Photography by Mitch Fong, courtesy of Indoek unless noted and with thanks to Indoek illustrator-writer Sean W. Spellman.
Indoek, an LA-based surf culture website, spotlights wave riders living in style the world over—in classic beach bungalows, in aeries made of shipping containers, in the back of tricked-out vintage vans.
Our favorite Indoek stop to date is Sunshine Stories, a surf camp and yoga retreat in Sri Lanka founded by two adventurous young Swedes.
The couple live in a 75-year-old Dutch colonial-style house with a generous veranda surrounded by banana and mango trees. Linn and Petter first visited Sri Lanka (previously known as Ceylon) in 2009, just after the island nation’s long civil war had ended.
Linn and Petter’s Own Home
Linn’s restored vintage Honda 90, shown here on the veranda, was a gift from Petter on their eighth anniversary.
Since moving full-time to Sri Lanka in 2014, Linn and Petter tell us they’ve been too busy to prioritize their own home.
“In classic Sri Lankan style, all the rooms had different bright colors: the living room was deep purple, one room was orange, and another baby blue,” says Linn.
The white-tiled floor and much of the wooden furniture, including the living room’s circular table and the dining table, came with the house.
Where to store the surfboards? Linn and Petter’s quiver of Bing boards (all made in California) hold pride of place in the dining room.
Occy, one of the couple’s eight rescue dogs, was found by the side of the road the same week they opened the Sunshine Stories retreat.
Next to a banana palm, a vintage hospital table found (and purchased) at a junkyard serves as a drinks cart.
Photograph by Linn Lundgren.
Formerly dark brown, the kitchen cabinets received a thorough whitewashing as did the walls and ceiling.
Photograph by Linn Lundgren.
Petter designed the office’s metal-and-wood rolling desks and had them fabricated by a local carpenter and welder.
Double doors in the living room lead to the master bedroom.
Photograph by Linn Lundgren.
Sunshine Stories is situated in another breezy Dutch colonial villa; this one had been remodeled by the prior owners in a style inspired by the work of the late famed Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, and mainly required cosmetic upgrades.
Sunshine Stories Surf Camp & Yoga Retreat
Linn and Petter bought the house when their university in Malmö granted them permission to write their final theses off campus.
The villa is built around a grassy courtyard with a frangipani tree and has open-air dining area and living areas.
They’ve since hired a staff of pros, and now oversee operations not only at Sunshine Stories, but at a year-old second retreat, Ceylon Sliders, located 15 minutes away on the beach in Weligama and geared to guests who want a more à la carte experience.
Part of the living room is set up for post-surf discussion and video analysis that coaches present one-on-one to students.
Guests stay in communal rooms for two to six with mosquito-netted beds built to Petter and Linn’s specs. Situated off the courtyard, this room opens to its own outdoor showers.
Our favorite of the guest rooms calls to mind a domestic portrait by Danish master Vilhelm Hammershoi (see A Culinary Space Inspired by a Painting).
“As Swedes, our first thought was to get bunkbeds from Ikea, but Ikea doesn’t exist here, so we had to teach our carpenter what a bunkbed is,” says Linn.
Linn and Petter with Yasawathie and Neel, two members of the Sunshine Stories staff.