COMPILED BY Gina Dionisio PHOTOS David Ross; Elsa Young/Frank Features; Dook; Paris Brummer; Armelle Habib; Jack Lovel; Niel Vosloo and Jan Ras; Nicolas Mathéus; Warren Heath/Bureaux; Marsel Roothman

1960s Modernist Revival Kitchen

Architect Antonio Zaninovic and interior designer Tara Bean returned this 1960s house to its roots, while creating a comfortable, liveable space that celebrated its site.

Read the full story on this 1960s house.

Kommetjie House

In this kitchen, an oak-clad ceiling conceptualised by Emma shelters a central island, also designed by Emma, which serves both as a prep station and a seating area for entertaining. The bar stools are from Chair Crazy.

Read the full story on this Kommetjie house.

Modern Irene Home

This Pieter Mathews of Mathews + Associates showpiece in this Modern Irene Home demonstrates the power of contrast. Rough-hewn concrete against sleek glass, and simple lines and dark cabinetry illuminated by a statement light installation, all achieve balance and impact in a space that makes an impression and lends itself to special occasions.

Read the full feature on this modern Irene Home.

Parkwood House

The kitchen’s lime- green cabinets are its focal point, complemented by appliances and utensils in pastels and bright hues.

Read the full feature on this colourful Parkwood house.

Melbourne Home

In a Melbourne home, Stefan Bagnoli of Bagnoli Architects used brass on an epic scale to clad an entire kitchen unit. This is countered by the fresh, crisp, ultra-glossy white units opposite it, and the warmth of the polished timber floors.

Read the full feature on this Melbourne home.

Roscommon House

The panelling in this welcoming space by architect Neil Cownie is a masterclass in joinery. Sinuous, elegant and organic, it demonstrates how much scope there is to use timber imaginatively. Tan bar stools colour- matched to perfection amplify the golden tones.

Read the full story on the Roscommon House.

Barn-inspired Tamboerskloof Home

Light is the star of the show in this clean and contemporary barn-inspired home by GSquared Architects, designed simply but sculpturally using monochrome tones.

Read the full story on this barn-inspired Tamboerskloof home.

Avant-Garde Parisian Duplex

The kitchen combines blue Fenix cupboards from Perene with a brushed-copper bar on a polished rosewood plinth designed by Dariel Studio. The backsplash features biscuit tiles from 41ZERO42, while the floor tiles are by Raw Edges for Mutina.

Read the full story on this avant-garde Parisian duplex.

Contemporary Farm-style Home

The kitchen is the heart of this contemporary city take on a farmhouse, designed sustainably by owner/architect Friedrich Strey largely using reclaimed materials.

Read the full story on this contemporary farm-style home.

Tulbagh House

The kitchen, as interior designer Maybe Corpaci points out, is surprisingly modern in its openness and position. Its stone floor and vast wood-burning fireplace are features traditional to Cape homesteads.

Read the full story on this Tulbagh house.

Forest Town House

A large light-filled kitchen leads into an impressive dining room. Guedes designed the doors, which include cathedral-glass windows, himself. A lifelong fan of art and design, homeowner Audrey Coleman had the chairs – inspired by Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Hill House chairs – specially made.

Read the full story on this Forest Town house.

Fish Hoek House

The post-reno kitchen is adorned with mossy green shaker-style cabinetry with handles to match those of the Mid-century server, vintage Le Creuset pots, a painting by Marion Smallbones, and hand-painted ceramic tiles from the KZNSA Gallery.

Read the full story on this Fish Hoek house.

Contemporary Pretoria Home

This Pretoria home’s steel-and-glass conservatory-like structure illuminates the spare and pared-back kitchen.

Read the full story on this contemporary Pretoria home.

Pringle Bay Home

The kitchen is a masterclass in minimalism, with plenty of storage keeping clutter at bay. The built-in joinery in the cottage is by Hardmond Joinery, based in Paarl. The ceramic pendant lights above the dining table are from KNUS online store.

Read the full story on this Pringle Bay home.

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Nestled in Clifton, Cape Town, this luxurious holiday apartment by architecture and interior design studio Ohkre Collective seamlessly blends opulence and coastal charm.

Drawing inspiration from its coastal palette, this Clifton apartment intricately weaves with its natural surroundings. Neutral tones create a tranquil and sophisticated space, highlighting local craftsmanship and through collaboration.

