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From the back of the house, the sea is visible the moment you open the front door. A pair of tree aloes from Habitat Mature Tree Nursery stand in a bed of crushed granite stone chips, giving the back yard a whitewashed West Coast feel. -
The children’s playroom overlooks the pool in the courtyard. The poofs on the veranda and the white table and chairs inside are from Peter Osborn Furniture, as is the kid’s play house, which was specially commissioned by the owners. The Chinese lanterns are from China Town, and the deck chairs from Cane Time. All the shutters are made of bleached and stained limbali wood, and the teak-and-stainless-steel outdoor shower unit is from Kenkoon in Thailand. Underneath the staircase is a floating drawer from Ode. -
An indigenous garden by Yzerfontein Garden & Landscaping Services blends into the dune vegetation. -
The dining area in the main living room features a 12-seater table by Pierre Cronje and dining chairs from the Weightless collection by Haldane Martin, available from Leon at CCXIX. The white AIM pendant lamps were designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for FLOS, and are imported by ELDC in Woodstock. The sofas and chairs are from Wunders, and the coffee tables by Peter Osborn Furniture. -
The kitchen was custom-designed by Morris & Van der Watt Cabinet Makers. The quirky bar lights above the counter were hand-made by the owner, who also stained and suspended raw timber planks to form a feature ceiling. The pendant lights are from Hoy P’loy. The bar stools are from Chair Crazy. -
The solid oak table, benches and chairs on the covered “stoep” adjacent to the courtyard are from Kitchen Inc in Woodstock, and the oak chest is from Pierre Cronje. -
The upstairs passage features cane pendant lights from Thailand that the owners dipped in water-based Plascon Velvaglo. The white screed cement-based flooring is by Maxicoatings. -
In the second bedroom, the armchairs are by Jo Carlin, the table from Weylandts and the standing lamp from LIM. The light-blue wool throw, designed by Stephanie Bantum, is from Krafthaus, and the rug is from Gonsenhausers Fine Rugs. The view is courtesy of Mother Nature. -
In the main bedroom, the sofa and the specially commissioned oversized bed are from Wunders. The bath is from Victoria + Albert Baths and the wooden stools from Weylandts. The edged mirror is by Wessel Snyman Creative. The throw is from Krafthouse, and the cushions are a mix of the owners’ own and a patterned scatter from Woolworths. -
The deck and the pergola are made of bleached and stained limbali timber, which was installed by Coenie Marais Inhouse Finishing. The polished stainless steel balustrade with cable railing is by Chépet Engineering. All the poofs are from Canetime.
PHOTOS Jan Ras PRODUCTION Sumien Brink WORDS Ami Kapilevich
Built on what is probably the most perfect plot in Yzerfontein on the West Coast, this incredible beach house actually magnifies the effects of its beautiful surroundings.
There is a discourse in fine art theory that postulates a particular notion of the sublime. From what I understand, in this academic sense, the sublime is achieved when a work of art conveys the transcendental, infinite vastness of nature or the cosmos. Horizons that stretch beyond the picture frame. Valleys and vistas that seem to widen into the distance. The greatness of the outdoors. Angel song.
I was reminded of this as I stood on the edge of this beach house with the Atlantic Ocean roiling below. The house is internally terraced in such a way that there is a deliberate abruptness to the threshold between abode and nature. There’s no stoep or wall, so the dunes and beach and sea are are suddenly and literally at your feet.
The effect is stunning, hypnotic and meditative – in that order. It is as if the frame of walls and ceiling somehow magnifies the view. And more than magnified, it is animated. It leaps into the home.
As your ego disappears into the horizon, an ascetic bliss descends and your breathing begins to move to the rhythm of the surf.
The effect is sublime.
The main living area is divided by large sliding doors into two sections, with a courtyard on one side and the beach on the other, so you can adjust the space depending on the weather. In winter you can create a large indoor area that includes the courtyard veranda. In summer you can remove every wall between the courtyard and the dunes, and feel as if you are standing amid the dunes and strandveld vegetation as birds fly through the living room.
The house, named To the Moon and Back, is located at the very end of the southernmost beach road in Yzerfontein, bordering on Tygerfontein, a private nature reserve with pristine strandveld vegetation. The owners fell in love with “the best-kept secret of the West Coast” after attending an auction in town. As soon as this plot became available, they snapped it up.
Darryl Croome Architects, which the owners had worked with twice before, designed the house and Bou-Hardi from Moorreesburg was the main building contractor. “We had a clear and definite idea of what we wanted,” say the owners. “We are property developers by trade, so we are not the easiest customers. We told the architects exactly what we had in mind, but we always appreciate what Darryl brings. He surprises us with ideas that exceed our expectations.”
The interior courtyard is based on an indigenous convention, according to the owners. Most of the fisher-man’s cottages around here have sheltered areas, they say, making this a contemporary interpretation of a West Coast theme.
In the courtyard, two southern masked weavers are noisily building nests in a picture-perfect tree. This is part of their mating ritual – and if a female weaver does not approve of the male’s nest, she will destroy it. But if their immediate surroundings are anything to go by, these males’ nests should be safe.
