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The team at VISI HQ is totally aligned with the Precious theme that was explored at this year’s Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris. We are ready to take gold beyond bling, and have travelled far and wide to round up our selection of the best boltholes and beach houses for you to enjoy. There is an elegant, clean-lined house in tropical Inhambane, Mozambique; a clapboard home right on the beach in Swakopmund, Namibia; a contemporary family home in Camps Bay; an eclectic emporium in Kramerville; a beachfront penthouse with black and dark-grey walls in the Strand; a renovated bungalow in Clifton; and Angama Mara in Kenya, where the interior design was the work of our talented Deputy Editor 01 Annemarie Meintjes. Says Annemarie, “Using a Maasai warrior in…

TIME TO SHINE It’s the end of the year, which means you finally have a gap to give your space a quick spruce-up. Head to VISI.co.za/decor for expert tips, from enhancing indoor-outdoor flow to making the most of a small kitchen. WIN AN OUTDOOR SCULPTURE Enter our exclusive online competition and you could win a polished striped red jasper gemstone sculpture from Urban Rocks, worth R9 000. Fast fact: It weighs 117 kg! Go to VISI.co.za/win to enter. # READER LOVE #HappyHolidays, all! Will you be taking your VISI to the beach this summer? Snap a pic and tag us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Twas a good Sunday. This is the type of read you never want to reach the end of. #readerLove #Visi #designIsLife #theAESTHETICLIFE #design – @kiara_danielle_pather…

With the Rio Summer Olympics around the corner, it’s apt that the Plascon 2016 Colour of the Year echoes one of the feature colours of the Brazilian flag. A colour reminiscent of a deep-blue tropical sea, Atlantic Beach B5-B1-1 is an intense shade of the hue that has been showing up on catwalks and in interiors both locally and abroad. HERE ARE FIVE TIPS FOR USING PLASCON ATLANTIC BEACH IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT 1. The colour blue is believed to promote concentration. Use Atlantic Beach in an office – either as a solid wall colour or for painting geometric patterns – to take advantage of this effect. 2. Create a feature wall in a bedroom. For a subtle effect, try an ombré application, fading the colour from dark to light. 3.…

WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL I SPENT A LOT OF TIME AT MY BEST FRIEND’S HOUSE. Adrian Frielinghaus was the youngest of five children so his parents were pretty relaxed. (I was an only child so my parents were not.) We could come home late from The Doors nightclub and raid the pantry and listen to Grateful Dead CDs. The house was so big that we didn’t wake anyone. Adrian lived high up on the ridge overlooking Orange Grove. A steep driveway wound up through the wild, terraced garden. From the uppermost reaches of the property, behind the house, we watched the summer thunderstorms rumble in from the Magaliesberg, all oranges and greys. The house was old – thoroughly old, inside and out. From the not-too-polished stoep you’d walk…

HER PLAN WAS TO KEEP THE DECOR AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE. “I WANTED A CALM SPACE THAT WASN’T OVERDECORATED.” THE SLEEK INTERIOR DESIGN IS A RESULT OF RENÉE’S CREATIVITY AND EYE FOR STYLE. RENÉE WANTED TO TRANSFORM THE EXISTING HOUSE INTO A MODERN, OPEN SPACE THAT BROUGHT FAMILY AND ENTERTAINING TO THE FORE. For make-up artist Renée de Sambento, home means family, calm and comfort – which you sense as soon as you step through the front door of the contemporary four-storey abode in Camps Bay where she lives with her entrepreneur husband Pedro, six-year-old Sanchia, three-year-old Catalina, and Boston terriers Lola and Elvis. Renée wanted to transform the existing house into a modern, open space that not only brought family and entertaining to the fore but also embraced the…