Ohkre Collective, founded by Phillip Nel and Heinrich van Zyl, transformed the apartment from a cramped and dimly lit space to a newly designed haven that feels open, bright, and layered. Walls were strategically taken down to create an open-plan layout, allowing abundant natural light to fill every corner. Despite budget constraints, clever design choices were made to achieve maximum impact, resulting in an interior that feels spacious and exudes an air of sophistication.

The carefully curated furnishings are not just a testament to luxury but also a celebration of local designers. Statement pieces, such as the captivating painting by Renee Rossouw, sculptural vessels by Astrid von Brucken, and bespoke crockery by ceramicist Amelia Jacobs, collectively tell a narrative of elegance, echoing the essence of the location.

For Phillip and Heinrich collaborative culture is fostered with every phase of a project, which places people at the heart of what they do. Collaborations with Ohkre Collective, Wunders, Weylandts, Lim, Hertex and WB-Lighting ensure a meticulous selection of furniture, fabrics, carpets and lights, each contributing to the apartment’s overarching design intent.

The joinery, designed by Ohkre Collective and crafted by de Ruiter Joinery, creates a subtle thread of luxury, weaving seamlessly through the apartment’s design fabric. The kitchen, enhanced with a stunning marble installation by Cannata & Sons, is a focal point of sophistication, complemented by purpose-built vanities that marry chic aesthetics with functionality. The construction, executed by Phase Three Developments, breathes life into the architectural blueprint, shaping the apartment exactly to Ohkre Collective specifications.

Beyond its aesthetic allure, the design strategically champions functionality and ease of maintenance. This orchestration of local design celebration, coupled with a delicate equilibrium between intricacy and simplicity, sees the apartment transform into a timeless haven, epitomising the essence that Cape Town has to offer.

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With 2023 around the corner, we’ve decided to round up some of the most-read features on VISI this year. From secluded mountain retreats to ultra modern beach houses, here’s a look at your top 15 favourite spaces in 2022 (and checkout our faves from 2024, 2023, and 2021, too).

The Boat House

When we initially bought this property we didn’t give the old unused boat shed attached to it much thought until one afternoon when we were having beers outside and decided to go see what was actually in this storage space. Whilst we were scratching through all the contents in the shed (a few amazing mid-century pieces were hiding in there!), my friend said we should convert it into an Airbnb. And as they say, the rest was history,” explains designer Rhett Williams-Jones.

The Boat House sits adjacent to a greenbelt in the ever-expanding West Coast town of Yzerfontein. Due to the increased development in the area and the threat it poses to the fynbos and ‘beach vegetation’ endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, Rhett wanted to enforce the space’s connection to the outdoors.

Read the full story on the Boat House.

Paarl Mountain Home

Standing in the courtyard, looking straight through the wide doors and over the rim-flow pool, you get a magnificent view of the Drakenstein Mountains at the other side of the valley,” says architect Erik Grobler. It’s this breathtaking view, the plot’s proximity to nature and the client’s love of natural materials which ultimately set the scene for Erik’s minimalistic design.

Read the full story on this Paarl Mountain home.

Pinelands Home

here’s a certain witchiness to Robert Silke‘s new family home in the Cape Town suburb of Pinelands. A darkly dramatic front gate framed by a brick archway reading Caverswall opens onto a narrow garden path, which leads you to a house that’s equal parts imposing and intriguing, with a steeply pitched, clay-tiled roof, spiral chimneys and brickwork finish – all in the same burnt-honey shade. “It’s basically a gingerbread house, right?” says Robert, taking in the facade of the 1938 Arts and Crafts Revival structure he shares with partner Gideon and their one-year-old daughter Lilith.

Read the full story on this Pinelands home.

Birdhaven Home

Creating a sense of awe and occasion in a family home is no easy feat.

For David Hollis, founder of Arch3D Architects, the approach to this brief was all about the juxtaposition of materials and designing a visual feast for the senses. After visiting the owners’ previous home, he noticed the lack of volume and layering. “Each space merged into another, with no identity,’’ David says. “I wanted to play with volume here, and bring the excitement of creating a unique feeling of space within each function of the home, but still maintain that easy, flowing openness.” An amalgamation of these concepts has resulted in a space that allows for both family interaction and for refuge, based around a central statement hub.

Read the full story on this Birdhaven home.

