Green Peace

Set on a verdant ocean-side slope, this multi-layered home provides blissful weekend refuge to a Cape Town couple

- Tracy Lynn Chemaly

Capetonian couple Justin Rhodes and Cameron Munro are lounging poolside at their seaside home in Misty Cliffs, the conservation village just 45 minutes from the Mother City. They’re soaking in the sun on a deck that is tucked neatly into a pristine patch of the Cape’s indigenous fynbos vegetation. This split-level balau perch is suspended from a cliff face, almost hovering above the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Justin and Cameron are making the most of their weekend getaway, a far cry from their more frenetic week life in Cape Town. The couple – who own Whatiftheworld Gallery, the vibrant Neighbourgoods Market, hotspot eatery Superette, and Tiny Empire, a slick co-working space – welcome the full immersion of this tranquil coastal sanctuary.

The setting is equally impressive in winter. ‘We light up the fire inside and watch the storms come in,’ says Justin. ‘It’s like a log cabin. But then, in summer, we open all the doors and windows and it becomes really beachy.’

The home, set on three levels, has two bedrooms on the lowest, and another is tucked into the loft, under the A-frame reed ceiling. It is fitted with latch windows. ‘When these windows are all open, it feels like you’re on a cruise ship,’ jokes Cameron, pointing to the ever-evolving oceanic scene outside, where Misty Cliffs’ surroundings are regularly engulfed in a mystical fog. These white billowy clouds provide a constant transformation of the home. Painted in a shade of green aptly named Cape Moss, the interior vacillates between fern, olive and pistachio hues, depending on the light of day.