September is Heritage Month and this month recognises aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and intangible – creative expression such as music and performances, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the popular memory.
This year’s theme is “Our indigenous knowledge, our heritage: Towards the identification, promotion and preservation of South Africa’s living heritage”.
The month promotes knowing more about our heritage around us and other areas.
The Urania Village in Observatory is one of the places in the East that has a rich history.
It has a number of old houses that have stood the test of time and are still in good shape.
The EXPRESS visited house owners in Urania, Mr Andre and Mrs Janine Hoffmann, whose house carries a rich history the couple has maintained.
Mrs Hoffmann and her husband are the fourth owners of the beautiful house in Urania Village.
It was originally built by the Hawlts Family around 1924.
“My husband has a love for old things and he finds joy in bringing them back to life and restoring them. We were looking into buying a home and he told me about this house in Observatory that is just perfect and I was just not interested in the area.
“But I finally took a drive to come and view the house and as I approached and saw the outside I fell in love. I knew then this is it, we wanted this house,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
She said the house has character and that is one of the things she wishes retain.
“We have found the garden like that and just did some few touch-ups but most of the pieces are still the same. We love it like that as it adds character,’ said Mrs Hoffmann.
Most of the house has been kept in its original form and no changes have been made to the outside of the house – it’s still the original structure, which is more than 80 years old.
The house has that antique feel to it thanks to the pieces the couple collected over the years and incorporated into the house.
“My husband collects the vintage pieces and I do the finishing touches and we complement each other. We have kept the house as authentic as possible because we did not want to lose the beauty of it. We also kept a few pieces of furniture that came with the house and found ways to make them work and that is a special touch,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
She pointed out a fir place that came with the house and has been kept the way it was found.
It’s a rich brown wood with a marble stone and has a bookcase on top of it.
“We love the fireplace and I think this was a man’s room where the man would wait for the woman to finish setting up the table and they would sit around the fire place. The chairs by the fireplace came with the house – we just refurbished them and decided to keep them. The chairs complement the floor which is still original flooring of the house,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
The house tells a story because of the way it was built, even though there were a few changes that were made over the years, but the previous owners did it in a manner that did not change the house completely.
Mrs Hoffmann wanted to honour the first owner who built the house and kept an old chair she found when they moved in.
“We found the chair in the house and it had the initials of the original owners and I decided to keep it – it just added something special.”
The house is big yet warm because of the pieces that it has and the way it’s built.
“There are corners and secret spaces and we have found use for them. We have made it comfortable and homely for us and we love it,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
The house also has some secrets to share.
It is alleged that it was used as a safe-house during apartheid because it has a secret room downstairs.
“When they told us about the secret room that was used as a hide-out back in the days, my husband and I decided we wanted to do something special with it. We decided to turn it into a chill room – a place where we can come and relax and just let go,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
The room has been made comfortable with cushions and Persian carpets.
The Hoffmanns have not kept the house all to themselves but have found ways to share this beautiful space with other.
The house has been used for a number of music videos by the likes of Mi Casa, Kelly Khumalo and many others.
“We came to a point and decided to open our beautiful home in some way and because of my work I met a producer who wanted to use the house for a music video and we have been doing music videos since then. The artists love the house and especially the chill room and we also love having them and sharing the space with them,” said Mrs Hoffmann.
The Hoffmanns’ residence is truly a treasure and with the rich history it carries it makes you wonder what other hidden treasures the East has.