Modern Concrete Home in Plett

You know, I’ve been practising Tai Chi for 30 years, and in it, we say, ‘Stand like a mountain, flow like a river,’” says architect Paul Oosthuizen. Yes, he’s passionate about the Chinese martial art, but in this particular instance, he’s using the Tai Chi principle to illustrate his motivation behind the design of a very special beachfront property.

Receding into a thicket of milkwood trees on a rocky outcrop that runs down into the Keurbooms estuary in Plettenberg Bay, the house in question is undeniably sculptural, with an interplay of curved and angular lines, and the raw materiality of a concrete finish.

Read the full story on this modern home in Plett.

Graaff-Reinet Pods

Iain Buchanan, conservationist and founder of Mount Camdeboo Private Game Reserve near Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, took his family for an extended stay at the reserve during the pandemic. They did quite a lot of camping out in the veld, he says, seeking out some of the more remote (but spectacularly beautiful) spots to pitch their tent.

While the reserve has a lodge and other accommodation, the experience left him wondering how he could offer guests the immediacy of the camping experience – the sense of awe you feel being alone in the vast wide-open – but with a dimension of luxury and comfort. The idea posed several challenges. The Karoo is known for its temperature extremes, so “the traditional old Livingston-type canvas tent just wouldn’t cut it,” says Iain. But conventional building in the “middle of nowhere” is difficult and messy, and scars the landscape. A pod or tiny house, however, might work: a little Scandi-inspired hut, designed just right.

Read the full story on these Graaff-Reinet pods.

Johannesburg Home

In Johannesburg, there’s no mountain and there’s no sea,” says architect Anthony Orelowitz, referring to homes in Cape Town that tend to look outwards, seeking to catch a glimpse of the ocean or frame a view of Table Mountain. “Here, you have to create your own habitat.” And that, at heart, was the basis of his response to Johannesburg’s urban character when he designed his own home in the city’s forested suburbs. Anthony’s firm, Paragon, is responsible for some of the city’s most significant commercial architectural landmarks – but, he says, “I hadn’t done a house in nearly 15 years.” Nevertheless, working closely with architect Elliot Marsden and interior designer Julia Day, he conjured a vision of what it means to make a home in Joburg, at once perfectly suited to the city and utterly unlike its neighbours.

Read the full story on this Johannesburg home.

Nieu-Bethesda Home

Most famous for its legendary, reclusive, eccentric resident, artist Helen Martins, and her home, the Owl House, the town of Nieu-Bethesda is as far as you can get from South Africa’s big metropoles. From Joburg, it’ll take you just under nine hours to get to this remote dot nestled among the koppies of the semi-arid Great Karoo; it might be 15 minutes less from Cape Town. And that’s just one reason that made Joburg couple Marc Watson and James Moffatt’s decision to buy a house here a brave one. The other was that they bought it without seeing the interior.

Visiting here as tourists in 2018, they bought the cottage based purely on its charming iron friezes and traditional wooden shutters, only guessing at what was hidden behind the heritage façade. “But we had a good sense of what such a traditional home would hold,” says Marc.

Read the full story on this Nieu-Bethesda home.

Signal Hill Home

It’s already become a cliché to say that the Covid-19 pandemic – and in particular, its lockdowns, which confined us to our homes for months on end in 2020 – changed the way we think about domestic space. These days, walk through a prospective new home, and one of the first questions that comes to mind is how you’d feel about being confined to that house for two months. And in the case of this cleverly remodelled abode in Cape Town, the answer is, “Bring it on immediately!”

Located in the upper regions of Green Point, the house is perched on the edge of Signal Hill, and unfolds over multiple levels to accommodate the steepness of the sloped plot. Past the street entrance and parking garage at the top of the house, a short, covered walkway – encased on one side by metal palisade-style balustrades, coated in an eye-catching trio of brass, copper and bronze – leads to the main door. Inside, one is quickly drawn into an expansive, open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen area, which works seamlessly as the main living space.

Read the full story on this Signal Hill home.

Keurboomstrand Home

There was a non-negotiable in the client brief: respect the land. It’s not difficult to see why – the parcel of earth the residence was built on is pristinely beautiful. “The farm is situated near Plettenberg Bay, on a large portion of land filled with indigenous forest, with rivers running through it and a view of the Tsitsikamma Mountains,” says architect Paul Oosthuizen, giving context to his client’s instructions. “There was one patch of invasive wattle on the land, which was cleared – this became the area we developed.”

