The Hex River pass is an exhalation. Climbing out of the verdant Hex River valley, you crest the escarpment, and suddenly the landscape changes. It’s where the Karoo begins – and whenever I round the pass’s final right-hand bend and the road straightens into those beautiful Karoo vistas, I can feel myself breathe out and relax. It’s only then that it really feels like I’ve properly escaped into the country.

The last time I drove it was to shoot the house on our cover. In late January, photographer Jan Ras and I set off for Prince Albert, aiming to spend a few days there shooting interesting new homes in one of my favourite South African country towns. The first of those homes is on pages 106 to 117. Designed by Casper Lundi and Yvonne Brecher of Studio Biru, it’s the perfect representation of this issue’s New Rustic theme, combing modern minimalism with the traditional Karoo brakdak aesthetic.

It’s a theme that’s pulled right through VISI 143, with beautiful country homes from Dullstroom to Canada’s Thirty Thousand Islands district; refurbed country hotels in the Cape Winelands and on the slopes of the Tsitsikamma mountains; get-the-look interiors ideas on page 56; and our trends guru Chris Reid’s look at the emerging rustic trend.

We’re always trying to showcase new local talent, and this month the spotlight falls on Sipho Khwebula Twala of Khwebula Arts, as well as five emerging artists from the recent Investec Cape Town Art Fair: Tshepiso Moropa, Guy Simpson, Kamva Matuis, Amy Rusch and Warren Maroon.

Also on during the same week in February was Cape Town Furniture Week, now in its fourth year. VISI was again the official media partner, and the prestigious CTFW x VISI Design Prize unearthed yet another promising talent in Tom Lead, who collaborated with Stripped Studio to create 2026’s winning entry: the Koppie chair (see page 86).

Topping off a packed issue of VISI is a 30-page Bathrooms special section where your home’s often-overlooked space steals the spotlight. Our interiors expert Martin Jacobs selects new trends, from brave colour to luxe natural stone, to spark your next revamp.

There you have it, VISI 143: full of beautiful images, engaging storytelling and inspiring interior design ideas – and all made by human hands, not by some sketchy AI algorithm. Enjoy the read. And the exhale.

– Steve Smith, Editor | info@visi.co.za

Finally… thanks, Jo!

It’s also the final issue that has the talented Jo Buitendach as contributing editor. Jo’s been curating and writing our Stories section since issue #125, and we’ll miss her wonderfully quirky eye and insightful features. Jo, your contribution to VISI has been immense, and you’ve definitely set the high-water mark. I’m hoping we’ll still see your byline appear on the pages of future issues, as one of our writers!

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The post Introducing VISI’s Latest Issue 143 appeared first on Visi.

WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Gina Dionisio; Cape Town Furniture Week / Hannah St Clair 

A totemic field is not merely a collection of objects but a charged system organised around symbols that carry presence and gravity. Meaning emerges through proximity, repetition, and exchange. In The Totemic Field – a collaborative exhibition by Joburg-based furniture designers Mash.T Design Studio, TheUrbanative, and multidisciplinary design studio Hoven – these ideas found compelling material expression.

Curated by Nisha van Hoven, the showcase was an artful exploration of the contemporary totemic – where waste, error, and experimentation are not by-products of design but generative forces, producing functional forms that quietly hold collective meaning. “They are definitely not static objects, they are very much adaptive systems. So you will see part lamp, part structure, part object. They refuse fixed identities,” says Nisha.

Featuring new pieces and prototypes, the exhibition positioned modularity not only as a functional strategy but also as a philosophy grounded in circularity, collaboration, and expressive African design. Each piece became a vessel of memory and intention, shaped by material, labour, and the many hands involved in its making.

For Thabisa Mjo of Mash.T Design Studio, the showcase highlighted the brand’s continued journey of generational artisanship, collaboration, and learning. “This story revolves around our metal spinner, Grandpa Jackson. We asked him to teach one of our young artists how to spin. And so this is the result of a year-long apprenticeship,” she says, pointing to the prototypes.

As the apprentice worked towards mastering the spinning process – a technique that resulted in the new Axis Collection – many components naturally didn’t make the cut. These were assembled into imperfect prototypes, such as the Mad Hatter, a standing lamp that embraces the imperfections of its materials, revealing a new aesthetic in which waste tells a story.

