Our team is continuously searching for villas of the highest quality and impeccable style to deliver an exquisite portfolio of private luxury villas for you to choose from and enjoy. We hand-pick each villa we add to our portfolio – here, we share the inside scoop on how Penthouse on Barley became one of the most sought-after villas on the beach strip, loved and favored by locals and tourists. The sunset spot where we all spend our summer evenings.

We had the pleasure of speaking to interior designer Nadia Tollman of Earthbound Interiors, who only had one rule while designing this home: there are no rules. 

It was essential that the villa didn’t just match the wow-factor of its location but knocked it out of the park. ‘I wanted to create an overall sense of absolute comfort and wellbeing, with a design that provided a full sensory experience,’ says the designer, who took a slow-and-considered approach to decorating the home, leaning into the conscious living movement and trusting in the process. For this designer, the interior design’s success hinged on seeking out the right pieces for the space. The result is a stunning mix of decor kismet and savvy curation.

It’s this unique quality that first caught the eye of our founder Pieter Brundyn and our team – ‘From the near infinite views over the Atlantic to the nearby beaches and hiking trails, this home offers something for everyone,’ says Pieter Brundyn. ‘The best part: if you don’t feel like leaving, you don’t have to, as the villa caters to every need you could ever have.’ Here is a home for all seasons and all travellers, surrounded by natural wonder and advantageously set back against the mountainside, camouflaged amongst the fragrant fynbos all around. For the discerning guest, it is ideally removed from the main road (so much so that, even during peak holiday season, it maintains an oasis of calm) yet close enough to the best that Cape Town has to offer.

The penthouse is located within minutes of the area’s best hiking trails – no doubt a win for the more adventurous traveller. ‘Cape Town offers so much, and nearby to the home are both fine-dining restaurants as well as vibrant local food markets – and then there are winelands, which are not to be missed,’ she says. ‘More than anything, It feels like a home, it’s light and breezy and that’s unusual for this kind of space, making it as suited to friends getting away as it is for multi-generational vacations. ‘And sundowners in the pool are incredible, you feel like you’re on top of the world.’

Dive Into Bliss

The villa at Penthouse on Barley itself is spacious without feeling impersonal, thanks to a clever floor plan and Nadia’s barefoot luxury-style decorating, which incorporated begging-to-be-touched textiles and finishes into swoon-worthy rooms. The home is accessed via a private lift, opening onto a double-volume lobby, the Afro-modern timber lighting, pops of greenery and shades of grey immediately alluding to the laissez-faire luxe of the home waiting just beyond the threshold. Step inside, and you are welcomed into the communal area, which comprises the open-plan living and dining room, bookended by a chic, all-white kitchen (with laundry and amenities rooms discreetly tucked away) and doors leading to the outside. ‘It was also important to me that the penthouse was well equipped with all the modern conveniences, so the kitchen was installed with top-of-the-line Miele appliances,’ says Nadia. There is also a fully integrated smart access and security system.

‘I wanted the penthouse to impart a serene and nurturing feel to guests, so the colour scheme was kept neutral with natural tones and elements that compliment the surroundings and allow the magnificent landscape to take centre stage.’

‘Working with the interiors, I set out to create more layered spaces, building textures and tones over each other for a richer living experience,’ she says. Bringing comfort to the open-plan living and dining room, she worked with a darker palette of earthy tones shot through with natural finishes, leaning into a more New York-penthouse aesthetic – chic, unfussy, streamlined – and eschewing the traditional Cape Cod, beach-house vernacular that so many coastal properties play into. The style of the decor pays homage to Cape Town and Africa as a whole, drawing on a local culture with details such as ethnic-inspired furniture pieces, fabrics and artwork. What you’ll find in this home is  a stylish melting pot of influences, with Nadia seamlessly weaving together personal memories and local histories with a modern, international aesthetic.

But it’s not just the interiors that are left to do the heavy lifting, as the architecture of the space offers unique, even unexpected, design elements, too. To frame the showstopper views, the open-plan arrangement culminates in floor-to-ceiling glass doors, which create an almost cinematic experience as the shifting light animates the ever-changing views over the ocean. ‘You feel like you’re on a ship, with the curvature of the architecture, you don’t feel like you’re on land at all. It’s a feeling that the panoramic views only further accentuates.’ 

Despite the monochromatic palette, there’s an inherent warmth to the space, thanks to the abundance of noble materials – the exposed grain of timber pieces, the plush upholstery, the gravitas of marble. Art comes into play here, too, with large-scale works of kinetic black brushstrokes, like calligraphy, adding a sense of energy to the space. To boot, there’s even a plush reading nook cum built-in daybed in the living room, perfect for casual, post-swim relaxation or, on cooler evenings, bundling up in front of the gas fireplace. ‘My signature style is usually very earthy, more paired back, I don't usually use a lot of colour – and I’m loving the greys at the moment – all the better for letting the view do its thing,’ says Nadia.

‍Memories in the Making

Perhaps the home’s biggest drawcard is how it caters to the best of all seasons. Inside, it ramps up the cold-beating comfort factor with piles of soft textures. When stepping outside onto the spacious balcony lounge – complete with a private heated pool and oversized seating that invites lazy sunset relaxation – the effect is, without fail, breathtaking. ‘What really appealed to us was the incredible vantage point,’ says Nadia, ‘The penthouse is surrounded by dramatic scenery, with the Twelve Apostle mountain range to one side and Lion’s Head on the other and, spread out in between as far as the eye can see: full 180 degree views of the ocean.’ From up here, guests get a full view of a quiet, need-to-know alcove of white sand, conveniently shielded by boulders, so close by it feels like having a private beach minutes away. It’s great for picnics and secluded sunbathing.

The spacious balcony area curves around the house, leading guests from the main view and pool to the side of the home – this time with mountain views – and the outdoor kitchen and bar area with ample seating, where mid-summer grilling and cocktails are de rigueur and, leading on from this, the alfresco dining space. The home provides different vignettes for living, with each new setting primed for making memories. From the sunset-flooded deck and the heated pool to the quiet reading nook, all with its majestic views.

A Seaside Sanctuary 

Head upstairs to the private level and the interior scheme takes a dramatic shift, shedding the cocooning palette of chocolate, mahogany and grey for lightweight tones of cookies and cream. In the master bedroom, fold-away shutter doors reveal a balcony with seating area, again, capitalising on the panoramic views – views best enjoyed from the lavish bathtub, which takes pride of place in the centre of the en-suite. Sharing the floor are two guest rooms, including one with a private outdoor courtyard, which can be closed off to create a completely separate living quarter. 

It’s little surprise that, even after a quick tour of Penthouse of Barley, this chic oceanside villa is unique among the exclusive offerings of In Residence by Pieter Brundyn. ‘From the near infinite views over the Atlantic to the nearby beaches and hiking trails, this home offers something for everyone,’ says Pieter Brundyn. ‘The best part: if you don’t feel like leaving, you don’t have to, as the villa caters to every need you could ever have.’

Available through In Residence by Pieter Brundyn, Penthouse on Barley is a love letter to the beauty of Cape Town’s wild landscape, an all-season escape, and – more than anything – it’s the perfect backdrop for making lifelong memories.