Words: Georgina Guedes | Images: Ter Hollmann & Supplied
Greg Katz is an architect, designer and inventor who lives with his family in a home he designed in The Gardens – a small suburb nestled between The Orchards and Norwood.
Home sweet home
Greg and his wife, Caryn, used to live in a home in Norwood (one of three houses on a single stand designed by Greg), but with the arrival of their third son, things got a little tight in their compact home. “We’ve got three boisterous boys, and we were just bursting at the seams,” Greg says.
They loved the neighbourhood, but because it’s an established area, very few vacant stands are available and, of course, Greg wanted to build. “We were trying to find a property with an old house to demolish. This gets very expensive because you have to buy the house, then demolish it, then pay for the rubble to be removed,” says Greg.
He saw a house for sale that had demolition potential and called the agent. When he explained what he wanted, she had some good news for him. “She said we were very lucky. Some people had just put a double stand on the market – they had a house on one stand and a garden on another, so we bought their garden. It’s rare to find a vacant stand in this neighbourhood, and properties aren’t subdivisible.”
The purchase went through in early 2016, and in May of that year, Greg’s team started building. They built his architecture studio first so that he could be on site to supervise the building of the house. It’s a double-storey building built out of lightweight quick-construction technology, and as soon as it was up, he moved in and they got going on the house. A year later, he, Caryn and their three boys moved into their new home.
The house is a concrete framed structure of 350m2 with a face brick infill and yellow-aluminium-framed windows. It has five bedrooms and is built on a square plan, with efficient use of space and very few passageways. “It all centres around a fireplace which radiates heat and is an efficient way of heating the space in winter,” says Greg.
Neighbourhood gems
Greg says that a big drawcard for him and his family was the nearby synagogue because he feels drawn to the community. It’s also close to a variety of amenities, including the Cheltondale Park and the Norwood strip, “Which gives us the sense of a high street.”
For convenience, the Norwood Mall is just down the road, with its address falling in The Gardens. “The Builders Warehouse there really helped when we were building. If we needed something, we could dash over,” he says. “And Miniso is great because anything from Japan has amazing design sensibility. Even though it’s inexpensive, everything has an interesting aesthetic.”
He says that the Woolworths and the Pick n Pay Hypermarket just down the road are also conveniently located, with the latter having an interesting Walmart quality and a wide range of products. “There’s not enough early morning shopping, though,” he says. “Although it’s great that the Food Lover’s Market opens at 7am on a Sunday, and we can buy baked goods.”
His family enjoy eating at Momo & O and Baha Taco in Grant Avenue and Thava Norwood a little further down the road. Although Greg doesn’t drink coffee, he also likes to visit the Loof destination coffee shop. “Norwood isn’t totally trendy, but it’s got a dose of reality to it that’s also quite nice. I like how authentic it is,” he says.
Perfect Sunday
For Greg, a perfect Sunday would begin with breakfast at Alexander’s Nursery, which has play equipment for the kids, and where parents can order a simple egg-and-toast breakfast.
“Then I’d go up to Builders Warehouse and get some DIY things so that I could get on with fixing things around the house,” he says.
With handyman work out of the way, he says that they might head up to Baha Taco for lunch, and then go to the park in the afternoon to fly a kite.
“I love living in The Gardens because it has a diverse community and fantastic public amenities, parks, shops and restaurants”
Greg Katz
Eat:
- Thava Indian Restaurant: for classic North and South Indian fare
- Mugg & Bean: for sandwiches, burgers, coffee and giant muffins
- Queen Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, Norwood: for Ethiopian cuisine
- Shahi Khana, Norwood: for Pakistani and Bangladeshi dishes
- Gio Pane Vino, Norwood: for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a Mediterranean influence
- Fireside Bistro, Norwood: for lamb on the spit with Sunday lunch
- Cosa Nostra, Norwood: a casual “mom and pop” Italian restaurant
- Baha Taco, Norwood: for tasty quesadillas and gluten-free soft corn tacos
Shop:
- Norwood Mall: more than 50 stores, anchored by Pick and Pay Hypermarket, including a Woolworths Food and a Food Lover’s Market
- Grant Avenue, Norwood: home to great restaurants
- The Factory on Grant, Norwood: promotes arts and crafts, design and music
- The Oaklands Centre, Oaklands: a hidden gem filled with unique businesses that support each other
- Melrose Arch, Melrose: for high-end fashion stores and cafe culture
- Killarney Mall, Killarney: one of Joburg’s most established shopping centres
Sleep:
- The Ascot Hotel, Norwood
- 15 on Orange Guest House, Orchards
- Garden Place Guest House, Orchards
- Uxolo Guesthouse, The Gardens
- 47 on Preston Guesthouse, Highlands North
- Bed and Breakfast on Melrose, Waverley
- Ten Stirling Bed and Breakfast, Waverley