Mpho Vackier, founder and designer of TheUrbanative, presented new and reimagined pieces from the African Crowns, Homecoming, and Ndebele collections. “We wanted to push the materials and push ourselves,” she says. Among the pieces on display was the Fula Chair, upholstered in Mungo double-cloth fabric with a blue-stained natural ash seat – a progression from the Fulani Chair. “This chair has lived many, many lives. I think there are five versions. It was first made in steel, then charred red oak, and now we’ve revisited it in colour,” explains Mpho.

Crafted from solid kiaat and stained a deep rosewood, the Phondo Mirror is another addition to the 2018 African Crowns Collection. “This piece is exciting for us because we are known for working in steel, not timber,” says Mpho. “As novices in timber work, we wanted to push ourselves to see if we could integrate the things that we’ve learned from metalworking into working in timber.”

Each piece on display in The Totemic Field reflected the fluid and negotiated nature of contemporary making and collective life. Through time, labour, and exchange, the exhibition revealed the totemic field not as a fixed object to be observed, but as a living practice shaped collectively. mashtdesignstudio.com | theurbanative.com | hoven.co.za

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The moment you realise a space is beautifully designed is rarely the moment you notice the individual materials. It is the quiet rhythm of grout lines across a floor. The way a basin sits naturally against a wall. The way light moves across a surface and catches the finish of a tap.

This is where design reveals itself. Between the lines.

In a thoughtfully designed interior, the visible surface is only part of the story. The real character of a room lives in the relationships between materials: tiles accented by paint, basins paired with tapware. Using texture and lighting to create a space that feels calm, balanced and considered.

The Styling Between the Lines promotion from Stiles celebrates these subtle design moments. Launching on 25 March 2026 across eleven showrooms nationwide, this event offers up to 40% off a curated selection of tiles, sanitaryware and tapware.

Whether you are renovating a bathroom, refreshing a kitchen or planning a new build, this promotion offers an opportunity to bring thoughtful design into every surface of your home.

Beautiful interiors are rarely accidental. They are built one careful decision at a time.

Products to Explore

For bathrooms, discover selected Duravit sanitaryware, including the refined D-Neo Counter Top Basin and the Happy 2D rimless wall-mounted toilet pan, available in both white and anthracite finishes.

Tapware options include the sleek Blutide Neo stainless steel basin mixers, available in tall and standard formats, alongside concealed shower mixers, diverter mixers and bath mixers. The Blutide Sage accessory range adds practical elegance with brushed stainless steel robe hooks, shower shelves, soap baskets, towel rails and towel rings.

In the kitchen, the Blutide Neo sink mixer and the pull-out sink mixer combine clean design with everyday functionality.

The promotion also includes exceptional value on the Hansgrohe Talis E range, featuring basin mixers, bath diverter mixers and shower arms, together with co-ordinated accessories.

As cooler months approach, the Jeeves Spartan Heated Towel Rail and the Etienne Sanware Oval LED Demister Mirror offer thoughtful comfort and convenience.

Tiles remain at the heart of the collection. Discover special pricing on Etienne Tiles Highveld Greige and White, as well as Griqua Stone Grey and White tiles. Inspired by South African landscapes and crafted in durable porcelain, the Etienne range brings calm texture and natural elegance into the home.

Further highlights include the AB Tiles Industrial Hall range, Enon Conglomerate, selected designs from the exclusive Funky Tiles collection, and large-format Florim slabs including the I Classici and Les Origines options.

Discover the full Styling Between the Lines promotion at Stiles showrooms nationwide, or explore inspiration and product selections online.

Beautiful spaces are created in the details. Sometimes, the most important design decisions happen between the lines.

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WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Del Rio Bani

Designed by Impepinable Studio, Agrosemillas’ new offices reflect both the company’s industrial roots and its shift towards technological innovation and environmental responsibility.

Situated within an industrial complex defined by large vehicles, logistical infrastructure, and production processes – and bordered by vast agricultural fields – Agrosemillas required workspaces capable of supporting concentration, meetings, and technical development despite an environment dominated by noise, dust, and logistical intensity.

