Rising Star: Daniella Kilpatrick

COMPILED BY Phendu Kuta

This Joburg interior architect is spearheading timeless, thoughtful and well-made design.

Daniella Kilpatrick founded steel furniture, decor and fittings brand Controst last year. This leap to go it alone came after several years of working at design group Savile Row, and at her dad’s company, designing and manufacturing packaging machines.

The easiest way to update an interior is a fresh coat of paint. But if you’re renting and would like to spend your money on something less permanent, start with the furniture and decor. Rather invest in timeless larger items such as sofas, tables and chairs – these are more expensive to replace and hold the most focus in a room, so pick “slow” designs that don’t date quickly. Then you can follow the latest trends with more replaceable and affordable items like vases, scatters and curtains.

It’s immediately evident that the Joburg interior architect, who also happens to be a 2022 Design Indaba Emerging Creative, is all about thoughtful, precise work. Her steel pieces are elegant, lightweight and built to last, and her interior design knowledge, coupled with her dad’s engineering experience, means that buyers have the option of creating all kinds of custom steel products.

I spend 80% of most days on the essential tasks of building a business, and the other 20% in the factory. This means I’m hands-on throughout the manufacturing process. On a Friday or Saturday, I usually set aside a few hours of uninterrupted design time for new product development and custom work.

I’ve been inspired by many designers over the years. But actually, I’m more intrigued by specific works. These include the Bosjes chapel in the Breede River Valley, the Zeitz MOCAA at the V&A Waterfront, and the Soma planters by Wiid Design.

My favourite room at home is definitely our main living area, which consists of an open-plan kitchen, lounge and connected covered patio. If money were no object, it would be extremely difficult to choose just one local design piece to buy – there are “Design done well cleverly adds a new level of value to its users that they didn’t know they needed.”

Design done well cleverly adds a new level of value to its users that they didn’t know they needed. I’m certain that some design trends are here to stay for a while yet. I think we will see more organic-shaped furniture, textured interior furnishings and bold accents.

Functionality drives all my designs. As humans, when we do something for the first time, we might struggle. The second and third time, we’ll do it a bit faster – but perhaps it’s not as easy as it could be. By the 20th-plus time, we don’t even question our route from A to B, because it’s programmed in our brain, and we seem to do it with ease. Here’s the thing: there’s always something we can add to make that journey from A to B a little easier, a little faster.

Our focus is on slow design that will forever be a classic addition to any interior. I hope that our steel designs remain bold accent pieces, and continue to add value to the users’ experience. And as interior trends come and go around them, I hope they remain timeless favourites that can still be incorporated into any space.

My design inspiration comes from the day-to-day experiences around me. I’m a keen observer, and an instinctive problem-solver. Watching how humans behave in a space, and experiencing it myself, encourages me to see where things can be improved with design. I begin with simple sketches to understand how I’m going to use design to solve a problem and develop a solution. Once I understand what I need to create and how it needs to function, I use a language/aesthetic to complete the design.

My design philosophy is based on four principles: form follows function; less is more; slow design; and timeless versatility. Of all the pieces I’ve designed, the Planted console is, without a doubt, my favourite. But if you ask my husband, he can’t say enough about the Companion side table! a few I have my eye on! That said, the Cape table by Gregor Jenkin is definitely near the top of the list.

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