THEY IMAGINED AN ELEGANT, CLEAN-LINED HOUSE WHERE EVERYTHING COULD OPEN UP. WE WANTED THE MATURE TREES TO FORM PART OF THE DESIGN. Casper van der Merwe and Hein Scheffer have been living in the popular tourist town of Tofo, in the province Inhambane in south-eastern Mozambique, for eight years. The couple used to run a guesthouse and restaurant, but they grew tired of the always-a-party lifestyle of Tofo and wanted a little respite, a quiet oasis away from the hustle and bustle. So they scoured the area for a property and found it on a dune just outside Tofo, fringed by a lush mangrove forest, just far enough from the cosmopolitan town and popular beach. “We spent a long time dreaming and envisioning what we wanted the house to look…

We here at VISI HQ are crazy about one of the latest additions to design duo Jan and Liani Douglas of Douglas & Company’s range of products. The fabulously unconventional McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon drinks trolley was launched at 100 % Design South Africa earlier this year. It is part of a limited-edition range of fun yet functional pieces that are available in a grey-green and candy-pink palette to celebrate the southern hemisphere summer – although the trolley can be customised to suit a more low-key interior. The black steel frame holds two inlays, one in American white oak and the other in either marble or granite. Glasses go on the grating at the bottom, and the steel tray holds ice and your favourite tipple. Big wheels make the trolley easy…

BCom Business Management graduate Cobus Gous started his company Paper Republic towards the end of 2012 when he made some works on commission. Then he realised the potential for a retail range that could reach customers across the country. Today, his range of functional paper products includes lanterns, mobiles, flowers and more, as well as installations and products for events, weddings and private spaces. His creations are stocked in shops as far afield as London, Dubai, Washington DC and Panama City. What attracted you to the idea of working with paper? The attraction was the simplicity of white paper specifically. It can be easily overlooked, but offers endless possibilities to create beautiful products and installations. What has the response been like? Our products have been very well received and the…

Madoda Fani’s clay pots can move people to tears – literally! Once, an American buyer of two of his works started to cry when one broke. Maybe she knew just how busy this Cape Town-born, Jozi-based ceramicist is and how long it takes him to craft and painstakingly decorate each pot in his signature style. As if that’s not enough of a workload, Madoda also facilitates workshops for the Light from Africa Foundation and takes part in exhibitions like the recent Joburg Art Fair, 100 % Design South Africa and Design Miami. We simply had to find out more about the man whose pots have collectors around the globe queuing. How did you get into ceramics? After I finished school I worked as a painter of ceramics at the Potter’s…

Being the largest colour and coatings manufacturer in the world, AkzoNobel, the Dutch multinational behind Dulux paints, is constantly at work monitoring economic, social and design trends to stay ahead of the game. Recently, as part of its annual colour trend forecasting, Dulux named Monarch Gold as its colour of the year for 2016. This gold-influenced shade of ochre is both a replacement for and an evolution from 2015’s coppery orange. “It can be used in a multitude of areas and is well aligned to current trends, which see the increased use of gold and gold tones in fashion, design and architecture,” says Dulux colour expert Sonica Bucksteg. “Monarch Gold together with the trend palettes from ColourFutures 2016 beautifully complement one another to create either a tonal effect, a relaxed…

Kobus chats to us after a successful exhibition of his artworks at sculptor and furniture designer Dahla Hulme’s booth at 100 % Design South Africa. Tell us a bit about collaborating with Dahla Hulme at 100 % Design. There has always been an interest from me in her art, and vice versa. When the opportunity arose, she asked me to create the artwork for the booth. It worked quite well, because even though my artwork is fine there’s a roughness to it, and the same can be said of her work. Neither one of us pretends to be polished – you can see the lines in our process. Two works I created specifically for the event feature animals with mechanical wings alongside her furniture, which is mostly organic material combined…

WOODEN IT BE LOVELY Ramón Casadó, design director and co-owner of Bulthaup South Africa, says wood can bring an organic look to an otherwise sleek kitchen. “At bulthaup, oak has been very popular, be it natural or structured and in various colours. We’re doing a lot of dark structured oak, which provides a rich, dark ambience. South Africans want to see the essence of the timber, and our structured wood products lend themselves to this. "Engineered solid oak and solid walnut are also popular for doors, as they are the only ones on the market guaranteed not to bow or warp. “We’re also seeing extraordinary interest in having the interiors of cabinets, pocket doors and drawers being veneer and solid wood, which provides a refined feel and a higher level…

