featured spaces

Tall clients has seemingly become my middle name and Mr and Mrs HD & N were no exception.  During the throws of the pandemic I got a phone call out of the blue from a lovely couple who I then met up with, masked to the hilt, in a coffee shop. They had bought a 2 bed apartment in an older block in town and the layout was just not working for them. They had a very tight galley kitchen and bathroom , resulting in Mr HD &N spending most of his time stooping to either cook or shower.

They knew exactly what they wanted but needed someone to help pull it all together, manage the design process and the project management in its entirety.  I love working with dynamic creatives and these two were no exception. We had a shared vision for the end result and it was refreshing for me to work with a slightly more mid century modern look and feel once again.

For a variety of paperwork issues, the project was put on hold and it was only quite a few months later that I got a call once again from them. Since I had last seen them they had snuck in a little wedding and were now set and rearing to go ahead. Luckily I had a small gap in schedules and we decided to jump head first in and start a mere two weeks or so later.

One flew to america, the other to Johannesburg and I got handed the keys to get on with it, which is my absolute best!

Life has felt really hard this week since yet another Cyril evening announcement and I’m one of the lucky ones where my work is gratefully largely unaffected. We have learnt to dread and fear these evening soirees in equal measure, and live in a constant state of limbo not knowing truly what the future holds. Since our lock down last year we have learnt to stay nimble, that plans that can change at a drop of hat and one should always have the bar fridge fully stocked. Whilst my initial love of lock down has somewhat dwindled since March/ April 2020, what I have really held true is our intent to create beautiful spaces.

When I started this business almost 7 years ago, it was ALL about the people, and that remains unchanged. There is something truly priceless about working with real people, real families, real businesses and transforming their spaces into something magical that speaks to them. More than ever our spaces are sacred, a place that is solely ours, a reflection of self and most importantly a place we spend 99% of our time from now until who knows when.

It seems fitting for the first and last post of the dreaded year that is 2020 to be the project that seemed it would never end.

Whilst I have so many wonderful adjectives to name this couple as, “In for the Long Haul” was the only one that seemed to be the pertinent choice. Some hair raising structural challenges were endured, a screed floor that simply refused to dry and then was colour batched wrong and had to be redone and some intense rain that caused further delays were but a few of the challenges we faced. The ultimate cherry on bloody top was of course a major world pandemic hitting us smack in the face right in the middle of it which certainly sent us to our knees.

Whilst I’m not going to make this post about what a tough year its been, it really has been the not so quiet elephant in the room for 2020 that’s hard to ignore. I don’t think a day goes by without the C word being mentioned! We have all had to face up to our own individual and collective challenges this year and endure hardships, fear, anxiety and immense sadness, whilst also experiencing some humbling take outs and special moments that are not easily forgotten. I for one know that whilst Lockdown was an extreme experience, it brought my family together in a way that I will forever hold dear. Plus I will never underestimate the value of having a well stocked bar ever again!

This project will always remain in my heart as the testament to what we can all endure when faced with our worst nightmare and the inner strength we find to carry on. This family became embedded in my life as we navigated this together and finished the project on what could only be described as the biggest high ever.

What should have been completed in 8 weeks took us 6 months, and whilst I like to think it was worth waiting for, the journey that got us here certainly was.

When the chips are down you look around to see who your crew are and for me that has been the humbling experience of 2020. We strive to create beautiful spaces, but its the incredible people that surround us who truly build them.

Looking back, I so wish I had posted this project following its completion last November 2019. Remember those days when we were only ever in the fast lane? We had chased our tails right up until December closing and quite frankly started 2020 running too.

We were so chuffed with this transformation! Besides looking bang on trend, we achieved the primary goal of helping to radically improve the turnover for this store, aligning with the brand ethos of showing local product set for an international market.