Here, work rhythms follow the cycles of the harvest, alternating quieter periods with phases of continuous activity. As such, the building’s design had to accommodate a wide range of users – from warehouse workers to engineers involved in research and innovation – whose tasks and schedules shift throughout the year. At the same time, the architects were required to maintain a direct relationship with the surrounding warehouses, establishing formal continuity with the industrial complex.

Constructed from four reused shipping containers and simple systems crafted locally, the building draws on industrial pragmatism. The architecture responds to the company’s transformation by balancing continuity with its legacy while introducing a more open, youthful, and informal identity. This shift is expressed through the unapologetic use of the company’s corporate colours – green and yellow – applied directly across the building.

Arranged beneath a saw-tooth roof, the containers channel soft, even daylight deep into the interior, producing a surprisingly rich spatial atmosphere. The north-facing orientation of the open planes ensures a constant and controlled entry of natural light.

Workspaces, service areas, and laboratories follow a clear grid to accommodate the shifting patterns of activity throughout the year. Entrances are separated according to logistical flows and workflows, while the intermediate roof surfaces incorporate strips for experimental crops, physically linking research, production, and architecture within a single framework. | impepinable.studio

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WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

Amura by Ángel León is an immersive experience that showcases the ocean’s depth, texture, and mystery through the art of food. Marking his first venture beyond his native Spain, he takes the helm as culinary director of the restaurant.

“To cook in Cape Town is to feel the ocean from another angle, another culture, another heartbeat,” says Chef Ángel León. “Here the sea speaks with a different salt, a different light. Amura is born from the desire to celebrate those nuances… We didn’t come to impose; we came to learn.”

The marine-led restaurant has been named as the winner of this year’s Eat Out VISI Style Award – an accolade that celebrates spaces where design and dining exist in complete harmony. The award exemplifies how intelligent design choices can elevate ambience, create memorable moments, and complement the chef’s vision on the plate.

Designed by internationally acclaimed South African interior architect Tristan du Plessis, Amura is inspired by the poetry of the sea and the romance of grand ocean liners from a bygone era. Crafted timber, rich leathers, rattan, and curved forms translate into a contemporary, luxurious, and cinematic design.

Deep greens and kelp-forest shadows set the tone, warmed by timber and burnished bronze. Intimate lighting echoes the filtered glow of underwater forests, while gentle curves and tactile surfaces evoke the hull of a ship gliding through deep water. A double-height wine library anchors the room, its Champagne, red, and white selections accessed by a classic library ladder. It is theatre and cellar in equal measure – functional yet deeply artistic. | belmond.com

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The post Making Waves appeared first on Visi.

WORDS Jo Buitendach PHOTOS Paul Croes, Studio Leyssen, Courtesy of Joe Kram, Pline, Bellomente, Kansallisarkisto, Henry Townsend, Supplied

Swirling lines, whimsical florals and golden flourishes have been reimagined, with AI and 3D-driven design giving the century-old Art Nouveau style a sleek new twist. Decorative, daring and unashamedly curvy, this revival proves that excess, when done right, never goes out of fashion.

The essentials

Art Nouveau broke the rules long before breaking rules became cool. Between 1890 and 1910, it rebelled against the prevalent industrial sameness with flowing curves, organic forms and lush motifs pulled straight from nature. Known as Jugendstil in Germany, Sezessionstil in Austria and Modernisme in Spain, it shaped everything from buildings and furniture to jewellery and glassware. Think Hector Guimard’s Paris Métro entrances, Victor Horta’s sinuous staircases, Antoni Gaudí’s Barcelona dreamscapes, Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s geometry, and Alphonse Mucha’s romantic posters. Art Nouveau was about dissolving the boundaries between art and life, and making everyday beauty the ultimate luxury.

The comeback kid

Fast-forward to 2025, and Art Nouveau is having a major moment. Driven by a cultural swing towards maximalism and organic form, designers are rediscovering its curves, craftsmanship and character. Vintage finds are colliding with modern lines to create interiors that feel layered and personal; signature shapes and stylised florals are being reworked through new materials and tech; and AI and design apps spin out digital versions of Art Nouveau buildings and furniture that haven’t existed until now. The movement’s sensual energy is thriving in an era of remix culture, where experimentation meets luxury and nostalgia gets a bold new edge.