When Elisabeth Brandt, a 25-year luxury-spa industry veteran, became frustrated with the quality of products available locally and the amount of chemicals contained in many of the lines on the market, she took it upon herself to develop a range that’s not only luxurious and high quality but also free of artificial colourants, petrochemicals, synthetic preservatives, parabens and other harmful chemicals. “Healing Earth was created as an African brand that is premium, innovative and unique,” she says. “We advocate a nurturing, conscious approach to beauty based on love for oneself, others and the earth we live on.” Healing Earth products are divided into families that aim to address specific skincare needs: Kalahari Melon for hydration, Marula for softening and relaxing, African Ginger for slimming, African Potato for healing and repairing,…

Keep an eye out for discarded electrical insulators on the side of the road or pop in at your local electricity depot to collect some – they make great suspension lights, especially with a vintage Edison light bulb hung low and bare. Get a glass merchant to drill a hole in the head of the insulator, making sure the hole is big enough to thread an electrical cable through it, then fit a light bulb socket on the one end and an electrical plug on the other. Screw in a light bulb – and switch it on! We bought red fabric-covered cable cord for R39 per metre and a vintage Edison light bulb for R150 from Hoi P’loy. Ideal Glass & Mirror helped out by drilling the hole. • hoiploy.com • Ideal…

Departure LIGHT WEIGHT SPINNER DEBRA FOX “This is the perfect overnighter for city to bush. It won’t clash with the interior in bush lodges, and works for couples who swap luggage.” CHRIS BROWNE “I don’t find it attractive – but it’s not offensive. Nice detail. Matches Deb’s Mini!” Baggage CABIN MULTIWHEEL CHRIS“I like this! It’s timeless. Easy pull, smooth glide. A fast mover when one is late for the plane. But I panic about my wardrobe. What would I wear with this case! And there are too many hiding places. I don’t want to even think about where I’m supposed to put my socks! It would have been better with a light interior. I have lots of black in my wardrobe and would need a headlamp to find things.” DEBRA…

WE LEFT OUR HOUSE IN THE WINTER OF 2015. There we lived for nearly 12 years in a nest of brick, corrugation and wood – on the south side of a circle named after the August flower Senecio. It was Easter 2003 when we purchased a small piece of land in a place neither of us was familiar with at the time. We had roamed the rural Cape for many years in search of a site outside the city and on that Sunday in April we had found it in Betty’s Bay. Rabbits clapped and we tasted chocolate. Raymond Smith, my partner and architectural practitioner, designed the house on a gentle hill, facing the sea to the south and a mountain named Blesberg towards the west. In February 2004 we…

THE HOME OF MY CHILDHOOD might have been made of bricks but it seemed to me to be made of books: piles of paperbacks on bedside tables, leather-bound first editions cosying up to second-hand finds, and cabinets of encyclopaedias. My father was a psychiatrist, and his consulting rooms upstairs were lined floor to ceiling with artefacts and books. Down below, my mother taught drama in a studio furnished with scripts. In-between those two spaces, an ingenious arrangement of interlocking beds and cupboards accommodated three girls, two boys, Alice, The Cat in the Hat and the Kingdom of Narnia. You didn’t complain that you were bored in the home of my childhood. The reply was always the same: Who could be bored when there were books in the world? All those…

“KRAMERVILLE IS ABSOLUTELY THE FASTEST-MOVING VAGUELY LEGITIMATE DESIGN AREA IN SOUTH AFRICA AT THE MOMENT.” HIS OWN ARTEFACTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD MEAN MORE TO HIM THAN A SALE.  “I’M MORE OF A COLLECTOR THAN A DEALER,” says Mark Valentine, looking around the back area of the Amatuli Artefacts showroom in Kramerville, where found objects are for sale. From Yoruba staffs to old vacuum cleaners, the objects in here have been allocated prices. But when it comes to his own collection of artefacts from all over the world, which mean more to him than a sale, the businessman says, “There are many – some I haven’t seen in 10 years!” Mark beams when he talks about his passion, a brand that was established in 1988 and that “started in…

