Cara Saven Wall Design’s latest collection for her CS&Co range – a cool collaborative project that highlights her favourite local artists, features South African artist Kooooooos, in a collection that’s both playful and whimsical.

Cara prefers the collaborations to happen by chance. “I don’t actively seek out new artists to join our range,” wall design specialist Cara Saven says, “I wait for them to cross my path.” She stumbled on a lobster painting by multidisciplinary artist and designer Kooooooos while scrolling on Instagram, which was the spark that set off the new quirky range. 

Kooooooos’ art differed from the previous collabs for CS&Co (featured here) and Cara thought that something a bit more cheeky with a playful and darker edge would work well, all messily packaged in a youthful and sketchy style. love messy,” Saven says, “I relate to a haphazard style. There’s a whimsy to Koooooos’s work, there’s a youthfulness to it, it’s not taking itself too seriously. It’s also very strong graphically so it ticks all the boxes.”

After a few brainstorming sessions, the pair finalised where they wanted to go with the idea and what images would fit on large-scale or smaller walls in homes, offices, guest houses, restaurants or any other space that called for a statement wall. “I’m very curious to see it being applied,” Kooooooos says. “It excites me a lot to imagine where they’re going to go.”

This resulted in five options, Bathers 1 &2, Wine Sloths, Tired Nudes and Beach Plz, all celebrating the naked form of women in a loose-lined style. pattern. I felt unsure if the work would lose impact if it was a very small, repeated pattern that’s almost like a texture rather than illustrations. But when Cara and I met, she said, “No, big. It must be big and the scale must be bold.” This is to allow the artwork to stretch across an entire wall as an impactful mural or be tweaked for the client’s desired effect in a space. “We worked some of them out into repeats, which is necessary,” Kooooooos says. 

“It’s important that if our clients want to change a colour, or change the scale, we can bend to their needs,” Saven says. “We even love people asking us for fully customised designs. If someone loves the style of The Bathers but would like mountain climbers, it’s so great to be able to go back to the artists and commission a piece like that.“

The result? A fun, flirty tongue-in-cheek collection that reminds you to not take life too seriously and revel in the finer things, wallpaper included.

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Two iconic local brands have combined forces to create a summer range of beachwear that fuses fashion and design. Cara Saven Wall Design and Beachcult’s new collab is set to turn heads on the beach this season.

Beachcult is uncompromising when it comes to fit and being comfortable while enjoying the sun and wanted to add an element of tropical cool to their custom pieces. The layered collection features bold, leafy prints that can be mixed and matched to suit different occasions and moods. The luscious collection comes in three separate colourways and the pieces are produced locally and sustainably in small batches by South African makers.

Joanna headily of Beachcult and Cara Saven found the collaboration a no-brainer. “We just seemed to be on the same page from the beginning, ” said Hedley. Saven adds “Joanna and I work very similarly in that we don’t overthink things. We have a vision, we hit it and we move forward.”

“Joanna and I worked together in the most seamless way. We had a rough idea that we wanted the range to be tropical and fun and playful and not too serious,” elaborates Cara. “We also played around with the placement of the various tropical elements on different items and found the ones that worked best on larger items like kimonos and which worked best on skimpier swimsuits. I love the direction that Dolce and Gabbana have gone – this is a Cape Town version.”

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“This collaboration is informed by all our roots,” says Saven. “I am a Capetonian at heart and am naturally inspired by nature. My contribution has a mythical undertone, but is essentially bright and brave and very much reflective of the South African spirit.”

Cara’s bespoke print has been recreated into a fabric used to cover the Semper Fortis Prana chair, a unique interactive love seat resplendent with the greens, yellows, brights of our beloved nation. This is a sofa that invites you to sit front and back, a modular shape that encourages the paradox of being together and apart.  

A jumpsuit designed by the team at Tshepo jeans pays homage to the entrepreneurial spirit that naturally pulses through our South African hearts. “South Africans are naturally resilient and entrepreneurial,” says the Johannesburg-based designer. “This 70s inspired garment is designed to exude the presence and confidence of the woman wearing it.”

The collaboration started when Dylan Joseph, founder of Semper Fortis, met Cara on the top of Table Mountain. Together they unveiled the #WeLoveSA banner. “After the incredible response that Dylan and I saw to the banner of love, we decided that like-minded entrepreneurs could make a difference to the negative sentiment that exists for many South Africans,” explains Saven. 