Modern makers and muses

Stained glass and Art Nouveau have always been soulmates. The movement’s flowing lines and organic motifs suit the glow of coloured glass perfectly. That influence lit up Oscar de la Renta’s 2024 autumn collection, where acrylic appliqué mimicked the shimmer of stained glass on fluid gowns. | oscardelarenta.com

In Dorset, artist Flora Jamieson restores historic stained glass but makes her mark with work inspired by nature, geometry and bold colour. Her pieces marry traditional technique with graphic clarity – old craft , new mood. | florajamieson.co.uk

Street artist Shepard Fairey, of Barack Obama “Hope” poster fame, frequently borrows Art Nouveau’s ornate borders and integrated lettering to frame his political messages, giving modern protest an elegance of a bygone era. | obeygiant.com

Belgium’s Peter Donders fuses traditional craftsmanship with 3D tech in his Cyber Art Nouveau series, echoing Victor Horta’s flowing lines in sculpted digital forms. His pieces, which feel both handcrafted and futuristic, are proof that craftsmanship isn’t going anywhere – it’s just upgrading its tools. | peterdonders.com

Across the Atlantic, Chris Wolston’s exhibition “Gilding the Lily” at The Future Perfect in New York turned Art Nouveau’s ornamentation into sculptural modernity, with sand-cast metals, woven tapestries and upholstered curves coming together in exuberant form. His first museum show opened at the Dallas Contemporary in November this year – the perfect stage for Art Nouveau’s next act. chriswolston.com | thefutureperfect.com

The new Nouveau style edit

Ornate. Organic. Overflowing with personality – the new Art Nouveau is confident, not coy. Think lush wallpapers, statement lighting and sculptural forms that flirt with nostalgia but live in the now. Start with the standout Fleur cabinet by Kare, with its floral motifs and jewel tones; add the Gloria table’s playful, almost organic presence; and finish with a Glitter Dragonfly scatter cushion – a subtle wink to the era’s fascination with iridescence. kare-design.com

The Flora 2-seater couch nails the balance of then and now. Its curvy, sculpted upper sits lightly on slim legs, the contrast between soft padding and cool metal layering modernity over unmistakable Art Nouveau curves. sofacompany.co.za

Light the scene with a Corrientes chandelier by Eichholtz – its flexible arms and sinuous silhouette bring an industrial touch to an otherwise romantic form. corefurniture.co.za

Channel Liberty-era glamour with St Leger & Viney’s collection of Liberty & Co fabrics, from peacock feathers to curling vines – perfect for anything from a scatter cushion to a statement sofa. stleger.co.za

And for walls? Cara Saven’s Guest List wallpaper is a subtle Asian nod, complete with golden cranes and serene greenery – a quiet kind of drama. carasaven.com

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WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

Designed by K2 Space Design, the Boys of Soweto store in Braamfontein marks a confident evolution for the community-based brand, recognised for its bold, graphic garments. Here, the architecture is intentionally restrained, allowing the clothing to become the primary focus.

Stepping through the door, your eye is immediately drawn inward, as the ceiling establishes a strong visual presence – a signal that this is something other than a typical retail interior. “The idea for the ceiling came straight from the brand’s visual language,” says Ivan Kirstein, owner and creative director of K2 Space Design. Rather than receding into the background, the ceiling becomes an active element of the store’s identity – expressive yet carefully controlled. “Boys of Soweto is graphic, rhythmic and bold, so we used a brand motif to create a signature gesture you can read from the street. It is not just decoration. It pulls you into the store and anchors the interior around one clear identity move,” he adds. Executed in durable, replaceable vinyl panels, the ceiling balances visual impact with the practical demands of a high-traffic retail environment.

Inside, oversized angled mirrors reintroduce the ceiling from shifting perspectives, catching it in reflection as you move through the space. “We treated the mirrors as architectural tools, not effects. The angles were measured and tested on site so the reflections sit at the right height, pick up the ceiling clearly, and avoid any funhouse distortion,” explains Ivan. As visitors move, the ceiling reappears in reflection, visually extending the depth of the space. Positioned where visitors naturally pause, the mirrors also frame the interior for photography and shared moments without feeling staged.

