Where the Heart is

Where the Heart Is sits on Powell Road, a white cottage with a pergola veranda along its front and a lawn big enough for a trampoline and a rope swing, both of which are on it.

The house stands back across that lawn behind a stepping-stone path through the trees. A flowering vine climbs the pergola and azaleas grow up against the wall. Everything is on the ground floor, with parking outside and a door of your own.

White beams, black stove

The lounge and dining area run open plan under a white beamed ceiling, a wood-burning stove at one end and doors onto the garden down the side. The kitchen is bright white with a large island counter and bar stools, pendant lighting, a wine rack and a window facing the garden. A wooden dining table sits between the two. There is a dishwasher and a washing machine.

Mosquito nets and French doors

Three bedrooms sleep eight. One has a white bed under a mosquito-net canopy with doors straight out to the garden, another is piled with pillows behind French doors, a third has an armchair, its own garden access and a corner with a small desk. A sofa bed makes up the remainder. One bathroom is an en-suite with a walk-in shower, the other has a freestanding oval bathtub and a separate shower.

Pergola, trampoline, braai

A pergola-covered walkway runs the length of the house with a bistro table beneath it, and a covered patio at one end holds a dining table and cushioned chairs facing the lawn. The braai sits under the trees near the trampoline. The garden is large, planted and entirely enclosed.

Down at the lagoon beach

A sandy lagoon beach, forested hills across the water, buoys out on the calm: all within walking distance, and kayaks get dragged up that sand at sunset. The Armstrong Road causeway is the island’s only link to Knysna. Our piece on the island has more.

Built around

Families with children: the swing, the trampoline and the enclosed garden make that plain. Groups of up to eight, all on one level.