For former Springbok Tendai Mtawarira and his family, living on the KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast feels effortlessly easy. Thanks in part to the location of their home – located in a secure estate – as well as to state of the art additions like solar power, the young family feels closely connected to nature and each other.
The home is in close proximity to the beach, surrounded by lush greenery, and bike trails offering up many fun things for his kids — it’s that estate kind of living, says Mtwarira. A split-style home built on a hill, the home spans three floors where each level is dedicated to the different elements of everyday living: The first level is for the garages, the cars and the home’s entrance, plus a study, creating an opening scene to the home.
The main living area is on the second floor where the dining room, lounge, and entertainment space occupies along with the ever bustling kitchen, where the family is said to often congregate for good conversations and family bonding while Tendai Mtawarira’s mother-in-law makes a killer meal.
Bedrooms top the third floor along with a man cave, making this the more private area of the home, while guest rooms are down on the second floor.
“We want to create an atmosphere of love, peace and tranquillity,” says Mtwarira. “That’s why I love living on this side of the world because you pretty much feel like you’re in your own bubble and in your own world. You get to just live your life with no distractions.”
Going Green for Peace of Mind
Part of living without distractions comes from ensuring their day to day living is not interrupted by load shedding, thanks to solid solar powered solutions from Wetility.
“It’s helped us to have sustainable energy in the house and also be conscious about our environment and contribute to the environment in a positive manner, so it’s been very good for us,” explains Mtwarira.
Running a solid family home also comes with its own challenges. The 1200 square-metre home is open plan with six bedrooms, providing a lot of space for friends and family who visit. The biggest challenge of all? The amount of energy the house consumes.
“We were having a lot of problems just relying on grid power. We were having some strong electricity bills coming through, which was not sustainable and just not good to be spending so much money on,” says Mtwarira. “I decided to move across to solar just over a year ago and it’s been life changing for us as a family.”
After an extensive 18 month long renovation, (including installing an impressive solar power system) to create their perfect family home, the family no longer experiences any power outages in the house.
The consistent power helps the family to function smoother, who gets to do more at night, and for the parents to carry out their daily business from home without interruption.
“Adding solar power at home has been a great thing for the family. The solar panels have potentially increased the value of the home, although I haven’t really done an exercise to see what the value is, but I’m sure it has had a positive effect on its value,” says Mtwarira.
If Tendai Mtawarira were to describe the house in one sentence, he would simply say “magnificent”. It is a magnificent place for a family that has found absolute happiness at home without any complaints.
