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Symmetry of Magic : The raw wood tabletop was sourced from a sawmill and Cobus himself designed the overscaled lantern. On the table sits one of the military helmets Cobus turned into a food dome. The verdigris chairs are painted in Plascon’s Aspen Forest (G4-C1-4). -
Symmetry of Magic : A stoep that resembles a hotel dining room. The two middle chairs are painted in Plascon’s Caring Land (G4-C1-2), and the two lighter chairs are painted in Plascon’s Aspen Forest (G4-C1-4). -
Symmetry of Magic : King George V oversees a whimsical tablescape that was inspired by the Eau de Nil background of the portrait. The regency chairs are painted in Plascon’s Nature’s Abundance (G2-C2-1) and the Woods Ware crockery comes from Cobus’s shop. -
Symmetry of Magic : Cobus and his Irish terrier, Seun, sitting on the staircase that is the start of his next decorating journey. His love for orange is epitomised in the shrine-like vignette. -
Symmetry of Magic : The bedroom is a pared-down haven with a four-poster bed without drapes to provide a quiet counterpoint to days filled with fabric swatches and colour samples. -
Symmetry of Magic : Cobus’s trademark dog statues guard the outside of his house in the village of Stanford, described as “the gem of the Overberg”.
PHOTOS Stephen Inggs PRODUCTION Sumien Brink WORDS Mariana Esterhuizen
Decor and furniture shop owner Cobus van Niekerk recently went on a quest to unearth a very specific green from his childhood – and subsequently splattered it around his otherwise monochrome house as a delightful spot colour.
On the surface there is no physical resemblance between Cobus van Niekerk and Roald Dahl’s character Willy Wonka, yet the two have much in common. Willy Wonka’s factory is closed to the inquisitive eyes of the public while he makes magic with chocolate, and Cobus’s house is just such a private space where he conjures up interior magic. And, both Cobus and Willy Wonka throw their doors wide open for a big celebration every now and then.
Those who know Cobus’s house and Stanford Trading Store will probably tell you that his house is furnished exclusively in black and white, and dark wood, and he certainly has a strong leaning towards a classic monochrome colour scheme. However, if you look carefully, you will notice an orange ribbon here and a trough filled with oranges there, which lets you into the secret of his love for a colour that represents fire and excitement for him.
A while ago, however, Cobus immersed himself in green. He first flirted with jade green, but then he became a man possessed with his quest to find the elusive green of a childhood memory. We spent a morning together, excited like children on a treasure hunt, while we pulled every bit of green crockery I own out of our cupboards and compared Woods Ware’s delicate green with the rich green of Lucia Ware and the pale green hue on a Linnware vase. Three days later, the search was still on – I saw a cake of Sunlight soap perched on Cobus’s worktable, next to a pile of green tablecloths and napkins he had unearthed from his vast collection of fabrics.
In the end, he found it right under his nose, hiding in the background of a portrait of King George V in his studio. It was the colour of his grandmother’s kitchen in Barrydale, the colour of the enamel gloss paint that she had used to paint her whole kitchen; all the walls and cupboards and the ceiling. Cobus says it is his interpretation of the colour Eau de Nil, a pale yellowish-green that makes him feel cherished and at peace with the world. Not only is he besotted with the colour, he is also delighted with Plascon’s name: “Nature’s Abundance”.
Cobus’s designs fit all the buzzwords like upcycle and repurpose; he turns redundant army helmets into food domes and metal basins into light fittings. He is playful in both design and decor, but there is always a thread that connects the objects and the spaces. Look closely and you will see a story, a fantasy often infused with humour. His current obsession with the colour green has its roots firmly planted in his past; it is rekindling the colour of an era of whimsy to cosset a new generation. Like Willy Wonka, he has the capacity to rework, invent and delight, time and time again.
Stanford Trading Store 028 341 0449
