When a vision of transforming something old into something new arrives – an inspired, invigorating idea of change – it’s hard to alter that vision and see it in any other form. It stubbornly occupies itself in your imagination until it comes to complete fruition, thanks to its relentless will to be revealed and created.
It’s apparent that this was the case for the owners of Langskuur. A dilapidated 1850’s out-building called upon its creative and cultured owners to bring it back to life. What was once a centuries-old sheep-sheering barn on a multigenerational working dairy farm, is now a unique holiday home and one of the hideaways featured on our hot list and in our beautiful Perfect Hideaways in South Africa coffee table Book 3.
Langskuur – which means long barn in Afrikaans – opens its tall, exposed corrugated iron ceilings, rough wooden beams, raw redbrick walls and white-washed cement floors to reveal a renovation of romance, intrigue, heritage and honesty from farm pillar to post.
An expansive space of antique collectables, family heirlooms and commissioned statement pieces of furniture embellish the rustic essence of the barn that’s discreetly partitioned into cosy pockets of placid occupation. A dreamy sleeping area with its soft linens and Malawi cane headboards rests adjacent a reading nook with a swinging rattan bubble chair, that leads into a stunning secluded bathroom, separated by industrial sliding doors.
A beautiful farm-style kitchen with an inviting dining table made from repurposed yellowwood floorboards and an enticing reclining space beside a wood-burning stove sits at the other end of the barn.
If Langskuur is unavailable to book for your dates, browse our other perfect hideaways in the Garden Route
A barn transformed with bespoke brilliance
The ongoing narrative of outlandish romance is retained as you enter the courtyard, where an old watering trough-come-plunge pool trickles away, an outdoor shower tucks itself beside the giant daisies, resident chickens chirp and wander in and out of their coop, leading into the additional bedroom and bathroom that were once old milking parlours.
The owner’s well-nurtured secret garden of herbs and vegetables with groves of quinces, figs, pomegranates and almonds border the main farmhouse, beyond the barn, that welcome every eager picker and sampler of its fruits.
With its hectares and hectares of farmland, there are endless walking and mountain biking trails to explore, a dam to do a spot of fishing in and a much larger, longer swimming pool at the main house to dip into should the day’s heat call for some respite.
When evening arrives and the weavers take to their nests as the owls signal the change in the hour, the still warm air settles around this hideaway like a blanket of blissful farm harmony. The stars are out, the sounds are pacifying, the smells are that of a nurtured nostalgia and the conversation flows around the barn that’s intimately lit up by the French antique bottle dryer-inspired chandeliers. All in keeping with the magnificence of each curated space of Langskuur.
PERFECT HIDEAWAYS in SOUTH AFRICA: Book 3
The Kitchen Garden is one of the hideaways featured in our beautiful Perfect Hideaways in South Africa coffee table Book 3.
Our latest book celebrates our most treasured hideaways, each one embodying what it is that makes a holiday home ‘perfect’.
From bush to beach, from city to wilderness, PERFECT HIDEAWAYS IN SOUTH AFRICA is a collection of the most extraordinary havens offering unique experiences, architecture and interiors in exceptional destinations. Travellers today are embracing a new narrative for regenerative travel: how and why we travel, and how much time we choose to be surrounded by our family and closest friends, has become ever more important. But over the years, like that proverbial leopard, our Perfect Hideaways has not changed many of its spots.
PERFECT HIDEAWAYS IN SOUTH AFRICA is a tangible journey into the evolving landscape of our homes, mapping our ways back to the soul. Evoking a renewed vigour with the ways we wish to travel, yet retaining a nostalgic sentiment to simplicity.
Reviewed by Colleen Ogilvie
Edited by Dawn Kennedy