Reflection recurs throughout the store. Steel clothing rails follow gentle browsing arcs rather than rigid aisles, softening circulation while subtly echoing the ceiling’s graphic energy. The custom-designed couch grounds the space, translating the brand’s visual identity into a tactile, inhabited form. Together, these elements create a layered environment where bold gestures are balanced by warmth and restraint.

At the heart of the store sits a sculptural centrepiece that doubles as a point of sale and DJ counter. Acting as both social anchor and wayfinding marker, it naturally draws visitors together without enforcing a formal queue. “Boys of Soweto is a community brand, so we wanted a clear gathering point that feels like part of the culture of the store,” says Ivan. Cantilevered, it appears to float within the space, anchoring the interior while allowing the brand’s performative social energy to unfold naturally around it. “The rounded form softens the space and lets people gather around it from multiple sides without creating a hard ‘queue line’,” he adds.

The store’s intentionally quiet material palette and Japanese-inspired lighting play a key role in shaping the atmosphere. Rather than competing with the strong natural daylight entering the store, artificial lighting is layered to balance shifting conditions from day to night. “Our lighting strategy was about restraint and softness, in the same way Japanese interiors use calm, paper-like diffusion rather than harsh brightness,” notes Ivan. “We kept the overall ambience warm so the space feels unhurried, then used a slightly cleaner accent light on the clothing so colour and texture read true.” Ambient glow, soft wall washes, and focused spotlights work in layers, keeping the space warm while ensuring garments read clearly.

The effect is deliberately unhurried, shifting retail from transaction toward cultural experience – a space designed to slow the pace, inviting visitors to pause and become immersed in the brand’s world. k2spacedesign.com | boysofsoweto.co.za

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WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

For the show, the Cour Carrée of the Musée du Louvre was transformed into a neo-landscape evoking an imagined natural world. The space dissolved boundaries between interior and exterior, setting the stage for a journey suspended between reality and speculation.

This isn’t the first time the natural world has inspired the Maison’s scenography. For the Men’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection, Pharrell Williams centred the show on a wooden house – DROPHAUS – set amid a sprawling garden, proposing a vision of timeless living rooted in nature. Together, these scenographic gestures signal an ongoing dialogue within the Maison among the environment, architecture, and imagination.

Devised by production designer Jeremy Hindle – known for his work on Severance – the scenography for the Women’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection presented nature as an abstraction, seen through the prism of tomorrow. Models moved through a fluctuating pastoral environment, a living painting infused with a subtle sci-fi sensibility.

The garments echoed this tension between familiarity and otherworldliness. Shaped as if by wind, rain and sun, the silhouettes suggested lives in motion across vast terrains. Flora and fauna left their imprint: reinvented animalier patterns appeared on canvas and denim, while imagined flowers sculpted in leather functioned as both ornament and armour.

The collection ultimately became a celebration of hyper-craft. Through three-dimensional printing and resin techniques, the Maison reinterpreted natural materials – leather grained to resemble wood, mineral-like buttons, and heels shaped like antlers. Rather than imitation, these transformations proposed a sublimation of nature, where advanced technology met the enduring ingenuity of human artisanship, reframing the natural world within a future-forward digital reality. | eu.louisvuitton.com

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INTERVIEWED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Courtesy of Olympic Paints

The Olympic Colour Cafe turns the idea of a conventional paint store on its head. This immersive environment – part gallery, part workshop, part cafe – dissolves the boundary between retail and ritual. Here, homeowners, decorators, architects and design enthusiasts can explore Olympic Paints’ extensive colour range, enjoy a coffee, collaborate with in-house interior design experts, and leave with a bespoke decor plan tailored to their lifestyle.

Designed by architect Nisha van der Hoven, founder of Hoven, the Olympic Colour Cafe blends contemporary design trends with local character, transforming traditional retail into a warm, tactile and inspiring environment where decor meets experience. We spoke to Nisha about the idea of curated living and how the Olympic Colour Cafe transforms the simple act of choosing paint into an immersive design experience.

The Olympic Colour Cafe moves away from the traditional retail model towards what you describe as a ‘curated living’ experience. How did this philosophy inform the conceptual foundation of the space?

“The project began with a simple question that stayed with me for months: what if paint was no longer just a product, but a medium for experience?

“Traditional paint stores tend to focus on efficiency – shelves of colour swatches, quick decisions, and a transactional moment. I was interested in slowing that process down and reframing colour as something more exploratory.

