surprising. I would love to go to Long Street at night, but I don’t really. My favourite drive is the stretch from Chapman’s Peak to Cape Point. I also love the harbour.

I don’t explore the city as much as I’d like to. My life is centred around my work. My home is comfortable but I have not done much to it for a while. I end up in a place and I make it work for me. Cape Town is a city that lets you have a lifestyle, which is why it’s so attractive. There are thousands of types of lifestyles here. I love mine.

KAREN’S HAUNTS

SHOPS
  • I don’t really shop, but in the past I would get props from a wonderful second-hand clothing shop in Long Street. It’s very 60s and 70s.
  • There is a luggage shop at the V&A Waterfront which stocks Mellville & Moon luggage.
  • YDE - it’s great for teenagers.
  • Menswear stores - I live in them, especially Fabiani at Willowbridge in Durbanville.
  • Bank’s in Woodstock, for their kitchen stuff. If I need something basic and durable.
  • Ross Demolition. When we’ve been renovating, I have found old gems here. It’s like a building site but you find beautiful old doors and windows that have been discarded.
  • Onsite, at the Palms Decor & Lifestyle Centre in Woodstock. They stock a lot of building material from Argentina.
  • I love the Edge Gallery at the Cape Glass Studio, just off Long Street.
SHOPPING MALLS
  • I don’t do shopping malls … but if I find myself at Cavendish Square in Claremont, I’ll go to Callaghan for their special designer clothes, and to Exclusive Books.
  • The Gardens Centre is the only shopping centre I regularly frequent. The most interesting people go there, from bag ladies to chic German tourists. I never fail to be impressed by the variety of fascinating shoppers.
RESTAURANTS & BARS
  • I love the Mount Nelson. I love going to the Planet Bar at night for cocktails, and High Tea in the afternoon at weekends. I love the movie-set feel of the Mount Nelson, it’s olde worlde charm and the cosmopolitan nature of the guests.
  • Fork restaurant in Long Street.
  • Wakami in Mouille Point is one of my haunts.
  • The Blue Marlin, just above Miller’s Point, on the way to Cape Point.
  • I really like Mana Epicure in Kloof Street.
  • Then there’s Bird’s Cafe on the corner of Bree Street in the city centre.
  • In summer, it’s great to go to the restaurants along the Main Road in Camps Bay. It’s cosmopolitan, the view is beautiful and to sit there and soak up the atmosphere is really great.
BEACHES
  • Clifton. I really love it and my favourite is Fourth Beach, which is where I go with my family.
OUT & ABOUT
  • The harbour is great … it provides a very different aspect of the city.
  • I really love the Promenade in Sea Point, and I often walk along the other side in Mouille Point too. It is possibly my favourite place in Cape Town.
  • Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is wonderful. I should really go there far more often than I do…