PERHAPS THE BEST FEATURES OF THE PENTHOUSE ARE ITS THREE BALCONIES, WHICH TAKE UP 150 OF ITS 400 SQUARE METRES. Twelve years ago, Charl and Josene Groenewald bought a modest apartment further down the street from their current address atop Cape Sands, a nine-storey apartment block with an unhindered sea view. “We used it as a holiday home,” says Charl, “and then for our children when they were at university in nearby Stellenbosch. I sat on its little balcony many times staring at this penthouse, which had remained unfinished for years after the rest of the building was completed.” Eventually, he “nagged” the developer to sell them the penthouse as it was, which was pretty much the bare bones of the structure. “We didn’t know the challenges that would come…

TAKING GOLD BEYOND BLING The highlight of every stylist’s visit to Maison & Objet is the Inspiration Space at the back of Hall 7, which is a perfectly created conceptual exhibition of movements and happenings that will influence consumers and dictate the way we live. Often it confirms what is in the air, but it always opens minds to think beyond the obvious, to break through the stratosphere. This season they invited visitors to explore the “precious” theme. Curated by designer and stylist Elizabeth Leriche, the inspiration space showed how artists, artisans and designers are reinventing the codes of luxury and rarity with a very specific focus on raw materials, their origin and the different stages of their transformation. L'INFINI (INFINITY) French sculptor Nathanaël Le Berre looks for innovative ways…

The House of Veuve Clicquot partnered with celebrated Parisian interior design duo Tsé & Tsé to create festive gift boxes for two of its Champagnes, the Yellow Label and the Rosé, for the holiday season. The design is inspired by 19th-century Parisian cabaret dancers. The two ready-to-gift boxes, one in yellow and one in pink, are finished off with a sparkly ribbon and a single yellow feather, plus a graphically bold and bright red flower that frames the house’s iconic anchor symbol. The pair behind Tsé & Tsé, Sigolène Prébois and Catherine Lévy, met as students at the elite design school ENSCILes Ateliers in Paris, and 20 years ago they formed their company. Over the past two decades they’ve made a name for themselves in the world of interior spaces…

A love of surfing and a desire to explore had artist and designer Atang Tshikare pick up his smartphone and snap his way through the streets (and waves) of Cape Town. These photos inspired a series of drawings of iconic buildings and sights in the city. Now, a collection of tote bags, beach bags, waterproof wallets, postcards and A3 prints – made by Zabalazaa Designs – feature Atang’s graphic images of City Hall, the Bo-Kaap, Mouille Point Lighthouse and Woodstock Cycleworks, among others, accompanied by interesting facts about the landmarks printed on the other side. The We’re Right Here collection is about discovering the city, says Atang. It puts knowledge first, followed by function and lastly aesthetic. • Visit VISI.co.za to see more photos. • zabalazaa.com…

The success of the KAMERS pop-up exhibitions shows no sign of abating. After successful events in Cape Town, Joburg and Hermanus this year, the KAMERS carnival will end the year with an event in Irene, Pretoria in the first week of December. “The KAMERS mission is to unearth South Africa’s hottest new creative talent and product ideas, combining these with our ‘back by popular demand’ traders in a fusion of design and crafts, all under one roof,” says Magdel Kemp, KAMERS co-owner and head of marketing. “In this way, KAMERS forms a vital interface between developing creative talent and the public who wish to support deserving South African craft and design.” KAMERS is the largest collection of curated South African design you will find, says co-owner and creative director Wanda…

Blaine floor lamp, made of lacquered metal and PU leather, R1999. Maine Blue Rain dinner plate, R99. Esbo marble-effect porcelain salad bowl, R349. Jacques light-grey chaise longue, R9999. Drafts set of four porcelain mugs, R289. Callahan dining chair, with an oak-veneer plywood seat and solid oak legs, R2499. Long glass carafe with handle, R399. Mini Ribbon powder-coated steel table lamp, R1299.…

