SEA AND SKY

LAYERS OF MOODY HUES SET THE STUNNING TONE IN AN INTERIOR DESIGNER’S BEACHSIDE HOME

- ROBYN ALEXANDER

With its panoramic views across the magnificent Atlantic Ocean, the terrace of Sumari’s Cape Town home could easily be the bow of a luxury cruise ship. Like the rest of the home, the terrace radiates understated elegance, but it’s not in any sense a ‘show space’. It’s all about the warmth and everyday ease of a practical family home, which Sumari, her property developer husband, Gerhard, and their children, Nicola, 11, and Luan, 10, have adored living in since it was completed two years ago.

Built on a narrow double plot, the structure was designed by Archilab, an award-winning architectural practice based in Cape Town. “Our brief was quite simple really,” explains Sumari, whose company, La Grange Interiors, took care of interior finishes, joinery designs and soft furnishings. “We wanted a contemporary family home that takes full advantage of the views of the ocean. And we wanted the indoor-outdoor flow of the house to work well, with the two spaces complementing each other.”