A Dreamy Seaside Cottage

A dreamy seaside cottage with a candy-colored interior and a sweeping, ocean-facing deck strikes the perfect balance between fun and functionality.

The new owners of this dreamy seaside cottage that’s tucked into the mountain above the village of St. James in South Africa knew that the house needed vision and TLC. However, the charming features and breezy lifestyle it promised were precisely the kind of project floral designers Dané Erwee and Chris Willemse had been aching to get their hands on.

“We held out for a decade to find a property that had uninterrupted views,” explains Dané, one half of the creative team behind OKASIE, Cape Town’s floral and event company.

SEA VIEW. Adding a deck to the small cottage transformed it into a breezy, livable space where views of the sea dominate. To create visual interest and vary the dappled light, the pergola was constructed with a ship-like hull shape.

Solving the Dreamy Seaside Cottage’s Space Issue

A game-changing deck was added to capture the prized views and add livability and space to the footprint, but internally, space was still at a premium. In a bold—but brilliant—move to solve this issue, Erwee and Willemse reconfigured the interior by slotting bathrooms into what was an unnecessary passage hallway, Dané explains. The row of three bathrooms that now separate the bedrooms from the living area save immense space.

MANTEL WHIMSY. Dané chose to dress the fireplace and mantel with colored marble and vintage children’s books to reflect the bright and playful ambience the couple wanted to create in the living area.

Embracing the quirky design decision, they upcycled sash windows, installing them above the bathroom doors to invite light in and inject a touch of whimsy. The walls were washed with Crete stone tinted with pigment into warm pink, olive green and soft blue. Moroccan tiles in the bathrooms in complementary shades make for a fun threshold between the bathrooms and the living area.

The playful use of paint in this dreamy seaside cottage extends into the kitchen and living area, where peach and watermelon tones blush from highlighted walls, window reveals and the fireplaces; and a minty hue extends from floors to the exposed wooden ceiling.

A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That

“I wanted the house to be quite eccentric. A bit Mediterranean, a bit Capri … and very colorful,” says Dané.

Loose pieces of marble were cut for the windowsills to add more color and a layered effect. Floors were kept simple in a muted concrete screed; and, in keeping with Dané’s objective to reuse as much of the demolished material as possible, the original pine floors were repurposed to box out the roof space.

“It gives the feeling of being cocooned in these beautiful colors,” says Dané. He added that when choosing furnishings, they also wanted pieces to be “light and fun.”

The ‘Ultimate Enabler’

Repurposing furniture and unique finds for their event business is the “ultimate enabler,” Dané explains, and many of the items that now live in the cottage are lifted from their catalog of creations. The same philosophy extends to the kitchen, where most of the cabinets and the cupboards doors are made from repurposed shutters or screens and fabricated by Dane’s brother, Theunis.

Shelves are open (a practical decision to beat the moisture-heavy sea air) and display treasured pieces that give the cottage an authentic feel and keep it true to its roots. (“I’m still a bit of a kid,” laughs Dané. “I like things dreamy and fun.”)

**PRACTICAL AND PRETTY. A simple galley kitchen was a cost-effective and efficient solution for the weekend getaway in St. James, which is near Cape Town, South Africa.**

However, most of the doors and windows were too weather-beaten to be salvaged. With the passage reassigned and the entrance door closed, they opened the front of the cottage, adding a sweep of double-glazed glass and shifting the entrance. The dreamy seaside cottage’s kitchen and dining area now flow onto a deck that delivers outside dining, comfortable spots for siestas and unwavering views of the Indian Ocean. Filtered light comes from the budget-friendly wood batten used to create the pergola.

**PROLIFIC PROTEAS. Proteas, such as this King protea (South Africa’s national flower), are indigenous to the slopes of St. James Peak, where the cottage lies.**

With the combination of the lush garden setting, stone terraces topped with chalky, white paint and the airiness of the expansive deck space, you can’t help being mentally transported to the Mediterranean.

“It’s always been about the view for us. The cottage is wonderful, but its purpose is to be a periscope through which we can enjoy the sea,” Dané points out.

FRAGRANT BREEZES. The indigenous garden behind the house is as important to the house’s ambience as the ocean, says Dané. “When a breeze comes down the mountain, it brings with it all the wonderful fragrances of the plants.”

**POTS OF LIFE. A “dead” alley that could not be planted had new life and beauty breathed into it with the addition of pond pots with goldfish and water plants.**

ORIGINAL DETAILS. Part of a wall in the primary bedroom was exposed to reveal the original stonework, while the gable above it was restored and washed with a lime-effect paint.

**SHORELINE-SITUATED. The cottage lies on a hill above a coastal stretch known for its rocky shores, tidal pools and colorful beach huts.**

A MYSTICAL RETREAT. Dané confesses that the guest suite at the back of the cottage designed for kids is one of his favorite rooms. “It doesn’t have a sea view, but it’s the quietest room to cocoon in and read,” he says. Stocked with vintage children’s books and a string of suspended toy ships in the adjoining bathroom, it offers a “mystical” escape.

**PASSAGES PERFECTED. As with all the bedrooms, you enter the primary bedroom through a bathroom installed in what was previously a central passage that cut through the cottage.**

**SHUTTER STYLE. The second bedroom flows onto a walled alley filled with plants. The bed was self-made with shutters.**

LIGHTEN UP. When the passage of the cottage was repurposed as a series of bathrooms servicing the bedrooms, Dané says the primary challenge was capturing light while still maintaining privacy. The original asbestos roof was replaced with tin in which a panel of glass was installed as a solution

**HINT OF MINT. The bathroom that serves the guest bedroom differs from the other two in that is has a green theme. A minty pigment in the Crete stone ties the mix of Moroccan tiles together.**

Looking for more seaside cottage inspiration? Read on for A Modern Beach Home and A Charismatic & Colorful Beach Cottage. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and, Pinterest to get your daily dose of cottage inspiration!