This whitewashed retreat near Langebaan in the Western Cape exemplifies laid-back summer holiday living. Interior designer Sumari Krige of La Grange Interiors gave it her signature look of comfortable elegance: a vision of chilled-out coastal living and the sort of considered high chic that comes from an expert eye.

Sumari took to this house with her customary zeal, guiding her clients through an extensive renovation and then giving it a decorating once-over for that perfectly, effortlessly, lived-in effect. ‘It’s an old house,’ says Sumari of the voluminous space, which sleeps an impressively sociable 16, exactly what you want from a holiday home. ‘We had to gut it almost entirely in order to work with it.’ Previous owners had added on to the structure, necessitating Sumari’s approach of taking it back to basics. Worn-out wooden doors and window frames were replaced, as were all the floors – now a stylish washed oak that’s barefoot-friendly, while also setting the tone for the soft neutral palette used throughout. ‘We painted everything white and grey to make the ceilings seem higher and add to the sense of space,’ she says. ‘

The interiors has been done in her signature La Grange style, using neutral colours (‘you never get tired of them’) alongside shades of greens and blues she’s picked up from the surrounds.

Sunsets are a daily highlight thanks to the uninterrupted views. ‘It sets right in front of you, over the mouth of the lagoon,’ says Sumari. Who’d ever want to leave?