“We wanted to find a way to continue the message of hope but in the actual design work we do, hence we started with a wall design that encompassed elements from all over South Africa into a wallpaper and fabric that is fantastical and happy and optimistic.”

#WeDesignSA will launch at the Semper Fortis showroom in Kramerville at Design Joburg Collective on October 28 and will run for three days at the event before moving to Tshepo Jeans’ award-winning retail space in Hyde Park Corner. 

Looking for more on local design? Take a look at Pichulik’s new Kokomo collection.

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Local brand Cara Saven Wall Design has introduced VividTex, a seamless wall covering, to its decor offering.

VividTex is a dye sublimated wallpaper that can be printed in 50-metre-wide, three-metre-high sheets with no breaks or joins in the design or panel. The range also offers state-of-the-art print quality that has not featured in such a large-scale format, until now. The wallpaper is scratch-proof and reusable, which makes it a great choice for busier, high traffic spaces.

Lara Hooper Design

Designs can be customised to suit a client’s specifications. The VividTex range is versatile, and can be used in any room.

For more information, visit carasaven.com.

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Cara Saven Wall Design, ONEOFEACH and GRRRL Camp have joined forces to present the Onako Collection, a range of bold African-inspired wallpapers that give back.

The concept for the Onako Collection – onako meaning “the one who can” in isiXhosa – was conceived by Cara Saven, Tamburai Chirume and Tamarin Morrell and comprises an elegant collection of wallpapers that celebrate the colours and textures of Africa. Think pops of primary colours and patterns and seren grassland scenes.

The Onako Collection is not just about interiors. It’s about paying it forward and enhancing the power women have to create beautiful things and build strong foundations. That’s why 10% of the profits will be invested in GRRRL Camp – a not-for-profit company that aims to empower young women and boost female leadership and social cohesion in South Africa.

Love this collection? Shop it at carasaven.com.

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Cafe Manhattan, a long-standing Cape Town hot spot, has undergone a total interior overhaul by Hanno de Swardt of Onnah Design, resulting in a vibrant, playful space.

After careful assessment of the space – left tired, dark and uninspiring after many years of heavy foot traffic – Hanno set out to reimagine the space, bearing in mind that he had just two weeks to complete a renovation. He sought to create interiors that would emulate the vibrancy of the renowned ambience within, without losing the original charm that Cafe Manhattan’s customers keep coming back for.

His first task was to bring light into the space. Once-dreary walls now see pops of turquoise, electric pink and decorative cacti. Bold colours and Mexico-inspired prints are combined with woven basket pendants from Ashanti and geometric-print fabrics.

READ MORE: Villa 47’s Martini Terrazza by ONNAH DESIGN

Custom-designed Cara Saven wallpaper creates a playful ambience, while bringing a boldness to a once neutral space. Little went to waste in this renovation, with upcycling being a key factor in the redesign. Old furniture was reupholstered, table tops sanded and finished with a glossy seal and weathered bar stools painted in bright colours. The addition of artificial lighting creates an uplifting and visually stimulating space that is simultaneously warm and inviting, ambience that truly embodies Cafe Manhattan’s vibe.

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The latest designs added to Cara Saven’s wallpaper collection continue to focus on colourful oversized botanicals and prints.

The designs from Cara Saven’s collections certainly make a statement. Known for her use of flowers, plants, birds and vintage prints, each design isn’t sold in rolls but is rather custom made to fit your space, to ensure a perfect fit. “This allows it to have the full effect of a mural,” she says.

The brand either puts a twist on existing pieces Cara finds inspiring or creates artwork designed from scratch.

You can read more about the story of her wallpaper journey here and here.

For more information, visit carasaven.com.

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While colour is often the best way of bringing life into a space, it can be a daunting task for most people. You may love green, but painting a whole wall in the colour can be pretty scary, even for the most outlandish of interior designers. First and foremost, the colour needs to be right for the space.

Tip #1: Start By Choosing a Contained, Small Space

This won’t be your main bedroom or dining room. Think smaller. Think guest bathroom. It’s the perfect place for your first foray into colour experimentation because even if you don’t get it spot on, it’s small enough to adjust and play around with. The guest bathroom is also the ideal spot in the house where people are willing to take the most risk when it comes to decor. Give your guests something to talk about even if the decor is completely different to the rest of the house.

Tip #2: Choose a Colour You Love, Not One That is Trending

Luckily, when a colour starts to trend, it does so with a couple of other ones at its side. I for one, cannot live with red in my life. But along with the red trend, are exciting tones of fuchsia and pink. Choose colours that you know will not cause you to commit grievous bodily harm to the people around you, but rather will have you swooning every time you walk into a room.

