The harbour view, without the glare bouncing back off the water.

A working harbour, a mountain wall, and a tide that tells you what to spec

Gordon's Bay sits tucked into the eastern corner of False Bay, beneath the rise of the Hottentots-Holland range, its small-craft harbour and fishing fleet giving the town its name and its rhythm. The old part of town — cottages and semi-detached houses climbing the streets nearest the harbour wall — sits close enough to the water that reflected glare off the bay is a daily fact of afternoon light, not an occasional one. Higher up the mountainside, newer homes trade that closeness for a longer, uninterrupted view down the coast towards Strand and across to the Cape Hangklip peninsula — and for a great deal more wind.

The Hottentots-Holland range takes some of the sting out of the summer south-easter here compared with the fully open Atlantic side of the peninsula, but it still runs hard along the water and funnels up the mountainside streets. Winter brings the cold fronts and north-westerly swell straight onto the harbour mouth and the beaches either side of it. Add the canal-front homes of Harbour Island, where still water off the back deck adds its own reflected glare to the usual bay-facing brief, and the practical result is that no two streets in this town want quite the same specification.

How we specify for it: harbour-facing glass low in the older part of town gets sunscreen or exterior shading first, because the glare off the water arrives before the heat does. Homes higher on the slope, more exposed to wind but further from spray, get wind-rated, sensor-retracted exterior fittings — an awning or zip screen left unprotected up there is the fitting most likely to fail first. Heritage cottages near the harbour keep their character with warm timber venetians instead of aluminium wherever the window and the budget allow it.

• Tucked beneath the Hottentots-Holland range — some shelter from the worst of the summer south-easter, still fully open to winter north-westerly fronts
• Harbourside cottages and mountainside view homes want different specs — heritage timber slats down low, wind-rated exterior fittings up high
• Salt spray reaches balconies close to the water on a blustery day; powder-coated, sealed hardware specified as standard outside
• Harbour Island's canal-front homes add reflected glare off still water to the usual harbour-facing brief