For entrepreneur Marti Heyns-Foster and her beagle Garcon, home is a timelessly romantic villa in the heart of Franschhoek.

It has been a 21-year-long labour of love. Marti Heyns-Foster admits that, when she first moved into her corner home on a shaded street in the Winelands, it wasn’t her dream abode. But it had good bones, high ceilings, original wooden floors and plenty of natural light, and the young mother knew she could work with the basics. Over the following two decades, with her sharp eye for the quirky and the unique, Marti lovingly curated a sanctuary filled with French-inspired decor and objects. “In my opinion, a home should evolve over time, reflecting your changing tastes as you develop as person,” she says. “A real home is a representation of how all the members of the household live and grow.”

READ MORE: Paarl Mountain Home

The property is set far back from public view, at a jaunty angle. In front, a formal French garden spills out towards the road, the result of a visit to a château in the Loire Valley that overlooked a striking landscape. “My friend, designer André Carl van der Merwe (author of Moffie), was there with me to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and he sketched out the garden for me, creating an illusion of symmetry.” Today, dominated by two ancient white stinkwood trees, Marti’s indigenous rhus-hedged garden is not yet two years old – and is a genteel alternative to the white pebbles that filled the space before.

In stark contrast to the dramatic liquorice-black exterior with snow-white trim, the interior of the three-bedroom home is light and bright. Over the years, tweaks and updates have happened when necessary, but although a few walls have been removed to open up spaces, the enclosed oval veranda has remained, echoing the circular elements of the statement garden. Inside, imported pieces speak of Marti’s ongoing love affair with all things French, while carefully chosen curiosities and eccentricities – think a wall of mirrors (à la Versailles), taxidermy mounts, and crosses – demonstrate her innate avoidance of the clichéd and the expected.

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“I am absolutely fascinated by crosses,” she says. “I understand that they hold religious significance for many people, but for me, the appeal lies in the elegance of their lines. There is a purity and integrity to this visual simplicity that dovetails perfectly with my personal aesthetic.”

Marti is well-known as the creative force behind Masquerade, a boutique homeware brand with outlets in Franschhoek and Constantia. “I appreciate the beautiful and the unusual, and both my home and my business reflect that,” she says. “I value craftsmanship and authenticity, and I hope our throwaway society will keep moving back to a place where manufacturing integrity is honoured and detail is acknowledged.”

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In keeping with this ethos, Marti’s home is a celebration of antiques, custom pieces and designer items. “I usually travel to France and other countries in Europe at least once a year on buying trips, and I particularly enjoy the classic and subtle aspects of the French aesthetic,” she says. But this certainly doesn’t mean her space is subdued. In between the Rococo-inspired couches and the crystal chandeliers, Marti brings an effortless element of playfulness to each room. As she says, “Your home should reflect who you are.”

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The signature style of London-based French graphic artist Jean Jullien can be seen across a range of mediums, from illustrations and installations to posters, clothing and books.

His graphic style and bold use of colour previously caught our attention when he designed a set of fun “face plates” with Case Studyo.

Jean, who has created work for names like the New Yorker, the New York Times, National Geographic, Hermès, Vogue and Amnesty International, to name a few, has showcased his work across the globe, from Paris to Tokyo.

Nounou, a Korea-based fashion label, is a collaborative venture started with Jae Huh, which sees Jean design clothing. His work can also be seen in numerous books, including a monograph published by teNeues. This year, he is releasing a children’s book called Why The Face? (Phaidon) and will also showcase his work in Hong Kong and San Francisco.

To view more of Jean’s work, visit jeanjullien.com.

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French furniture and decor brand La Chance is now available at Cape Town-based interior design firm Establishment.

Along with Missana, Wewood, Delightfull and Boca do Lobo, amongst others, Establishment now stocks a range of chic furniture pieces from La Chance.

La Chance’s furniture creations are a contemporary interpretation of the traditional French furniture seen during the Art Deco period.

As seen in the gallery above, we’ve picked some of our favourites from the collection that you can buy locally, from the Ronin chair by Frederik Werner and Emil Lagoni Valbak to the Iconic Standing Mirror by Dan Yeffet and Lucie Koldova.

For more information, visit lachance.paris or establishment.co.za.