To find the perfect spot on which to build, Paul surveyed the sloped piece of land by climbing some of the tall trees on its periphery, then decided on the bottom of the hill, so the house could be nestled into the forest and give his client a view of the riverbed. Next up, Simon Hart and his team at No Fuss Construction brought Paul’s vision to life. The result is a home that feels intimately connected to its woodsy surroundings, and secluded from the world beyond. In fact, reaching it is a pursuit that requires visitors to make the last 60-metre journey on foot.

Read the full story on this Keurboomstrand home.

Greenside home

It takes a good eye to spot potential in a fixer-upper, particularly in a city like Johannesburg. There are some real gems – almost always undervalued – but their qualities are often lost beneath the add-ons that barnacle their way onto houses over time. Christo Vermeulen and Nico Venter are serial renovators. Inevitably, after a few years of living in a house, they find their eyes wandering.

They most certainly do have a knack for recognising the signs that something special might be lurking beneath the surface a nondescript exterior. Christo is a former textile designer turned builder/renovator – with a sideline in manufacturing bespoke features, especially metalwork and ironmongery – and Nico is an urban designer with an interest in the city’s architectural history. Together, they make a formidable team: insightful and capable, with the perfect combination of vision and respect for the innate qualities of a good find.

Read the full story on this Greenside home.

Kalahari Lodge

Remote, exclusive and eco-conscious – and complete with tawny desert sunsets – Tswalu Kalahari embodies all the elements of a memorable safari experience. The Oppenheimer family, committed conservationists and custodians of this tract of stark beauty for more than two decades, are driven by their intent “to leave our world better than we found it”. And they are succeeding.

Two camps – Motse and the private villa Tarkuni – shimmer graciously in the sun. We featured Motse in VISI #106; now we focus on Tarkuni, and the camps’ acclaimed Klein JAN restaurant. As with Motse, an artful revamp by multidisciplinary design practice Savile Row has given the spaces a fresh, contemporary feel that doesn’t compete with the dramatic landscape that unfurls around them.

Read the full story on this Kalahari lodge.

Scarborough Beach Home

What started as an occasional getaway to the coastal village of Scarborough grew into a full-blown love affair for the owners of this home – a creative director and a surgeon. “Just 45 minutes from Cape Town, Scarborough is the last village before Cape Point – a little piece of heaven within walking distance of the beach,” they say.

The couple were so enamoured with the village, they had no desire to tell anyone about it – not even their three grown children. “It was a year before we took any of them with us,” they say with a laugh. “Predictably, they immediately fell in love with it too, and suggested we start looking for a place where we could all go to as a family.”

Read the full story on this Scarborough beach home.

Malmesbury Home

There was a wonderful feeling of glamorous decay to her,” says interior designer Etienne Hanekom of the grand old Victorian home he is lovingly restoring in Malmesbury. Languishing elegantly on a ridge overlooking the historic farming town an hour west of Cape Town, the generously proportioned four-bedroom house was built in 1850, when Malmesbury was still a popular destination for its revered hot springs.

Recent history, however, has not been kind. Rapid industrialisation of the town, as well as the ignominious positioning of a busy arterial road right in front of the house, threatened a fate of idle deterioration. Until Etienne stepped in. “I’d been keeping an eye on her, as I frequently used to drive past on my way to visit my parents,” he says. On an impulse, he decided to stop for a closer look, and discovered that the rambling 2 500m2 property took up an entire residential block, and had several unused outbuildings. The main house still retained original, metal- pressed ceiling tiles, timber floorboards and shutters, cast-iron fireplaces, and a deep front stoep so particular to its era.

Read the full story on this Malmesbury home.

Constantia Home

“We got some very funny reactions because it really wasn’t pretty,” says architect Sean Mahoney, recalling friends and colleagues visiting his newly completed house in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia for the first time. “The exterior was raw brick, and the garden had rubble lying everywhere. My architect friends, in particular, were just… quiet.”

The house, where he lives with his wife, artist and sculptor Justine Mahoney, and their daughters Ella and Biba, is an extreme example of one of his architectural mantras – as a partner in the firm StudioMAS, he believes the buildings he designs should look their worst on the day he hands over the keys. Or, in more marketable terms, they should look better with time. “Good architecture needs history,” he says.

Read the full story on this Constantia home.

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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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For its new headquarters, local advertising agency Grey’s brief was to combine a contemporary South African feel with a fresh, modern, vibrant aesthetic. And the architectural design firm nailed it.

Designed to inspire, Grey Advertising Africa’s new headquarters is a space to breathe, dream, and invite creativity and collaboration.