As the first-time winner of the Turbine Art Fair and Sylt Emerging Artist Award (TASA) in 2014, Setlamorago spent two months on the island of Sylt working on his art during the northern hemisphere spring. Was the island as secluded as it sounds? Incredibly so, especially considering it is about 16 km from the mainland. What were your days like? I was intrigued by the agricultural landscape, which I spent some days photographing. I also met an artist named Michael Struck who let me use his printing studio. That allowed me to fill my days with producing new works on a daily basis and exploring new mediums. I had a beautiful piano in my residence that I played when I missed my jazz collection. Most of your works reference South…

MICHAELA STEHR 1. VISI’s Content Producer and resident redhead was born in East London on 13 January 1987. 2. Although she only lived in the coastal town for two years, she says she remembers eating scones and riding on the Smartie Train in the park with her mom. 3. Michaela shares a Victorian cottage in Observatory, Cape Town, with a chilled-out boyfriend named Bryn and a highly strung cat called Pip. 4. She claims not to share a birthday with any celebrities, but we have it on good authority that both Orlando Bloom and Patrick Dempsey were born on 13 January. 5. Michaela’s claims to fame are her ability to play the piano by ear and the military precision with which she makes a bed. 6. A passionate lover of…

SAMSONITE The Lite-Cube DLX spinner is made of an impact-resistant, lightweight material and features leather soft touch handles. • R7495 BRIC’S The Bellagio spinner trunk is an iconic Italian design with Japanese dual wheels. Debra loves this one for travel by road or private plane. • R8 498,50 BRIC’S The black leather Magellano rolling duffel is a handsome carry-on. • R13 497,50 RIMOWA The Bolero cabin multiwheel is lightweight, with distinctive grooves. • R10 995 • Chris Browne, 083 456 8994 • Debra Fox, 083 280 7304 • foxbrowne.com • Luggage supplied by Ronnie @ Hyde Park, 011 325 4252 JEKYLL & HIDE The Oxford carry-on wheeled holdall is a beautifully crafted leather bag. • R6 748,95…

THE GREAT ENGLISH BOOK OF VERSE, encyclopaedias and other collectibles towered above me on the bookshelf in my grandfather’s lounge. They were exposed to the elements – the waxy linoleum floor, the discoloured lace curtains and the grease from the leaky petrol wall heater. I was wedged neatly inside the little cupboard at the bottom, as wide and tall as two cooldrink crates, with the books that slept inside. I still remember that smell: a mixture of musty old walnut wood and tattered pages, a scent so deep that the grain of that wood could tell more stories than the books the little cupboard housed. There were accents of Mr Min in the air. But if I didn’t inhale quickly enough then they would disappear and settle with the wind…

THE MOST STRIKING FEATURE OF THE HOUSE IS THE SYMPHONY OF WOOD. Clifton Fourth Beach on Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard is one of the country’s most desirable spots, as evidenced in the summer months when South Africans and foreign tourists flock to it. For Leon and Jann Saven and their daughter Gabriella, who live in one of the oldest bungalows on the beach, it’s not just a summertime romance. The couple moved in 12 years ago after an extended stint in California. And for Jann, who grew up in this house, it was a double dose of coming home. Leon, an architect with his own practice in Cape Town, says they put their own stamp on the house. The budget didn’t allow them to demolish the structure and start again…

Terry Ravenscroft had been mining gemstones since 1987 when, in the 1990s, he unearthed a 36-tonne jasper obelisk. He offered it to a Japanese client who was looking for boulders for a garden he was creating. He bought Big Mother, as they called it, in its rough form and it became the largest gemstone ever moved between two continents. The discovery and sale of Big Mother were to inspire Terry to start his company Urban Rocks, which produces gemstone boulders and functional items for use in- and outdoors to a local and international client base. Which gemstone boulders are the most popular? Red striped jasper and sodalite. Do you only deal in boulders or do you use the stones to make functional items? I have considered furniture, but I like…

