Beach beauty

By Alma Viviers, Production Christopher Evans, Photography Micky Hoyle

She had a New York-style apartment. He had a rustic cabin on Kommetjie beach. Then they got married and merged their lives and styles. Take a look…

When architectural designer Jeanne du Toit met travel company owner Ross Murray, it was like combining pink and red – stylistically speaking, that is. In other words, what looked like a potential clash, turned out to be an unexpected heavenly match. Jeanne had urban sensibilities and a slick, classical sense of style, while surfer-guy Ross preferred a relaxed and lived-in beachside look. But, when they made it official and created a shared home in his wooden cabin on Kommetjie beach, a lick of paint helped to perfectly blend and balance the two.

The result is a fusion of him and her – an indoor, outdoor flow of city slick and seaside chic. That’s what makes it like pink and red. It’s surprising how well it works.

The living area

Idea To break and brighten the all-wood interior, especially in darker areas, the couple decided to paint some of the log cabin interior walls.

Execution Jeanne opted for off-white Plascon Wall & All Plaster (E16-2), which doesn’t produce the harsh glare that a pure white would. Since the interior walls were unvarnished and simply oiled, the wood was sanded and primed with Plascon Wood Primer for both interior and exterior. Although Plascon Wall & All is an exterior product, Jeanne also used it inside because of its resistance to sun and harsh coastal conditions.

The kitchen

Idea Here Jeanne was keen to avoid the shabby chic beach-cottage look and wanted to polish up this overlooked part of the house.

Execution The stock-standard, store-bought, knotty-pine kitchen cupboards got a post-marriage makeover that truly makes this room. The cupboards were washed down with Polycell Sugar Soap to remove any oily kitchen residue, primed with Plascon Wood Primer and given a fresh coat of Plascon Velvaglo in Dust Stone (NEU 11).

The bathroom

Idea The very small en suite needed a light touch to amplify the space.

Execution A top-to-floor coat of bright white goes a long way to making the room seem bigger. The wooden bathroom floor is painted with Plascon Floor Paint White (FPT 1) while the walls and ceiling were sanded, primed and given a coat of Plascon Wall & All Plaster (E16-2).

The office

Exterior

Idea Although Jeanne shares offices with Sarah Ord Interiors in central Cape Town, she most often works from home and needed a space to do just that.

Execution The old garage and storeroom was the ideal foundation for a newly built his-and-hers o. ce and double garage. This modern addition also creates a lovely sheltered courtyard between the street and the house, where the couple entertain outside in the summer. Colour is used to connect the old and new as the o. ce exterior is painted in Plascon Wall & All Rocky Ridge (B5-E1-4), the same blue-grey as the brick plinth on which the log cabin is built. Jeanne opted for wooden doors and windows for the new addition, painted in Plascon Sure Coat Gloss Enamel City Blue (E32-6).

The office

Interior

Idea Ross and Jeanne wanted a simple, spacious and inspiring place to work.

Execution Jeanne is not a fan of colour accent walls and prefers to keep the envelope of a room neutral. Here the envelope is white – the fl oor is a pigmented screed and the walls and ceiling are in Plascon Wall & All White (WAA 1). Colour has been introduced with décor items, soft furnishings and art. Currently Jeanne is bringing in bright yellow as an accent with pieces like this artwork by Richard Scott.

As seen in Plascon Spaces 9