We were approached by this fantastic local brand to assess one of their main retail stores and see why it wasn’t trading as well as they had hoped. It was in a prime location in a top Cape town shopping centre and essentially had all the ingredients to be a success, yet they weren’t seeing this reflected in the balance sheet. Both my kids had worn this brand as babies so I knew it well and loved it. Myself and my team set off to do a mystery shop to try and provide some critical feedback and insight into what was potentially at play here. The trouble areas were clear to us and we provided fast, creative and cost effective solutions to transform this space and in so doing, increase turnover.

A huge selling point of this brand is that its locally produced, its a high end product balancing both podiatric and pediatric needs, earth friendly, free of harmful substances and comfortable! Besides all that, its a seriously good looking product. However, none of these KEY selling points were evident when walking into the store. The brand didn’t feel local nor exclusive, and it was overly cluttered. By redesigning the flow, creating key focus areas to see product and back up stock being hidden behind custom joinery, we created a calmer setting. Using natural woods and whites to make it feel contemporary and trendy and a key colour palette that supported the brand identity made the store inviting. We used local craftsman to make beautiful lighting and the woven giraffe head to give it that local flavour, whilst still feeling very international, these elements brought that necessary “je ne sais quoi”to give it a unique personality and set it apart from other stores.

I’ve so enjoyed looking over the photos of this project we completed in Aug/ Sep last year, which now obviously feels like a lifetime ago. (January was a long year, wasn’t it?!)

My best projects are the ones where we can do a full overhaul, furnishings included, so that you can truly transform an ugly duckling into a super duper swan, and bring the best of the space to life across all elements.  In fairness, this wasn’t the ugliest duckling I’ve had the pleasure in transforming. In fact, I’m sure back in the late 90’s it was quite the hot stuff when travertine was in and so too was chocolate brown. My joy in this project, as with most of mine, came from working with the clients and I still feel there should be a reality series following these two around who were both hugely entertaining from start to finish.

They have renovated a number of times so were no newbies to a schedule of works, but with busy lives and work and family commitments, they needed to release the reigns of this one to someone else. Tenants had moved out and they wanted to now transform this pad into a great city break for their parents. They were practical with considered decision making skills as well as both being hugely creative too. As stark opposites to one another, they completely balance each other out but in a massively entertaining way…imagine a Sofia Vergara marrying Bear Grylls (struggled with the personality comparison, but you get the picture right? )

Besides navigating the various personalities living in the actual block itself this was a great transformation from start to finish and the end result is bang on trend with the right energy for a seaside pad. In fact I’m desperate to escape there myself!

Coming back to “the office” after a seriously great holiday and recharge is challenging at the best of times and its really made me reflect on how crucial it is to create a great working space and environment if you want to build the right culture within your team. Even if you work by yourself, having a space that you want to sit in is crucial if you want to find the drive and energy after days on the beach doing nada (ok, lets be honest with 2 kids there was literally NEVER a moment I was doing nothing, but I certainly wasn’t grafting particularly hard at any given moment)

I was so privileged last year to get to work with some truly awesome companies and help in designing and creating spaces that made their staff happy, creating environments that reflected their true essence.

Electrum approached me at the beginning of last year after they had just moved into a larger new space and even though the bones were there, they needed the right design elements to tie it all together and reflect who they are…a bunch of really funky tech geeks!

Despite being started 2012 and growing at a rapid rate, they wanted to keep that start up enterprise energy. It was crucial to create areas that the staff were able to relax in and have informal meetings and yet still spoke to a corporate client arriving for a presentation. The brief was to encapsulate their inner being, the funky side of who they all are, and not feel like just another corporate office space.

“What do want to be when you grow up?

A playful question, sure, but one that could set some kids going into full panic attack mode. Even though I playfully ask my kids that question often myself, more for the fun of hearing their answers than having any real motive behind it, the reality is that most people may never fully realise a complete cookie cut execution of their dream. Most importantly though, when is the cut off of being considered “grown up?”

I had fantasied about being a lawyer for a good part of my early years, LA Law was my favorite show and I got great pleasure in picturing my closing arguments. Becoming a politician followed next and then most recently, a music video art director for MTV.