Deborah Slabbert
Private Home & Lifestyle Manager
Warm, discreet and highly personalised home and lifestyle coordination for discerning homeowners, busy professional households, seasonal residents and frequent travellers in selected Cape Town suburbs.
Discreet • Personal • TrustedPeace of mind, beautifully managed.
Portfolio Chapters
A professional presence built around people, homes and details
Trusted coordination with a genuinely personal touch
Deborah Slabbert is a Private Home & Lifestyle Manager with a career spanning more than 30 years across client service, operations, property coordination, hospitality, events, executive support and home organisation.
Through Deborah By Design, she brings those strengths together in one highly personalised service: quietly coordinating the people, suppliers, preparations, errands and practical details that help a home run smoothly.
Deborah is known for her warm manner, discretion, organisation, sound judgement and ability to make sure agreed details are carried through.
“I create order, anticipate what needs attention and make sure the details are handled with care.”
Her guiding philosophy reflects how she approaches every household relationship:
“Care for every home as though it were my own.”
Private Home & Lifestyle Management
Personal support shaped around the household
The service is designed for homeowners who want a trusted, capable person to oversee agreed details without having to manage every supplier, preparation, request or loose end themselves.
Home Oversight
- Property checks and home oversight while clients are away
- Guest and home preparation
- Guest-cottage readiness
- Home-readiness coordination before a client’s return
- Pet and plant care
- Coordination of existing household staff
Lifestyle Coordination
- Grocery shopping and household errands
- Appointment scheduling
- Bookings
- Gifts and delivery arrangements
- Household administration
- Personalised practical support
Moves, Organisation and Presentation
- Move preparation
- Unpacking and settling-in support
- Home organisation
- Decluttering, with the scope agreed in advance
- Furniture arrangement
- Home styling and presentation
Suppliers, Maintenance and Projects
- Supplier scheduling and coordination
- Maintenance coordination and follow-up
- Contractor coordination
- Recommendations of trusted providers where a client does not already have a preferred provider
- Coordination of small renovation-related requirements
- Progress communication and follow-up
Private Functions
- Small private-function coordination
- Guest readiness
- Setup and presentation
- Supplier coordination
- Food and beverage arrangements through approved providers
Deborah coordinates and oversees agreed details with care and operational diligence. The service does not position Deborah as a specialist interior designer, building professional or technical construction supervisor.
Created for clients who value trust, time and attention to detail
A selective service built around fit and continuity
Discerning homeowners
Homeowners who value privacy, reliable communication and a refined standard of personal service.
Busy professional households
People balancing demanding careers, family life and full homes who need practical support that reduces their mental load.
Seasonal residents and frequent travellers
Clients who want their Cape Town home checked, coordinated and prepared while they are away or before they return.
Bishopscourt, Constantia, the Atlantic Seaboard and selected nearby upmarket suburbs in Cape Town.
“Deborah intentionally works with a select client portfolio so that each household receives personal attention and dependable follow-through.”
Clear arrangements. Thoughtful service.
Personal coordination built on trust
Ongoing Home Oversight
- Tailored monthly retainer
- Agreed visit rhythm
- Completion of approved household requests
- Home-readiness coordination
- Supplier and maintenance follow-up
- Clear client communication and reporting
Projects and One-off Support
- Moves and settling-in
- Organisation and decluttering
- Styling and presentation
- Small private functions
- Guest or arrival preparation
- Other clearly scoped requests
Engagement Process
A straightforward three-stage pathway from initial enquiry to ongoing coordination.
Private Conversation
Understand the household, priorities, preferred working style and immediate needs.
Tailored Scope
Agree responsibilities, boundaries, access arrangements, frequency and fees.
Quiet Coordination
Deborah carries out and coordinates the agreed requirements while keeping the client appropriately informed.
Clarity protects trust
Deborah’s role is to coordinate, oversee and follow through on agreed home and lifestyle requirements. Clear boundaries protect the household, the client relationship and the quality of the service.
What the service does not include
- Cleaning or housekeeping performed personally by Deborah
- Cooking as a client service
- Hiring or dismissing household staff
- Access to bank accounts
- Conducting client financial transactions
- Advancing personal funds
- Childcare
- Transporting clients
- Medical or medication responsibilities
- Signing contracts on behalf of clients
- Performing specialist physical building work
- Technically supervising specialist building work
- Routine evening or weekend work
- Unaccompanied after-hours property access
Experience behind the service
A career built on client care, coordination, hospitality and operational detail
Deborah’s service is supported by experience across private-home preparation, property coordination, client service, hospitality, events, operations, executive support and home organisation.
Professional Career Chronology (30+ Years)
Provides discreet, personalised home and lifestyle coordination for discerning homeowners and busy professional households in selected Cape Town suburbs.
Built trusted client relationships, identified service and process issues, and supported timely internal resolution.
Coordinated office operations, reception, maintenance servicing and detailed sourcing. Supported a once-off arrival-preparation and furnishing project for a nine-bedroom upmarket home.
Prepared homes for photography and viewings, styled spaces for property imagery, uploaded photographs, drafted property descriptions, delivered plans to professional teams and showed homes to prospective buyers.
Managed a whole-home move into storage for renovations, detailed labelling, the return move, furniture rearrangement, selection of new pieces, styling and cupboard decluttering.
Ran operations for an upmarket kitchen venue hosting chef-led classes, corporate cooking events and media hire. Coordinated recipes, groceries, setup, wine service, guest welcome and post-event cleaning teams.
Managed an intimate community venue and coordinated private dinners, book launches, talks, tastings, a pop-up market, music and food-stall experiences.
Planned non-academic fundraising and community events around the school calendar, coordinated parent participation and mutually beneficial sponsors, and delivered four major events annually. Funds raised exceeded governing-body expectations and strengthened community connection.
Provided executive support and operational coordination in a professional-services environment.
Built an early foundation in client service, communication and coordination within a leading agency environment.
The person behind the service
Observation, presentation, calm and care
Education & Credentials
- BA Degree, University of Cape Town — French and English
- Imperial College, Cape Town — Basic Secretarial Skills
- British Schooling in Malawi — O Levels and A Levels
Personal Interests
- Trail running
- Photography
- Entertaining and food
- Table setting
- Personal cooking
- Reading
Note: Cooking is a personal interest and is not offered as a client service.
“Care for every home as though it were my own.”
Let’s talk
Begin with a private conversation
If you are looking for someone who is trustworthy, organised, discreet and genuinely invested in caring for your home, Deborah would welcome the opportunity to discuss how she may support you.
- Mobile: 084 582 5822
- WhatsApp: +27 84 582 5822
- Email: andeb@mweb.co.za
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deborah-slabbert-99825841a
- Location: Selected Cape Town suburbs