kim h nieu | Interior Design

Botique Hotel Embodies the History of the Properties History

Location: Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa
Size: 1200 sqm
Date completed: 2021

The Kim h nieu Interior Design team had the audacious opportunity to redesign Nelson Mandela’s first Houghton home into a 9-bedroom boutique hotel. This piece of architecture forms part of world history as this was the original home of Nelson Mandela for 8 years after he was released from the Robin Island Prison in 1992. It too was the birthplace of the Nelson Mandela foundation, who commissioned that this work to be effective.

The Kim h nieu Interior Design team was tasked with creating this boutique hotel with conference facilities and a gourmet restaurant. It was a delicate task of merging the existing with a brand-new structure while keeping the essence of the history it embodies. Each piece in the space was designed to tell a story. Care had to be taken to not make it feel like a museum or a typical hotel but instead, a homely element to anyone who enters. Interior architecture, interior design, space planning, furniture selection, colour schemes, lighting design, room transformations, custom cabinetry, window treatments, flooring options, wall coverings, interior styling, and décor give this understated hospitality design its je ne sais quoi.