The eclectic aesthetic of Johannesburg couturier Howard Green resolves antique and modern designs in his graceful but offbeat heritage apartment.
Words — Graham Wood | Photography — Greg Cox
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The lounge is perhaps the apartment’s most visually arresting room, its eclecticism held together by its composition.
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Whitehall Court is arguably the city’s finest example of neoclassical Edwardian architecture. For many years it was Killarney’s only heritage building. It was built in the early ’20s for maverick New York entrepreneur Isidore William Schlesinger, who made a vast fortune in South Africa from insurance, film, property and hotels.
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The interior of Howard’s apartment more than lives up to the promise of the pristine white exterior of the building. In the entrance hall, you are greeted by a powerful spot painting by Damien Hirst.
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In the sitting room, on the left, an Oblique Bookshelf by Marcel Wanders for Moooi displays some of Howard’s books on couture.
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In the spare room, the cabinet that matches the dining-room chairs and table in the entrance hall shares the space with a wooden chair, which was a fleamarket find; Alvar Aalto’s famous three-legged birch stool; a Driade Flow Chair by renowned Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola; and an antique French sofa. A cowhide rug adds texture.
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Philippe Starck’s Pratfall Chair forms part of the living room’s dazzling array of classic and contemporary design.
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The kitchen-cum-dining area is home to a steel-topped EM Table by Jean Prouvé. At the head is an Anthony Chair, also by Prouvé. The other chairs were bought at auction. They are most likely of Swedish, mid-century origin, and match the table in the entrance hall and the cabinet in the spare room.
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Surrounding the door from the kitchen leading towards the bedroom, the built-in shelves are home to Howard’s collection of interior-design magazines, which he can’t bear to part with, and various accessories, including examples from Howard’s extensive collection of Piero Fornasetti ceramics.
The furnishings in any given room are likely to veer from gilt antique French pieces through to mid-century-modern classics.
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Various items are displayed on the wooden table in the bedroom, including a Jielde lamp. In front of it is a Standard Chair by Jean Prouvé. The artwork is by Catalan artist Joan Miró.
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The bedroom has what Howard says is his most extravagant item of furniture: a Poltrona Frau Jackie Bed by Jean-Marie Massaud. The side table next to the bed is a ’60s Platner Side Table, by Warren Platner for Knoll.
For Howard, his home is not about an idea or a concept: “It’s just about living with things that give you joy.”
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Below a large poster by British performance artist Vanessa Beecroft in the bedroom, a Facet Chair by the Bouroullec Bothers for Ligne Roset shares space with a Diana F sheet-metal side table by Konstantin Grcic for Classicon.
In the generously proportioned bathroom, a Tom Vac Swivel Chair by Ron Arad for Vitra and a Baby Rocket stool by Eero Aarnio make up its sparse furnishings.
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