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THE INTERIOR
DESIGNER
Sumari Krige, co-founder of
La Grange Interiors.THE PROPERTY
A newly constructed home in
Ibiza. On the ground floor there is
an open-plan living/dining room,
kitchen, master suite, nursery,
four guest suites and a bathroom.
Outdoor spaces include four
seating/dining areas, an alfresco
kitchen and a pool. A home
cinema and laundry are on
the lower ground floor.his is a home with a dazzling international cast. It’s
owned by a Dutch couple, was built by a Canadian-
born architect and its interiors were created by
South African Sumari Krige. The house is hidden
away in the rural hinterland of Ibiza, which is part
of the property’s melting-pot character, too. So how did
this mix of styles come about? Interior designer Sumari
Krige takes up the story. ‘The owners, Emile and Eva
Kuenen, had been looking for an old finca on the island for
a long time, but couldn’t find what they wanted. Then they
discovered that architect Rolf Blakstad had a reputation
for building houses that draw on Ibiza’s old farmhouse
style, but embrace contemporary features.’
Traditional Ibizan homes tend to have small windows
and rooms set low into the landscape, features geared
towards keeping the interiors cool in summer, but today
people yearn for views and indoor-outdoor spaces that
make the most of the climate. ‘Luckily, Rolf is an expert
at designing minimal, rustic homes that don’t look out of
place in the setting, but work for modern life,’ Sumari says.
When the house was at the earliest stage – all
earthmovers, mud and men in hi-vis jackets - Emile and
Eva made the wise decision to escape the building site
and take a holiday. They headed to South Africa, which is
where Sumari, co-founder of La Grange Interiors, came
into the picture. After leafing through lots of interiors
magazines, Emile and Eva kept
noticing projects by La Grange, so
when they spotted Sumari’s Cape
Town studio and store, they did a
swift U-turn. Although the house
barely had its foundations in the
ground, Sumari began to put together
some ideas. As time progressed, her
designs would gradually dovetail
more consciously with the textures
and structure of the building, but her
initial inspiration lay closer to home,
in the South-African aesthetic she’s
known for and that had tempted thet
See more of Sumari’s work at lagrangeinteriors.co.za.
The architect is Blakstad at blakstadibiza.comhomeowners through her doors. ‘Emile and Eva already
loved our take on raw, tactile surfaces, so I looked for
texture in everything – from fabrics to stone sculptures.’
Sumari was also comfortable with creating a flow
between the inside and outside spaces. ‘The South African
climate means we have a strong indoor-outdoor lifestyle,’
she says. And once she arrived at this house, Sumari
discovered just how much the architecture was centred
around the setting. ‘You tend to move from one space to
the next as the day progresses to benefit from shade at
lunchtime or to watch the sunset from the courtyard.’
That sense of being in tune with the elements is
reinforced by the building’s materials, which include
bleached timber beams, gently curved walls and
textured flooring. Those natural textures are then subtly
reinforced by Sumari’s choice of fabrics and objects. ‘I
very seldom use a plain fabric,’ she says. ‘A throw or rug
might look neutral from a distance, but as you get closer
you’ll notice a richness of texture. I’ll always opt for a
more thickly woven linen or a raised pattern.’
The colours Sumari chose also reflect the setting,
with deep greens, ochres and an almost plummy brown.
‘Although this home is in Ibiza, it was never going to be
a typically all-white style. It’s in the centre of the island
so those classic beach-house references weren’t part of
the picture.’ The bedrooms show how Sumari’s colour
palette works in a way that is soft but strong. ‘Each room
has a key colour, be it a muted green inspired by the
nearby olive groves, a rusty brown like the stonework or
a yellow that I found in the meadow f lowers,’ she says. But
these colours always remain easy on the eye. ‘They are
almost muddy, dirty versions of the colours – saturated
but not loud,’ she adds. Sumari’s style suits the mood of
this home, which is rooted in a traditional vernacular,
but adapted to take in the vistas, scents and colours of
the island. ‘It’s a country house that combines old and
new,’ says Sumari. ‘That’s what makes it really relaxing.’
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