A private, century-old heritage home in Fresnaye, Cape Town, with three bedrooms, a pool, mountain views and the sea a short walk away.
As seen in Condé Nast.
A House Worth Writing About:
More than a century old and built from sandstone, the house was featured in Condé Nast House & Garden in August 2019. The story was one of restraint. "Preserving the past and respecting the character of the house was imperative," Krige told the magazine. The aim was to "let the architectural details, high ceilings and beautiful arches shine."
Designed by Sumari Krige of La Grange Interiors, the interiors bring together African and European influences through warm timber, graphic patterns, sculptural lighting and a calming palette of blue, grey and white. Mirrors amplify the light and openness, while art, textiles and collected objects give each room a personal, lived-in quality.
With views toward the city and ocean, the house is both a peaceful retreat and a reflection of Cape Town’s distinctive character. We are delighted to welcome guests into a home with such a rich story—one that continues to evolve with every stay.
Acknowledgements:
Interiors by Sumari Krige, La Grange Interiors.
Words by Piet Smedy. Photography by Elsa Young.
Reproduced with kind permission of Condé Nast South Africa.
"Love, actually." House & Garden (Condé Nast South Africa), August 2019, pp. 92–97.
Everything in its right place...
Private Pool: Designed for slowing down. Black tiling absorbs light instead of throwing it back. Less glare, lower sensory stimulation, warmer water.
Sophisticated Living Space: Wood floors, and walls that keep the sound in. A Sonos surround system and a 65-inch 4K TV, with Netflix, Disney+ and DStv ready to go. Fast wifi for streaming, gaming, or the work you promised yourself you wouldn't do.
Gourmet Kitchen: An open-plan kitchen with an oven, dishwasher, fridge-freezer and microwave, and a scullery behind it, so the washing-up stays out of sight. Outside, a Weber gas braai for the evenings. Whether you're a seasoned chef or a casual cook, our kitchen provides everything you need to prepare delicious meals.
A house built for being outdoors.
Mornings start on the terrace, coffee in hand, with Lion's Head rising behind you. By midday the pool takes over: black-tiled, still, and warm from the Cape sun. Afternoons drift between the loungers and the shade of the umbrella, the sandstone walls holding the heat. When the light turns gold, the Weber comes out. After dark, the jacuzzi sits on its timber deck above the city, with the lights of Sea Point and Table Bay spread out below. Lion's Head begins a five-minute walk uphill, and the Sea Point Promenade is twelve minutes down. Mountain behind, sea in front, and the house in between.
Luxurious Bedrooms: Three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Two have king beds; the third has two singles that push together into a king. Quiet rooms, and mornings that start slowly. High-quality linens and bedding ensure a restful night's sleep, making every morning a fresh start.
Elegant Bathrooms: Three contemporary en-suite bathrooms and a separate guest bathroom provide comfort, convenience and privacy. Thoughtfully selected amenities create a refreshing, indulgent experience, while antibacterial products throughout the property support a clean, hygienic and healthy stay.
Convenient Parking: A private garage for two cars, which is rare in Fresnaye. Sea Point Promenade is a twelve-minute walk.
Pet-Friendly Accommodation: Up to three pets under 10 kg are welcome. No fees, no fuss.
The Mother City
Cape Town is a city you learn in layers. The first one is obvious: the mountain, the ocean, the light.
The rest takes longer.
Mornings belong to the mountain. The national park starts a few minutes' walk from the house, and on a clear day you can be above the city before most of it is awake. Afternoons belong to the Atlantic: cold water, white sand at Clifton and Camps Bay, and sunsets people stop talking for.
When the south-easter blows, and in summer it will, cross to the False Bay side, where the water is warmer and the wind less personal. Fish on the harbour wall in Kalk Bay, penguins at Boulders, and Cape Point at the very end, where the road runs out.
Constantia's vineyards are half an hour away; Stellenbosch and Franschhoek make a longer, slower day. Back in town, there's the Bo-Kaap's painted streets, Kirstenbosch on a summer Sunday evening, and a city that eats late and eats well.
Below are the places we keep going back to, sorted by how far you'll need to go.
Fresnaye
QUIET BY NATURE
Fresnaye is the quiet side of the Atlantic Seaboard. It climbs the lower slopes of Lion's Head, above Sea Point and away from the traffic of the coast road.
The mountain does more than frame the view. It shelters the neighbourhood from the south-easter, the wind that sweeps through the rest of the city in summer. Fewer gusts. Calmer evenings. Longer dinners outside.
Before it was a suburb, it was a farm. In the early 1800s the slope was a 200-acre estate belonging to Ryk Le Sueur, a barrister and French aristocrat from Bayeux in Normandy, descended from the Huguenots. He called it Winterslust.
His farmhouse was one of only two buildings on the mountainside; the other was Heeren Huis, near Bantry Bay, built in 1776. The rest was vineyards and orchards, and people called it a Garden of Eden.
The French had arrived at the Cape more than a century earlier. After the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, Huguenot refugees began arriving in Cape Town. The Dutch East India Company wanted them absorbed: their farms were deliberately scattered among Dutch ones, and schools taught only in Dutch. Within a few generations the language was gone. The French street names of Fresnaye are one of the traces that survived. Avenue St Louis is one of them.
Below the estate, the town was coming closer. When the tramline opened in 1862, Sea Point became Cape Town's first commuter suburb. Winterslust was eventually renamed Fresnaye, and its land now lies within Sea Point and Fresnaye. The vines gave way to houses, many of them in sandstone, like 13 Avenue St Louis.
Fresnaye still has no restaurants or shops of its own. That's the point. Just neighbours, a steep street, and the mountain behind.
Comings and goings
Check-in: 15:00
Check-out: 10:00
Quiet hours: 22:00–07:00
Guest support: always a message away.
Our Location
13 ASL
13 Avenue Saint Louis, Fresnaye, Cape Town, 8005, South Africa.