featured spaces

What happens when a creative director, fashion buyer and a sustainability guru all get together? One hell of a lot of creative ideas and one beautiful looking apartment with a shed load of energy saving bulbs!

Mrs Rebels with a Cause was one of my first buyers when I was directing a merchandise team for an online retailer, and when she asked if I would run this project for them, I was more than honored to take on the work. Her sister in law was back from New York and was the perfect compliment to this team to add valuable insight and creative direction to the project.

As a couple, they are the perfect mix between sophistication and surfing, with a creative flair that rides between boho chic and uber NY trends. Their apartment is real estate gold, covering close to 500 sq/m on the Atlantic seaboard, but whilst in good condition, it was dated all the way back to the 80s. Tiled floors, mirrors galore and weird boxing everywhere made the bathrooms and kitchen feel cramped. What they needed was a space that reflected their love of the world, more Bali and less Dallas.

It’s been far too long time since we posted one of our completed projects. Truth be told, 2017 was a fast paced marathon to year end closing, and we started off 2000 and greateen seriously running. When I say running, I’m not talking about a gentle jog through the forest, I’m referring to something out of a horror film where the girl is racing, crying and screaming, whilst being chased by some monster. Get the picture?

I’ve been so excited to post our stage 1 completion of Mr and Mrs North and South’s magnificent home, since we completed last November. The landscaping part of the project is still underway and should be completed end April.

For me, this project truly epitomises why I started LLD and do what I do. Working with interesting clients, with a sense of style, who understand good functional design.

Following on from our last post showcasing our recently completed project for Mr Gone Fishing, http://leilester.co.za/2017/10/before-and-after-mr-gone-fishing-phase1/,here are a few more pictures from this special project.

These bathrooms especially, were some of my favorites ever done…I loved the mix of materials, the old mixed with new and the heavy industrial elements.

In the master suite we teamed the classic metro tile with slick black detailing in the taps, the customised steel shower cubicle, handles and accessories. We even went so far as to the powder coat the aluminium trims for the tiling, to add that final finesse.

The introduction of wood in both the vanity and shelf soften and further enhance the space perfectly.

They say a challenge in life is good.

For some people its running a marathon (or half, or even 5km…no judgies!), for others its going on a strict diet, or taking up a new hobby. For others still, it’s just surviving through the week.

My challenge came one cold wintery and rainy day a few months ago. One of my all-time favourite client’s brother asked if I was busy and if I could assist with a renovation he’s doing? At the time I was spinning (the work kind, not the gym kind), but I offered to come have a look and see if I could assist.

Now if truth be told I have no idea if it was actually raining that day, it was more to set the scene, but what I can tell you is I arrived on site to find….well, nothing. Granted it was a structure in so much as it had a floor, walls and a roof, but that was it….a basic shell but with one hell of a vision behind it.

Every now and again the renovation fairies bless you with a great client and a project that just flows right from beginning to end. Now that’s not to say ALL my clients are superb, wonderful and filled with happy dust, but sometimes the glove just fits perfectly and the schedule of works….well, just works!

Mrs Cool, Calm and Collected contacted me after seeing some of my work through a friend. With a new baby on the way and being the director of a company, she had her hands fairly full and needed some help with a new property purchased.

The property was purchased as a rental investment, and thus we needed to look at what work needed doing with this in mind. The property sits in a gorgeous complex on the slopes of the mountain with views that make you want to #blessed (before you gasp in horror, I didn’t do it, I’m just saying the views make you want to!).

The space desperately needed updating…it felt very 70s, but not in a cool, hip, streets of San Fran kind of way….we talking off white melamine, aging linoleum and dated mirrored walls. We set up reworking the various spaces in a way that made sense, and Mrs CCC’s approach to detail and design helped massively to form the best solutions and decisions along the way. With a great team on board, and problem solving skills to the max, the project flowed with a good rhythm and some serious karaoke tunes drafting through the space thanks to the master tiler (in fairness, I gave him a million metro tiles to space right, if his team wants to sing their way through it, who am I to judge?).

My nearest and dearest know my insatiable love for the Big Apple, and I still regret not having gone to live there for a bit with my love, pre kids.

Everybody has that one couple they are friends with….the ones who are easy going, go with the flow, are super fun to be around and come with little drama. So, when my Mr and Mrs Super Chilled asked me to be involved with their project and  give some design advice, I jumped at the opportunity. Taking a 2 bedroom single story home, to a 4 bedroom double story home complete with splash pool, front and back decks/gardens and a double garage was no small feat, but the result is quite simply breathtaking.

Walking into the space on shoot day, I was once again hit by the tranquil and calming energy the space has; driven in part by its residents, and in part by its careful spatial planning. There truly is an art to simplicity and this home embodies it perfectly.

Unassuming from the road, there are few hints as to what lies behind the big wall, so when you enter the house you are quite taken aback by the immense amount of space this home has. In fact, the front facade makes you feel transported to a farm in the Klein Karoo or Port Albert. The flow of the home works well with en-suite guest rooms at the front, and entertaining at the back with the master suite at the top being something quite special and “spoily” as Mrs Super Chilled would say.

Houses have their own personalities and energies, and so when I was introduced to this grand old lady first time around I was quite taken a back, and then quite simply, could not wait to get my hands on her.

From the street all one sees is a door, and not the prettiest at that, but oh, when you get your first glimpse of the giant ferns in the front garden you realise there is something magical here.

Beautiful wooden floors, and lush jungle like garden in front with subtle detailing throughout, like an inherited string of pearls around her wrinkly neck….getting the picture?

After a decade in retail I love that my career has done full circle, bringing me back to my original passion, interiors and design. It’s a refreshing change for me, for my suppliers to be around the corner and over the hill, rather than a 12 hour flight, 2 trains and a taxi trip away.  What I can’t seem to get my head around though is the break ups. You see, retail is a long term relationship, whereas interior design is more like a short fling. Ok, so it’s not quite a “it’s not you, it’s me” scenario, but the eventual heartache is still there.