Tip #3: Go Bold

In a world of so much sameness and mass production, why wouldn’t you choose something that makes a statement about who you are? Colour and pattern is the perfect way to do this. It sets you apart from everyone else and makes your home just that… your home. This can be done by finding a paint colour that speaks to you or by choosing a bold wallpaper design this is either custom designed to suit your space or says something about what you love – think the East, bold botanicals or birdlife. Why not take a real leap and combine colour and pattern? Now we’re talking.

Tip #4: Colour as a Mood

Think of colour as your mouthpiece when you’re not around. What do you want a space to say? Should it say opulence, fun, moody, eccentric? When it comes to opulence, think purple; fun, think yellow; moody, think charcoal; and eccentric… any colour other than grey will work. Colour helps you create emotion and moods in a way that nothing else can.

Tip #5: Nature is a Colour

It amazes me how much better almost every space looks when you add a touch of nature to it in the form of plants. There is no space that cannot be enhanced with a gorgeous fiddle-leaf fig, hanging fern or a little sprig of something in a vase. If your space looks like it’s lacking in something, the chances are it’s a plant.

This article is brought to you by Pongrácz, which has released a beautiful, on-trend purple-hued bottle in the form of Pongrácz Noble Nectar, available in selected liquor stores and online. 

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What makes Cara Saven Wall Design stand out is its broad offering and service with a personal touch.

Having previously worked as a retail buyer at Woolworths, entrepreneur Cara Saven has a well-trained eye for what works where. Her custom-designed wall art business is blooming.

Where do the designs come from?

All over. Many motifs are designed from scratch, some are sourced and then given a different spin. I often see a design or photo shoot that inspires me; I then source the various components or have my designer draw them.

What inspires you?

Instagram (I’m an addict!), nature (I get a daily dose of it, so it’s bound to influence my work) and my clients. I am a buyer by trade, so I create and design with clients in mind.

Tell us about the Cara Saven signature: large-scale designs.

I’m a little obsessed with oversizing things! I especially love oversized florals and prints. They add a surprise Alice-in-Wonderlandish element to a space. Wallpaper can either be a backdrop or it can set the stage; I love my wallpapers to set the stage.

Any interesting new developments in the wallcovering market?

We have a new product that’s a game-changer: seamless wallpaper. Traditional printed wallpaper comes in 1,2 m-wide panels that we join together on the wall. Seamless wallpaper allows us to print up to 3 m high and to any width we want. That’s one big piece of wallpaper. And the incredible thing is that if your wall has been primed and prepped properly, it can be reused on another wall.

What’s next for Cara Saven Wall Design?

Last year, we completed a number of corporate head offices (Cape Union Mart, Ackermans, Shell) and saw the instant benefits that uplifting their walls had on the staff and general vibe. Our focus this year is to get to the corporates that haven’t given thought to their walls. It’s such a key element of the work environment and an easy way to uplift a space.

For more information, visit carasaven.com.

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Cara Saven, whose beautiful wallcovering is featured on the cover of our Winter Issue (VISI 96), has added a number of striking new wallpapers to the Cara Saven Wall Design collection.

Here, we ask her a few questions about how she got into wallpaper design, where her designs come from and what she loves most about her job.

Riotous botanicals and florals seem to be your statements: What would you say makes Cara Saven Wall Design unique?

I would like to think it’s our broad offering that makes us unique, but it’s probably the fact that you can customise all of our designs to suit your own needs. We also create designs from scratch if that’s what the brief requires and our service and personal touch is key to what we do. (But yes, I am a little obsessed with botanicals and florals).

What is your background and how did you get into wall art? 

My background is actually in retail buying. I worked for Woolworths for a number of years with a break in between as a management consultant in London. So I have always been drawn to work that combines both creativity and business. After having my first child, I knew I couldn’t go back to a nine-to-five job. I was a photographer in my spare time so I used that to start a business doing large-format print installations using my images. That then progressed into designing wall art and putting out ranges.

What do you love about what you do?  

Everything. I love the fact that I have my own business (it was my dream since I can remember). I love the fact that what I do allows me to be creative while also being business-minded. I love the people I work with (I have an incredible team, plus incredible clients) and I love the flexibility I have created.

Cara Saven Wall Designs can be printed on standard or seamless wallpapers and can be customised in terms of colour and scale.

View more designs at carasaven.com and read our full interview with Cara on page 136 in VISI 96.

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