“The idea of ‘curated living’ emerged from this. Instead of retail alone, the space operates more like a micro design laboratory where colour intersects with material experimentation, furniture, art and everyday rituals like coffee. It allows people to encounter colour not only as a singular decision to be made, but as something holistic to experience, interpret and live with. By juxtaposing colour within a curated environment, the colour itself plays a role in a larger design story.”

You’ve spoken about dissolving the boundary between retail and ritual – how did this idea translate into the interior’s architectural language and spatial atmosphere?

“From the outset, I was interested in softening the traditional boundaries between product display and a curated living experience. Retail environments often prioritise clarity and speed, but colour is emotional and atmospheric – it deserves a slower encounter.

“Architecturally, the space is therefore quite calm and grounded yet tactile. Stucco plaster walls form a neutral canvas, Klompie brick paving anchors the interior in warm earth tones, and stainless steel and raw timber introduce a quiet material honesty. Living trees rooted within the colour testing stations introduce nature and its seasonal palette.

“This is probably counterintuitive to what one would imagine when walking into a paint store. Instead of the space shouting colour, we wanted to create a restrained framework where colour becomes the protagonist and for the consumer to feel a sense of calm during the colour selection process. This process in itself becomes ritualistic.

“The café window acts as a social threshold that draws people inside. The incorporation of coffee within the space was intentional and is a daily moment of pause for many. The opportunity to invite people to interact, experiment and linger makes the space feel less like a store and more like a studio or living laboratory.”

The project combines a gallery, workshop and cafe within a single environment. What strategies did you use to balance these distinct functions while maintaining a cohesive design identity?

“We structured the space around three anchors: technology and innovation, coffee culture, and creative collaboration. These elements organise the experience without separating the functions into rigid zones.

“Designer Pods allow collaborators to build small installations and material experiments, the colour testing stations function almost like laboratories where pigments can be selected, compared and explored, and the café introduces a familiar social ritual that softens the environment.

“Although each function serves a different purpose, they are connected by a shared material palette and a common narrative around colour exploration. The result is a hybrid space that feels cohesive rather than fragmented.”

Tactility appears central to the experience, encouraging visitors to engage physically with colour and materials. How did material selection and detailing support this sensory approach?

“Colour is never purely visual – it’s deeply sensory. It carries temperature, texture and atmosphere.

“For that reason, the interior encourages physical interaction wherever possible. Visitors can compose combinations on the colour palette wall, sort through pigments at the testing stations, or experience seasonal colour narratives through drinks developed by the cafe.

“Materially, we chose finishes for the space that feel grounded and tactile: stucco plaster, brick paving, raw timber shelving and stainless steel surfaces. Living trees rooted in the colour testing stations reconnect the interior to the natural world. Curvilinear forms also contribute to the softness of the space. These elements create a layered sensory environment where colour can be experienced through touch, smell and atmosphere, not just sight.”

Contemporary design trends are layered with a sense of local character throughout the space. How did you approach contextualising the design within a South African setting?

“Since Olympic Paints is a South African brand, it was important that the colour stories within the space reflect its local context. Prior to the launch of the Olympic Paints Colour Cafe, I worked on a seasonal colour story titled Fieldwork #1: Joburg Geologies. This provided an important point of departure. I’ve always been fascinated by the mineral landscapes of Johannesburg – the iron-rich soil, the subtle shifts in the colour of the stone, the dusty grasses of the Highveld.

“Those tones became the foundation for the palette: mineral greens, oxidised reds, dusty ochres and softened charcoals that echo the local landscape. These colours translate into various materials introduced within the Colour Cafe.

“At the same time, materials like Klompie brick and the integration of living trees help ground the space in a tactile, regional sensibility. The intention was not to create a literal interpretation of place, but rather to allow the atmosphere of the Highveld landscape to quietly inform the colour narrative.”

Rather than simply displaying paint, the interior encourages emotional decision-making around colour and living. How did you design the environment to influence how people feel, interact and ultimately choose?

“Most paint stores ask visitors to make a decision quickly. I wanted to create the opposite condition – one where curiosity and experimentation come first. The Olympic Colour Café grew from that spirit of exploration.