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This bright, colourful boutique hotel is situated in the magical 9^th arrondissement in Paris.

Consisting of 41 bold, rainbow-coloured rooms, the hotel draws influence from the cabaret culture of the 1920s and ’30s, mixed with contemporary French flair.

Interior designer Julie Gauthron created an elegant smorgasbord of colour with patterned wallpaper, which contrasts modern colour blocking. The walls are also adorned with black-and-white images of cabaret stars.

The hotel offers breakfast, unlimited Wi-Fi, Nespresso coffee, 24/7 reception access, parking, an honesty bar, dry cleaning and a concierge service.

For more information, visit hotel-josephine.com.

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For the past twenty-five years, devout French miniaturist Dan Ohlman has spent his days reconstructing real-life scenes into 1/24th of their actual size.

His keen eye, skilled craftsmanship and passion allows him to recreate even the tiniest details of the life-sized world with perfect execution, creating a surreal optical illusion that anyone can appreciate.

Each scene he creates takes him roughly one year to complete and he has created thirty scenes in his lifetime. Patient and happy, Ohlman shares his thoughts on why he would not want to be doing anything else in the above clip.

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Adorn your home with these beautiful, versatile wooden panels and have fun dressing them up!

Hardy, durable and distinctively elegant, Oggie’s wide-plank oak products are what all the best-dressed homes are wearing this season. And if you thought their panels were for floors only, think again. The latest trend in home decor is to use a unifying material – such as oak – across all interior surfaces, including cupboards, ceilings, walls and furniture. The idea is that one material creates a pared-down, consistent palette, which can then be dressed according to your mood, the occasion or the season. 

What’s also great about oak is its versatility: whether you’re trying to create a classic country, French farmhouse, shabby chic or contemporary space, oak panels go well with a variety of interior styles. What’s more, the fact that all Oggie’s oak is sourced from renewable forests and carries Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification means you can rest assured that you’ve made a responsible choice.

oggie-sa.co.za

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My business partner Pearl Thompson has been living in Paris this year, so my husband (artist Paul Edmunds) and I went over to see her. As it happened, Pearl was off on a trip around France with her folks, which meant we had the use of a wonderful apartment on the fifth floor of a 19th century block in beautiful Montmartre.

Paul lived in Paris for a year as a 22-year old after having won the Volkskas Atelier award, and it was his first trip back. I’ve been a Francophile ever since high school, so our French is good and we know the city, which meant we could just wander around galleries and lunch spots without feeling obliged to see the sights. It was without a doubt the perfect way to mix business and pleasure.

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In “Period Room”, SANS 90° unites and confronts three classical components of interior design: a mirror, a seat and a rug. An ongoing reflection on the fold and distortion of hard objects, he employs the Froissé mirror, an Igloo seat and the Magyar rug as sculptural objects. 

Mathias Kiss doesn’t stick to straight lines. He overlaps and spills over on purpose: the mural motif of his Banquise installation runs into the parquet flooring. He smashes and fragments a mirror returning razor-sharp reflections of our contemporary interiors. His Magyar rug, a silken angular interpretation of classical “Pointe de Hongrie” parquet flooring meets up with the Igloo seat which deploys its nine ice blue angles like a piece of broken ice floe.

Kiss’ work is representative of a new generation of scenographic artist-decorators who play with and reinterpret traditions. We are big fans of his pieces and wish we could be in Paris to experience the installation firsthand!

Galerie Armel Soyer, 19-21 rue Chapon – 75003, Paris

More info: www.armelsoyer.com

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Produced and imported from Burgundy, these cookers embody all that is French in sensibility and aesthetic. The combination of supreme craftsmanship and slightly retro, farm-style look makes these products a favourite with us.

Started as an ironworks over 200 years ago, the company continues to create products that are true to its heritage, whilst remaining current and addressing the needs of modern chefs. Equally suited to the professional kitchen as they are at home, these cookers are durable and easy to maintain.

Available in a broad range of designs, colours, finishes and accessories, each cooker is manufactured to order, a feature that ties in well with the current penchant for unique, individual products.

Exclusively available from Culinary Equipment Company

Lanseria – Hyde Park – Morningside – Stellenbosch

More info: www.culinary.co.za
To view the latest Lacanche promotion, click here

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