An old seaside cottage on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, has received a coastal-inspired makeover, transforming its dark and heavy interior into a space that's flooded with light and tranquillity. When Mornay de Villiers bought the property he set about demolishing internal walls, moving the entrance from a side street to the front of the house to achieve a better flow and systematically adding layers of white onto white to achieve the laid-back style he wanted.
"The floors were a typical yellow pine when I moved in," he explains. "The mirrors had gilt frames and the curtains were blood-red velvet - it was all very dramatic!" He replaced the heavy drapes with simple muslin drops that elegantly pool on the floor, and are never drawn. "Many people ask me why I built such high walls around my property; it's because I never have to close my curtains - I want to be able to look at my garden day and night. Everything's open here. When you walk in the front door, my bedroom door is open and you can see right through the house, that's why everything has to be beautiful and in a consistent style."
Soon after the new curtains were hung, the furniture was painted white. Most of his ball-and-claw pieces were spray-painted with Duco for a satin-smooth finish, resulting in a crisp, contemporary look and, for contrast, some pieces were hand-painted. The walls were coated with Cretestone and left unsealed for a natural look. The floors were the final project. "I debated whether to paint them because people think you're crazy if you paint wooden floors, but once I saw that white finish, I was actually sorry I hadn't done them ages ago!"
Most of the doors are on pivot hinges - even the enormous old sliding doors he bought for the entrance. They swing open completely, leading straight into the open-plan kitchen and living area, where old couches boast oversized slipcovers that add to the informal shabby-chic look that's perfectly in keeping with Mornay's philosophy that everything should be laid back.
His mother and sister run Pajamas and Jam, a popular antiques store, which was the source of most of the interesting finds that now add impact to his home. A ceiling-mounted industrial hook supports a hanging chair, an old bright-red Coke fridge perks up the kitchen, and truck doors bearing the image of a box of Lion matches lead into the bathroom. Mornay says, "Many of my friends say they feel like they're on holiday when they visit because everything's so light and airy, and that's exactly the feel that I wanted."