“In my latest piece on Substack, I write about how ‘many of us were taught, quite literally, to colour within the lines. To stay neat, careful and contained’. For the Olympic Colour Cafe, the design explores ‘what happens when we allow colour to move beyond its expected role – when paint becomes not just a product, but a medium for experimentation, collaboration and experience’. Instead of standing in front of shelves comparing swatches, visitors are invited to engage with colour more physically – to test it, combine it, layer it and build a relationship with it.

“In my experience as a designer, I’ve often encountered fear around colour selection. Clients tend to see the selection process as a major decision and something so permanent. By turning colour selection into a creative act – composing palettes, testing pigments, experiencing curated colour stories through installations and even seasonal drinks – people begin to build a relationship with colour before committing to it.

“The environment also encourages visitors to slow down and engage emotionally with colour. In that sense, paint stops being the final layer of a space and becomes the beginning of a narrative – something people choose because of how it makes them feel, rather than simply how it looks on a swatch.” hoven.co.za | olympicpaints.co.za

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WORDS Annette Klinger PHOTOS Paris Brummer

It’s safe to say that most of us want our own slice of paradise. What that slice looks like, however, is up to the individual. For one single-minded woman, the ideal spot was beside the ocean – on the rocks, next to the high-water-level mark, above a 20-metre drop into its swells, to be specific. “The site is on a smallholding in the Kogelberg Biosphere between Pringle Bay and Rooi-Els, and required extensive environmental impact assessment,” says the owner. “We finally got permission to build on two sites, so I took my folks and brother on a walk to decide on one of them. It was spring tide, and the waves were crashing spectacularly against this specific rock in the ocean, and we said, ‘Clearly, this is it!’”

A design graduate, the owner had a clear vision of what she did and didn’t want from a residence. “I wanted something that felt like a cabin, not something fancy with glass and marble,” she says. “The house needed to accommodate me, and my brother and his family, and we wanted to be able to close it off into private areas with their own entrances.”

Taking the specifications on board, architects Matthew Beatty and Saskia Vermeiren of Beatty Vermeiren drew up plans that were practical but sensitive to the pristine surrounds. “The key was to design something robust enough to withstand being that close to the ocean, yet lightweight, because casting concrete wasn’t permitted for environmental reasons,” says Matthew. “We decided on timber, which would weather and let the house blend into the environment, and a rectilinear design that was close to the landscape,” adds Saskia. As no foundations could be poured, the house is anchored with elevated point loads, which also allows wildlife to go about their business undisturbed under the building. “The whole idea was to touch the earth lightly.”

In terms of flow, the floor plan is oriented around a large boulder, with two private wings on either side of it and a large open-plan living area beyond, which opens up to that ocean view. “We essentially created two spaces: the sort-of Zen, rocky courtyard that’s sheltered from the wind; and the front of the house, which is more ocean-dramatic,” says Saskia. With 360 degrees of gorgeous views, the obvious temptation would be loads of floor-to-ceiling windows, but the architects instead carefully curated window placement to create a space geared towards calm contemplation. “That way, the view becomes an artwork,” says Matthew. “When you frame something, you emphasise it more than if you were to walk into a sheer glass space.”

Beyond its site, one of the most remarkable aspects of the house is that the owner oversaw the building process herself. “I like to have a certain level of control – and I also have a budget that’s never quite as big as the architects would hope!” she says. When it came to the wood cladding, for example, the owner’s ingenuity led her to a local contractor tasked with removing invasive cypress wood, which she then had cut to size at a local sawmill. She also did the interior design herself. “I wanted an interior that wasn’t too cluttered, and that used a lot of wood,” she says. “My father used to have a furniture manufacturing business; I designed most things, and he made them. Often, what I wanted didn’t exist – which is how I ended up designing all the basins…”

So what does it actually feel like to live in an oceanside wood cabin, at the mercy of the elements? “I love the quiet isolation – far removed from the maddening crowd,” says the owner. “Because it’s built on stilts, when the waves crash on the rocks, the whole structure shakes. It was initially rather scary, until I realised that the house is not going anywhere. In 2020, there was an incredible storm, and Clarence Drive was shut for a long time. After the house survived that, I thought, we’re definitely going to be okay!” | beattyvermeiren.com

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