The agency moved from the bustling Sandton CBD to a new location in Bryanston – an area that has always been regarded as one of Johannesburg’s most attractive and verdant suburban spaces, and one that the team felt had the best prospect of developing as a new corporate headquarters hub.

The project was a revamp of a four-storey office building that was redesigned and given a facelift by architectural designer Julian van der Linde and his team. The re-imagined building consists of three floors of spacious offices, and a mezzanine café with views of Midrand and the Magaliesberg mountains. It’s a space that aligns with CEO of Grey Africa Paul Jackson’s vision of building a creative business culture that inspires others to be the best they can be. It’s something he describes as their “Open” work culture.

“With this Open philosophy in mind,” says Paul, “we wanted to evolve the agency from a collective of old, closeted individual offices into a state-of-the-art, open and collaborative workspace. We wanted to bring the beauty of nature inside. And we wanted to reflect the creative energy and spirit of our beautiful country and its people.”

READ MORE: M&C Saatchi Able Contemporary Art Collection

One of the key design features, therefore, was blurring the boundaries between the building’s interior and its surroundings. The natural light that streams into the double-volume atrium provides dramatic light movement and shadow effect, along with serving a very obvious energy-saving function.

Items such as the reception desk, the red screens, the conversation pods, the custom boardroom tables and the centre- column features are all bespoke design elements courtesy of Julian and his team, and incorporate the design brief of reflecting the creative energy of Africa and inviting open collaboration. Julian’s use of a bright, Afro-modern colour palette throughout the space, combined with the locally designed contemporary furniture, has made for a free-flowing space that oozes positivity and creativity.

One of the biggest challenges of the construction was that most of it took place during Covid lockdowns. So while offices were closed and the staff were working remotely, Julian and his team were working frenetically to re-invent the space. “When the Grey staff returned to the offices post-lockdown, they were delighted with their newly re-energised space, which worked to lift spirits after a particularly difficult period,” he says.

And that’s hardly a surprise. Julian’s design team has created a wonderfully optimistic working environment that promotes hope and confidence – sentiments that the designer describes feeling every time he interacts with the inspiring and creative people of Grey.

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You’ll recognise Tristan du Plessis’s work instantly – the award-winning founder of Joburg-based interior architecture firm Tristan du Plessis Studio has fashioned some of South Africa’s favourite spaces.

Here, kicking off our new “Working The Room” series that will celebrate our country’s most exceptional interior designers, he chats about the standout projects that have marked his A-list career.

Gorgeous George, 2019

“This is where I fell in love with hospitality. This Cape Town boutique hotel was created around a collaborative, artist-led model. It stretched me to find the balance between modern, warm and striking, while also being deeply functional. From working with artist David Brits on murals to illustrator Lucie De Moyencourt on cheeky tiles, I relished the celebration of South African talent, and seeing it all come to life.”

Cleveland Residence, 2020

“This mega bachelor pad in Johannesburg was one of the first homes I designed. The client gave me quite a firm brief that included using an entirely black-and-white scheme, and little to no art. Of course, it was a challenge – but I think the result is beautifully graphic. It threw me out of my comfort zone, but it was truly satisfying.”

Campocori, Rome, 2022

“This project is an ode to the classic New York Italian restaurants of the 1930s – just brought to life with a subversive edge. We used traditional textures, including marble, velvet and wood panelling, for a warm and classic sensibility – but collaborating with artists such as Jana + Koos made sure that we kept it fresh and fun.”

FYN, 2019

“FYN was a fascinating project because it’s home, Speakers’ Corner, is such a hidden yet historic spot in Cape Town. I wanted the restaurant to make an impression but still, be seamlessly nestled in the building. We made the high ceilings part of a striking visual that draws the eye up. This allowed us to maximise the space, bringing in opulence through all the finishes while staying cosy and inviting.”

Alice & Fifth, 2018

“This Sandton space was an exciting foray into dining-meets-nightlife, with the two completely different functionalities having to be catered for. The client wanted a sumptuous and decadent space, juxtaposed with a raw, unrefined, underground edge. We went for a nostalgic feel with a contemporary twist and a slightly dark undertone, which I loved.”

Hell’s Kitchen, 2015

“The iconic Melville bar was the first commercial space my studio completed. (At the time, I was the studio!) It was an open-briefed, low-budget, rock and roll-style gig – in more ways than one. I loved the freedom, and tapped into this project as a way of expressing my style at the time. The design was engaging, detailed and rebellious, which perfectly sums up the attitude I had towards all my other work.”

