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Heirlooms and souvenirs from the Darons’ travels are scattered throughout the house, alongside vintage pieces such as this map of Africa sourced from Gilles de Moyencourt. -
The path at the front of the house leads directly to the beach. -
The upstairs veranda features a table and benches made from leftover decking – perfect for long lunches with a view. -
In the first-floor living area, the round table and curved bench are by Houtlander. -
The kitchen is all about cooking just-caught crayfish and making authentic French desserts – Christine was born in France. The huge Wawa lampshade over the table, handwoven from upcycled fabric off cuts, is by Ashanti Design, while the embroidered tablecloth is a find from Louis and Christine’s African travels. The dining chairs were found at Gilles de Moyencourt’s Church Street store in central Cape Town, way back in 1998. -
The kitchen is all about cooking just-caught crayfish and making authentic French desserts – Christine was born in France. The huge Wawa lampshade over the table, handwoven from upcycled fabric off cuts, is by Ashanti Design, while the embroidered tablecloth is a find from Louis and Christine’s African travels. The dining chairs were found at Gilles de Moyencourt’s Church Street store in central Cape Town, way back in 1998. -
The couch in the ground-floor living room is adorned with cushions and throws from African Jacquard’s Bogolan Collection, which are complemented by other African pieces – including a wooden hippopotamus that the Darons found on a trip to Zimbabwe. -
The covered outdoor living area on the ground floor is steps from the pool, and features an L-shaped couch, as well as a turquoise Bamileke stool from Jambo Trading. -
An eye-catching carved wooden artwork from Mali graces the stairwell. The colourful Cameroon Namji dolls were sourced at Jambo Trading. -
The children’s rooms are light and bright, with colourful bedspreads by African Jacquard. -
A bedspread from African Jacquard’s Kelp Forest range, which was launched at Maison & Objet in Paris in early September. -
A bright Mumbi washing basket by Design Afrika in the master bathroom. -
Another colourway of the Kelp Forest design in the master bedroom.
Belonging to Christine Daron, owner of the acclaimed African Jacquard home textiles brand, this dreamy beach house tucked behind a dune on Kommetjie’s Long Beach combines quiet sophistication with everyday ease.
WORDS Robyn Alexander PRODUCTION Annemarie Meintjes PHOTOS Dook
“We bought the house in early 2016, when our youngest son had just finished high school,” says homeowner Christine Daron of this beautiful beachfront abode on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Cape Peninsula. Contemplating the fact that they were about to become empty nesters, this enterprising couple – Louis had had a long career as a ship chandler, while Christine founded innovative textile-weaving company African Jacquard in 2014 – opted to make a move to a new home base. “We were looking for a house by the sea, as my husband is a sailor and a surfer,” says Christine. Finding this property by chance, “We fell in love instantly.”
The property combines the quirky village appeal of Kommetjie with a genuine beachfront location
– you simply walk a few steps along the dune pathway at the front of the house to emerge onto the
spectacular surfing and strolling pleasures of Long Beach. It was the ideal spot for the couple to enjoy a life without their four children, but one that was also “a place of holidays to which the kids could come back”. In 2023, Louis and Christine embarked on a substantial renovation, assisted by local architect Ian Macduff and his partner, interior architect Charrisse Johnston of studioSALT. “We knew just what we wanted, having lived here for six years,” says Christine. One of the priorities was extending the first floor of the house to maximise the ocean views, and creating an enviable master suite of rooms. These now include a large bedroom with en suite bathroom and dressing room, plus a home office for Louis, a lounge area with a bar and kitchenette, and a wide covered balcony furnished for outdoor dining. “It’s a self-sufficient ‘flat’ for our old days – in case we can’t go downstairs any more,” jokes Christine.
The renovated ground floor is home to a spacious kitchen, open to the relaxed indoor dining and
lounge area, and sensibly sporting an adjoining scullery for the inevitable clean-ups that big gatherings of family and friends necessitate. The rest of the ground floor is also designed to comfortably accommodate the needs and wants of a substantial group of holidaymaking visitors, and features two guest bedrooms en suite, as well as colourfully furnished kids’ rooms for Louis and Christine’s grandchildren.
The low-key and casual ground-floor living area – Christine wanted it to have “a beach house look”
and “a family-friendly spirit” – in turn leads to a spacious, shaded outdoor lounging space, furnished
with a large L-shaped couch. (There’s also a big built-in couch inside, and a huge sofa for lounging and gazing at the waves upstairs.) Also outdoors are a plunge pool set into a wooden deck, a shower for rinsing off salt water, and a pétanque court incorporated into the small but flourishing indigenous garden, which was designed by landscaper Tone Alexander. A low wooden fence and gate separate the house from the short path across the dune to the beach.
Living here is, says Christine, a daily pleasure. Her weekdays start with a walk on the beach and a quick swim, followed by a dip in the pool and some gym exercises, then “a warm shower before getting a good breakfast. Then I go to work – but not before 10am. I’m lucky to have this freedom.” Weekends feature hiking and mountain-biking, seeing friends, and perhaps heading out to dinner in nearby Noordhoek. Sunday lunches are frequently hosted at the house, usually outside on the terrace.
The couple’s most treasured aspect of the house remains, however, its panoramic views of the ocean. “The view is essential. It is the openness to the world,” says Christine. “We love looking at the passing ships, coming from everywhere and going anywhere; we use the MarineTraffic app to check their destinations and talk about them.” Watching other passing marine traffic, in the form of whales and dolphins, is a pleasure too: “It’s such a privilege to enjoy this site and be this close to nature. It’s a delight to have guests from all over the world who can rest and relax here, and forget about their stress.”
As the many cookie-cutter spaces out there demonstrate, creating a beach house that combines the perfect seaside location with understated yet urbane interiors that also feel carefully and personally chosen is no easy feat. But here, where “all the furniture, all the objects mean something to me, to us”, as Christine says, the spaces are a special blend of individuality and sophistication. The result is a dreamy, sun-drenched and, above all, welcoming home. africanjacquard.com | studiosalt.co.za
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