The simple basket, an object of pure perfection.
I think I may a love a basket more than most, and have been to some incredible factories both locally and in Vietnam before where it truly is an art form.
Its quite remarkable watching how some simple fibres are transformed into vessels of sheer beauty. Much like watching someone plaster a wall, it definately looks easier than it actually is.
You can tell a lot about a person by the art or decor they choose to showcase on their walls. When it comes to decor in the home, art is the most tricky to get right. Subjective and unique for each person, it really is that final finessing touch, the thread that brings the space together, that talking point or playful piece…so what does your art say about you and your home?
There are many different ways to curate your walls with care – big bold statement artworks to create a strong focal point in the room, a vehicle for bringing colour to the space, or just a playful collection of your favorite pieces.
We have collected some of our favorite walls from spaces we have curated to inspire your own curation skills at work or home. Have fun, art should always bring great joy or at least stir some emotion within.
*sigh* Shelving…no matter where you live there is just never enough, is there? When we moved into our bigger house, each room echoed they were so empty, and yet slowly but surely I have managed to start filling every nook and cranny.
Anyhoo, enough about me and my hoarding…this post is about creating the perfect shelfie.
Be it in a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen or lounge, every space looks good with some gloriously draped shelves. Practical but pleasing on the eye, we have put together some of our best looks and feels to get you inspired.
We started with a classic basic shelf and put together 3 looks.
The living space
The kitchen
The bathroom
Same shelf, completely versatile.
Now for some other looks and feels, we put together our favorite selection from past projects:
These open lip shelves are great for displaying books, art or vinyls. Less practical due in part to the depth of the shelf, they are designed with specific purpose in mind.
2. The classic floating shelfie
Always a win and depending on size and depth can normally carry quite a substantial amount of items. Great for kitchens and book displays.
3. The hanging shelfie
4. The little ledge shelfie
Bored of seeing your dining table laid bare, or worse being used as the central household dumping ground for bags, keys, books and everything in between?
Follow our quick and easy looks, using bits and bobs around the house, for a sleek and stylish look to make you swooooooon.
1. BRIGHT AND BOLD
2. NATURALLY GREEN
3. ARTISAN CHIC
4. FRUIT LOVER’S MARKET
5. SWEET AND SIMPLE
Photography by Alex du Toit
Styling your sideboard has never been so easy. Choose from our top picks below for the look that feels just right for you:
BEFORE….one seriously gorgeous little piece of furniture.
1. THE JUNGALOW
With green so on trend, and decorating with plants being on the tip of everyone’s green thumbs, our sexy little sideboard needed to be transformed into a jungle delight. No 1 rule is more is more when it comes to plants.
2. THE SENSE OF ORDER
Choose objects or vases that work for you, and duplicate. You can never have too much of a good thing right?
Match like with like, IE similar frames, similar vases, matching colours and a teeny touch of symmetry.
3. A LITTLE BIT OF HIPSTER
You didn’t think we would style without our beloved beard loving, bicycle riding, sriracha eating client in mind, did you?
Think belly basket, some sort of slogan (we know how I love text!), a vintage collection or two and a pile of vinyls never went amiss.
4. THE NORDIC
Always a classic….round up all your white, near white, off white and crisp white and combine for a simplistic Scandi approach.
5. THE ALL IN BLACK
Smoldering, dramatic and sleek.
6. THE COLLECTOR
What it is says on the tin….a round up of your favorite favorites that give you all the feels. Like a good tin of Quality Street at Christmas, this has a little bit of everything for everyone….color, texture, shape, materials and a beloved memento thrown in for good measure.
Aaaah AirBnb! At the tip now of every South African’s tongue and more fashionable than a pair of crocs in a flea market…with Uber being everyone’s favorite ride and voice notes taking over actual communication, kind of makes you wonder what we every did before there was such a thing as Airbnb….“what, you stayed in a hotel? How positively bourgeois of you!”
So, with every Tom, Dick and Aunty gearing up their homes for Airbnb while we flee the cities, we thought we would compile some hot tips from veterans of the industry….