SĀN Beach, Dubai , 2022

“This was a dream project, set on a beach on the iconic Palm in Dubai. I came up with everything, from concept to design, all inspired by the earliest African tribe, the San. We used natural materials, and the entire shell of the space was made to look as though it had been hand-moulded from clay. The interiors are decorated with contemporary African made artworks and design pieces by creatives ranging from Jake Singer to David Krynauw.”

Clay, Bahrain, 2020

“Clay is a Peruvian concept in which we explored the intersection between Japanese and Peruvian cultures that created Nikkei cuisine. The restaurant sits above the area of Adliya, one of Bahrain’s most sought-after dining destinations. We were tasked with creating a sultry and luxurious space that was to become a hotspot for the well-travelled and well-heeled set of Bahrain.”

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The shortlist for this year’s Restaurant & Bar Design Awards once again boasts a plethora of outstanding spaces, five of which are in South Africa.

The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards is arguably the most important and influential design competition for food and beverage spaces worldwide. Now it its 14th year, it recognises and celebrates the world’s most creative spaces and the people behind them.

Here, in no particular order, are 20 of the most arresting designs from across the globe:

The Blockman

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Design: Atmos | Shortlist: Murals and Graffiti

Alla Vita

Location: Chicago, USA | Design: Kehoe Designs | Shortlist: Ceiling

The Family Kitchen at Royal Botanic Gardens

Location: London, UK | Design: Mizzi Studio | Shortlists: Colour, In Another Space, Alfresco & Biophilic Design

Read our feature on The Family Kitchen, here.

Zioux at The MARC

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Design: Oniroco and Reddeco | Shortlists: Surface Interiors, Lighting, Murals & Graffiti, Colour, Multiple, In Another Space

Bun Burger

Location: Milan, Italy | Design: Masquespacio | Shortlist: Fast Casual

Read our feature on Bun Burger, here.

Yugen at Capitol Grand

Location: South Yarra, Australia | Design: Curious by Design | Shortlists: Standalone, Surface Interiors, Luxury, Small Space, Cafe

1111 ONES

Location: Hong Kong, China | Design: M.R. STUDIO | Shortlists: In Another Space, Small Space

Egghead Diner

Location: Cape Town, South Africa | Design: KT Interior | Shortlist: Small Space

Mo

Location: Khobar, Saudi Arabia | Design: Masquespacio | Shortlists: Standalone, Cafe, Lighting, Ceiling

KōL Izakhaya

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Design: Tristan du Plessis Studio | Shortlists: Standalone, Surface Interiors

Read our feature on Kōl Izakhaya, here.

mâche

Location: Paris, France | Design: Charles du Pouget | Shortlist: Surface Interiors

Le Parc by tashas

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Design: Verhaal | Shortlist: Cafe

Read our feature on Le Parc by tashas, here.

Living Room at W Osaka

Location: Osaka, Japan | Design: concrete and Nikken Sekkei | Shortlist: Hotel

Imperfecto

Location: Washington, USA | Design: OOAK | Shortlist: Surface Interiors

Delta

Location: Athens, Greece | Design: Kois Associated Architects | Shortlist: In Another Space

Yakimono at 80 Collins

Location: Melbourne, Australia | Design: Russel & George | Shortlist: Colour

Zolaism

Location: Qinhuangdao, China | Design: B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio | Shortlist: Cafe

SAN Beach

Location: Dubai, UAE | Design: Tristan du Plessis Studio | Shortlists: Standalone, Alfresco & Biophillic Design, In Another Space

Read our feature on SAN Beach, here.

Smoked Room at Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid

Location: Madrid, Spain | Design: Astet Studio | Shortlists: Small Space, Hotel

Peachy Queen

Location: Bournemouth, UK | Design: Finch Interiors and Mel Yee | Shortlist: Murals & Graffiti

View the full shortlist at restaurantandbardesignawards.com.

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The post Restaurant & Bar Design Awards Shortlist 2022 appeared first on Visi.

CampusKey’s new Bordeaux development in Stellenbosch epitomises the idea that great design can make living, working and socialising in one space both practical and stylish.