TINY BUBBLES ALL ROUND You can’t call it a party if there are no bubbles. Here are two we love. 1. Pongrácz Desiderius 2008 Made in the French tradition on South African soil, this bubbly is composed of 70 % Chardonnay and 30 % Pinot Noir. And the bottle is just beautiful! • R375 • We have 3 bottles to give away. Avondale Armilla Blanc de Blanc 2009 This award-winning MCC bubbly is made from organically grown Chardonnay grapes. • R200 • We have 2 bottles to give away. WINNING WINES For wine lovers, the summer holiday season is synonymous with whites and rosés. Gabriëlskloof Sauvignon Blanc 2015 This is a product of Peter-Allan Finlayson’s first vintage at Gabriëlskloof, "one of the greatest vintages of recent times”, says the winemaker. Expect kiwi, blackcurrant, melon…

How did you start making pattern art? It began in 2010 when I studied in Madrid. I was doing a series of abstract drawings from photos I’d taken in Durban and Johannesburg on an architectural tour when I was surprised to realise I was drawing patterns. I have since developed different methods to build pattern compositions. What is the inspiration behind PacBoy? PacBoy came about because I was asked to be feature designer for 100 % Design South Africa 2015. I was already sitting on some ideas for a range that used a lot of stripes, black and white, and was quite sporty and fun. Sometimes I use more concrete subject matter, but PacBoy was experimental – I only had an idea of the aesthetic form I wanted to achieve.…

She may live in the far-away Karoo dorp of Nieu-Bethesda, but Charmaine Haines’s world-renowned ceramics often sell faster than hot cakes, and her husband Martin’s quirky clay hares have the habit of hopping straight out of the studio door while he’s fixing the last whisker. Then there’s their friend and fellow ceramicist Anthony Shapiro, who hardly has time to throw his famously beautiful bowls because he’s too busy running the Art in the Forest Centre in Constantia’s Cecilia Forest: a social business enterprise presenting pottery classes and exhibitions, as well as producing its own range. So, how to inspire these ceramic luminaries to make more work? Well, with Antony’s 50th birthday looming, he thought why not organise a big celebratory exhibition at the Art in the Forest gallery? And that’s…

“The trend in design is that people are looking for ever more personal, intimate and comfortable spaces that offer magic and excitement to their experience of interiors through the use of inspirational design,” says Julia Day, founder of Generation. This interior design business has grown from a furniture showroom into a cutting-edge retail store in Hyde Park with imported European brands (and soon a custom-designed local range). Julia says global appreciation for craftsmanship and bespoke experiences influenced Generation’s decision to collaborate with esteemed Italian furniture brand De Padova in presenting 100 % Hotel at this year’s 100 % Design South Africa expo. “In line with the global shift away from the generic, mass-produced aesthetic towards a more artisanal and handcrafted approach, we paid close attention to creating unique, considered and…

SOME OF LUCY’S FAVOURITE WORKS AT THE JOBURG ART FAIR “This year, our special projects programme focused on experimental film and live performance, so it follows that a few of my favourite works can be described as multidisciplinary in form,” says Lucy. The eighth annual FNB Joburg Art Fair was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in September. The fair has grown to the point that it has become an anchor for Joburg Art Week, which sees a vibrant programme of collateral events happening all over the city, with galleries, museums, arts organisations and artists collaborating to promote a public focus on the city’s art scene. We’ve seen a huge interest in all things African. Is this a trend that will continue to grow? Absolutely. When it comes to contemporary…

The days of drinking tepid H2 O from the kitchen tap are so over thanks to the state-of-the-art Samsung Sparkling refrigerator. Not only does this streamlined four-door beast offer a ridiculous amount of storage space but it also boasts an integrated water dispenser so you can enjoy a tall, cool glass of sparkling water whenever you fancy one. There’s no better way to keep your cool this summer. • R42995 • www.samsung.com GIFT Stand a chance to win a hi-tech Samsung Sparkling refrigerator, worth R42 995! To enter, go to VISI.co.za/win.…