Make your guests feel special with thoughtful gestures. Little chocolates or sweets next to the bed or on the pillow, water jug and glass, some handpicked books or magazines and a fresh flower or two should do the trick nicely. Click here for more bedroom inspiration.
2. Fresh flowers
Make your home feel loved with fresh flowers or green leaves in vases. Click here for tips on styling with plants.
3. The bare necessities: Kitchen
Make sure the fridge is stocked with basic essentials like milk and butter. Go one step further and leave some fresh fruit in the bowl, a bottle of wine and some festive xmas cookies for the win. Salt, pepper, sugar, tea and coffee are nice pantry fillers too.
4. Keep it fresh
Make sure there are fresh towels and linen on all the beds. Check your linen and towels, and make sure they are in decent condition….you might not mind your hard, threadbare towels but your guests might.
5. More bare essentials: Bathroom
Toilet paper, handwash in all the toilets and soaps in the shower…not rocket science here.
6. Some hot house and hood tips
If you aren’t going through an agent, make sure you leave some basic guidelines for the house and hood. Think about what your guest would use and need to know e.g how the alarm works, Emergency numbers, where the DB board is, “… kick rusty door gently on side to open..”, …that sort of thing. Go the extra mile by recommending great restaurants and bars nearby or interesting walks and activities to do. With water restrictions at an all time high its a good idea to highlight this to your guests, with some advice on how they can save water or at least assist you in keeping your grass alive.
7. Get your DIY on
Do a basic maintenance sweep of the house or flat and make sure everything is in good working order. Check electricity meter, WiFi, light bulbs, gas, firewood and matches for braai etc.
8. General spring clean
If you missed the good old de-clutter in September, now is the perfect opportunity to discard chipped plates, mugs, broken lampshades etc.
Enjoy…and happy (almost) holidaaaaays.
Let me help you guys survive your guests this season, with some easy to follow steps for a radical transformation.
Aaah, don’t you just love this time of year? We all reminisce fondly over how “…this year just flew by, and that can you believe there are only 7 or 6 or whatever weeks left of the year”? Then the cold shivers set in and you realise just how much needs to get done before you can think about that G&T next to the pool with Boney M playing some vaguely familiar tune in the background.
In the midst of buying way too much cranberry jelly and stocking fillers for every Tom, Dick and Harry, that guest room soon to be filled with some or other in-law might be weighing on your mind. So, in the spirit of getting jolly, we have devised a quick and simple guide on how to bring your guest bedroom (or your own bedroom) from something featured in Nightmare on Elm Street, to a chic and stylish space you never want to leave (well, your guests at least).
Make sure bedding matches – plain white or a light grey never dates. Treat your guests to anything from 200 thread count upwards, so that it can be washed repeatedly and still look good.
A bedside light is key – its practical, but whilst its functionality is key…lets make it pretty too.
Remember that scene from Along came Polly where they removed 3000 pillows off the bed? Well, we are not suggesting that! Just 2 or 3 to bring some texture and colour into the space.
(p.s also handy to prop up head for when reading in bed!)
Practical for chilly nights or a simple afternoon nap, but more importantly it finishes off the bed, and is a perfect vehicle for colour, pattern or texture.
Not only good for your health as it eliminates toxins while you sleep, but plants add texture and style simply & beautifully. [More about styling with plants here]
Defines the space perfectly. [more about styling with rugs here]
Complete the space perfectly with some framed artworks, its adds that final finesse and personal touch.
and voilaaaaaa, it really is that simple.
To really make your guests feel at home, these simple touches will make them welcome and cared for too.
Oooh the sun is shining and the newly painted toes are out. With Summer now in full swing, using plants in your home is a great way to freshen up you space and quite literally, inject some life into it. With the plant obsession trend not going away anytime fast, this is a quick and easy way to make your space look loved and cared for.