CampusKey, a leader in innovative hospitality and co-living in South Africa, recently launched its latest building, Bordeaux. Adding to its 35-strong portfolio of properties, the impressive development in the heart of Stellenbosch boasts 4 000m2 of single-occupancy luxury units, a café and co-working spaces. “We believe that, through design, we are creating opportunities for students and young adults to connect, interact, build friendships and form business networks,” says CampusKey MD Leon Howell.

The space aims to enhance a sense of community between students, club members, innovators and freelancers in the neighbourhood. Industrial-style architecture and natural light set the stage for dynamic interiors that bring the outdoors in. This nod to biophilic design is continued with plants dotted everywhere, making for a soft, inviting space. Bordeaux also takes design cues from Neo-Memphis principles, a contemporary take on the Memphis style made famous in 1980s Milan – which means colour, bold furniture and graphic patterns abound. “You can expect a sensory playground that promotes imaginative interactions, where colour and nature dominate,” says CampusKey’s architectural and experience designer Celesté Havenga.

The iconic Schoon eatery has opened its eighth café in South Africa within the Bordeaux building, allowing CampusKey students and others in the neighbourhood to make better decisions regarding food choices and their impact on the environment through sustainable agriculture.

Need a desk? CKwork is a shared working space – a hub where ideas and professions meet. Here you’ll find hot desks, meeting pods, lounge pockets and recreational areas, including a fully equipped gym.

CampusKey, which currently operates more than 4 000 rooms in Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein, Gqeberha, Cape Town and Stellenbosch, will be expanding its model in 2022. This marks a new chapter for co-living, where leisure and business travellers as well as students share spaces, connect and inspire one another.

For more information on CampusKey, the CKclub and CKwork, visit campuskey.co.za.

The post Building a Community: CampusKey’s New Development in Stellenbosch appeared first on Visi.

WORDS Michaela Stehr PORTRAITS Jan Ras

Different types of bathrooms, however, require different approaches to perform at an optimal level. We chat to three designers about how to create a bathroom with the perfect balance of aesthetic appeal and technical prowess.

Anlo Neethling

Designer Anlo Neethling of ONE Design and Development’s grasp of contemporary design and bold finishes make him an obvious choice when it comes to advising on how to approach a dramatic, wet room-style bathroom – a challenging space because of its open-plan layout, but when done right, a serious X-factor feature.

For this particular space, the client had requested a modern, minimalist and Japanese-inspired wet room-style bathroom with a masculine feel. By placing two showerheads (a his- and-hers setup) on one side and the bath on the left-hand side of the bathroom, a seamless wet area has been created, as well as a sense of Zen-like symmetry.

The use of the same tiles for the floor and the walls additionally creates a clean and minimalist spa feel. By breaking away from the traditional use of white so often seen in spas and bathrooms, and using a dark grey/black tile, the room instantly feels bold and masculine, and more modern as well as cocooning. The sparing use of timber throughout – with the incorporation of a side table from Woltemade, a timber riempie chair by James Mudge

Furniture Studio and a custom-made ash floating vanity – injects warmth and texture. Moving away from the traditional method of “bringing the outdoors inside” with plants, Anlo opted to use the shadows of the exterior landscaped garden to create a natural, calming and ever- changing backdrop.

Tips and Tricks

• Keep the material and colour palette minimal, and choose finishes wisely. Select a hero colour or finish, and repeat a second finish selectively throughout.
• Focus on symmetry to create a tranquil space according to Japanese design principles.
• Where possible, house all clutter in concealed storage – here, a walk-in storage unit on the right-hand side of the bathroom allows for a calm and clutter-free interior.
• Bring elements of the outdoors in.
• A wet room needs a consistent floor level between the shower/bath and the rest of the bathroom.
• The sanitaryware (mixer, showerhead and shower traps) should blend into the space, rather than stand out.

Christiaan van Aswegen and Annemie van der Heever

Directors at Hours Clear Architects, Christiaan and Annemie specialise in bespoke residential and commercial designs. Here, they give us the lowdown on how to maximise impact in an open-plan en suite bathroom.

When designing an open-plan en suite bathroom, we believe that reducing the number of finishes, creating long expansive lines, maintaining a consistent colour palette and using as many natural materials as possible are key to creating cohesion.

Ideally, bathrooms should be treated as an extension of the overall interior scheme executed in the bedroom and living spaces. A seamless flow of floor finish and consistent wall colour across the space is also helpful in creating a spacious and calm result. In this space at The Aven boutique hotel in Camps Bay, for example, these elements in harmony create a toned-down, relaxed effect, enhancing the feeling of space and lightness.

Tips and Tricks

• Paint has come a long way, and it is now possible to find matte finishes that are suitable to use in rooms that are typically humid
• Natural stone is hard-wearing and easy to maintain, and adds a natural finish and timeless elegance. Our approach is to use it as monolithic sculptural objects (a bathtub, vanity, etc) within the space, rather than covering every possible wall and floor surface in tile.
• We attempt to keep detailing as simple as possible – concealed fittings and seamless joints help reduce visual clutter.
• Ventilation is vital to keep the space fresh and airy, and cross- ventilation is recommended where possible.
• Maximising natural light should always be the goal, and artificial lighting must be carefully considered: diffused, evenly distributed light is the objective. For best results, we recommend opting for non-directional wall fixtures with opalescent diffusers integrated into the vanity mirror. These fittings should emit warm white light and be dimmable.

Kim Williams

Kim Williams is a full-service Cape Town-based interior designer, known for her unique approach, which blends creative, behavioural and design strategies. Here, she walks us through a successful guest bathroom.

Given its size, a guest bathroom is the perfect place to do something bolder, more striking. This space was designed to complement a contemporary coastal home. The banana- leaf wallpaper from Papini connects not just to the style

of the home, but to the external landscaping too. Breaking the busyness of the paper by tiling behind the toilet with a combination of flat and 3D aged subway tiles from Studio Masson creates a layered effect – a subtle feature wall.

Custom gold accessories and glam lighting from Lights by Linea add a sense of luxury, while accents such as the gold bathroom handle from Levers & Locks – which is entirely different from the other handles in the house – signal that this room is a unique feature in its own right. The design is completed with original artworks purchased in Knysna.

Tips and Tricks

• Wallpaper in a guest bathroom always works, so don’t be afraid to paper the entire space.
• A large or unusually shaped mirror makes the room feel bigger.
• Combining functional and ambient lighting ticks both practical and aesthetic boxes.
• Don’t be afraid to mix metals – but remember to bring them together in either an artwork or a feature.

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For the renovation of this beach house, architectural designer Hanno de Swardt of Onnah Design made use of texture and colour to give this outdated Llandudno villa a new lease on life.

“My clients wanted to maximise the view from this plot so our design brief for this project was all about increasing the outdoor entertainment spaces and giving the interior of the house a much-needed update,” says architectural designer Hanno de Swardt.

While the main house remained intact, the outside needed some major structural interventions. Hanno raised the previous lawn level by almost 750mm through the use of terraced terraforce blocks. “This allowed the inside to flow easily to the outside, and kept the lawn and pool all on one level. By raising the lawn level we actually reduced the amount of excavation needed for the pool, which benefited the final budget,” he says.

“The rather restrictive and sloping site posed the biggest challenge for the entire team,” says Hanno. A retaining perimeter wall with an agricultural drain had to be introduced on the sloping side of the garden in order to create the raised deck and outdoor lounge. An existing deck flowing off the dining room was also replaced and extended into the garden by almost 1500mm. This was accomplished by cantilevering the extension in order to create a “floating effect”.

READ MORE: Before and After: Rosebank Home

Hanno introduced pops of colour throughout the house to replace the previously bland all white interior and exterior. “The clients had a deep rooted love for Africa, especially Kenya and Cape Town, which were the main source of inspiration for the interior. The context of the magnificent setting, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, was also acknowledged through the use of several nautical decor pieces,” he explains.

In the dining room there are a cool mix of colours, textures and reflective surfaces. “The circular and organic shapes are in contrast with the rectangular table and architectural envelope and it introduces a softer, relaxed and more informal look,” says Hanno. The celebration of colour extends into the corridor leading off the dining area which is painted in an eye-catching blue. “What a difference a little bit of colour can make to a space. And art. And lighting. It’s all related. And all relevant. And yes, even a corridor can (and should) be fabulous,” he says.

READ MORE: ‘Lock up and Go’ Seaside Apartment Renovation

The main bedroom features a yellow wall dressed up with two old rowing oars. “It gives the space a lovely nautical feel and directly relates to the stunning ocean view outside. By painting the ceilings white the room is transformed into a calm, light and bright haven” explains Hanno.

There are two lounge areas which flow effortlessly and open up to the garden with views of the ocean beyond. Both the sunken lounge and the ‘pajama lounge’ ooze laidback style and comfort. “The combination of colour and textures here, and throughout the house, reflect the client’s personal style,” says Hanno.

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