Here are my 5 top ways to style with plants:
4. Create a statement
5. Use fronds or branches
See full board here
For any home lover, we pour over beautiful spaces in décor mags and obsess about the latest looks showcased on our favourite décor blogs, but the sad reality when you in the midst of a renovation or makeover is that we can’t always afford what we love (sad, but true!). There are some great ways to bring your space to life, whilst on a budget, making it look beautiful any day of the week.
Whilst fresh flowers scattered around one’s home will always uplift a space, it can be costly buying new flowers every week. My top tip is to invest in a couple of hardy indoor plants that can be moved around and inject some sculptural greenness into a corner.
Create focal points, by grouping collages of framed artworks together. By buying bought frames one can save a lot of money rather than having artworks framed professionally, and they can house sourced postcards or printed photos. The benefit of this option is that they can be updated very easily too, rehousing fresh looks when your space needs a pick me up or some bursts of colour.
Look at what you already have or is stashed in that spare bedroom and start re-envisioning it. Sometimes just by re-grouping or moving things around, one can update ones look completely.
Roll up your sleeves, buy a tin of paint and paint a feature wall/s. It’s an inexpensive way to bring some drama and focus into a space. Hanging existing art against a colour or dark wall can really bring it to life, or painting your front door a different colour can change the whole dynamic from before.
Take the time to see what’s out there. With gumtree, 2nd hand furniture stores on every corner, markets, church fetes and even auction houses, there’s a multitude of resources to find interesting things. Sometimes all they need is a little imagination, a new environment or a lick of paint.
Have you changed your furniture layouts and now you have random ceiling pendants hanging in random spots? Instead of the expense of hiring an electrician and moving them, use a long chain/ wire with a ceiling mounted hook. Creates a truly funky look.
Further to point 5, update or source cheap furniture by painting it a bold colour. A little stool for the lounge, wooden barstools for the kitchen, bedside tables or kitchen vanities can cause quite a stir when renewed with a zesty lemon or bold red.
Updating hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry or an old sideboard can make all the difference. It’s a simple fix that really stands out. If you have any friends travelling overseas, Anthropologie has the most incredible selection of handles to revolutionise your space.
A little random, but bringing some beautiful texture in the form of woven baskets into your home can really make a difference. Either next to the fireplace for stacking wood, in the bathroom for toilet rolls, stash toys in them or use on shelving to store anything unsightly!
They are fabulous for housing plants and an inexpensive décor piece that immediately brings texture, colour and or pattern to a space.
Can’t afford a new couch…update the cushions! There are some great designs available and by being clever with print, colour and texture…that old couch will be given a new identity.
See full board on Pinterest.
Considering I struggled to keep gold fish alive, it came as a huge surprise to everyone that I have suddenly taken quite an interest in greenery, some might even say I have become a little obsessed.
I have become quite taken with the softness some green leaves can bring to a space, and the sculptural quality they contain.
I have always loved having fresh flowers in my home, and still do, but find that decorating with plants is a great way to inject some diversity and life into a space, literally.
Here are a couple of my favourites (in no particular order):
Sculptural and ridiculously easy to maintain – they don’t need much light or water to survive, and are a great air purifier.
Bucksome and beautiful, I find they pair well with a mid century modern/ seventies aesthetic. Known as a powerful toxin eliminator and easy to grow as they thrive in dim lighting and cooler climates.
Such a popular plant for interior designers, and quite a hard plant to come by. Characterised by its large dark green leaves that look like a fiddle/ violin, they really make a space look a million bucks and are featured in so many décor shoots as a result.
Love these little guys (or actually big guys as they can grow rather large). I love chopping off the leaves to place in little vases too.
Always a winner, this succulent with its long pointed leaves contains also a number of healing properties. Not only can it soothe skin burns and cuts, but also monitor clear the air of pollutants. Although probably a tad passé, I still love the trend of hanging an aloe suspended in a little water in a vase.
Ooooh the day I discovered this plant for a client, was a great day. It’s sometimes referred to as an eternity plant as it lasts so long. It’s literally so easy to maintain it’s a challenge to kill it! Long green leaves, it’s a slow grower and so durable it almost looks like it’s made from plastic….an absolute winner.
See full board on Pinterest.