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In the evenings, The Trade boutique hotel’s rooft op beckons night swimmers with its blue-lit pool. -
The Wes acts as The Trade’s public face, beckoning passers-by with its corner entrance -
In an industry dominated by unobtrusive neutrals, the colour bands of The Trade’s facade signal an adventurous approach to hotel design. -
Everything is peachy on dining chairs by Bone Studio, upholstered by Ascot Upholstery. -
Seductive curves abound, including in the banquettes and the arched bar shelves. -
Bone Studio’s bespoke banquette with a tiered curtain chandelier by The Best Blind Company and dried flower arrangement by Spinlea Farm. -
Bespoke pieces such as a whimsical tasselled armchair by Bone Studio and Ascot Upholstery, and hallway flooring by Bone Studio and Gorgeous Floors/Belgotex, are complemented by vintage finds and new-seeming-old accoutrements such as NMC cornices and mirror frames by Builders. The quirky lettering is by Ironstone. -
Bespoke pieces such as a whimsical tasselled armchair by Bone Studio and Ascot Upholstery, and hallway flooring by Bone Studio and Gorgeous Floors/Belgotex, are complemented by vintage finds and new-seeming-old accoutrements such as NMC cornices and mirror frames by Builders. The quirky lettering is by Ironstone. -
City Bowl Hotel -
Bespoke pieces such as a whimsical tasselled armchair by Bone Studio and Ascot Upholstery, and hallway flooring by Bone Studio and Gorgeous Floors/Belgotex, are complemented by vintage finds and new-seeming-old accoutrements such as NMC cornices and mirror frames by Builders. The quirky lettering is by Ironstone. -
Bespoke pieces such as a whimsical tasselled armchair by Bone Studio and Ascot Upholstery, and hallway flooring by Bone Studio and Gorgeous Floors/Belgotex, are complemented by vintage finds and new-seeming-old accoutrements such as NMC cornices and mirror frames by Builders. The quirky lettering is by Ironstone. -
The pink-and-yellow chairs are another collab by Bone Studio and Ascot Upholstery. -
At the bar counter, featuring tiles by Tilespace and Pudlo, barstools by Ironstone offer a lofty perch from which to take in the view of Devil’s Peak. -
The rooftop bar brings Parisian sidewalk vibes with its concrete tables by Ital Cement, wrought-iron chairs by Ironstone, cushions and awnings by Ascot Upholstery, and scalloped umbrellas by Cape Umbrellas. And there’s no shortage of city views – or Instagram opportunities – thanks to Wes Anderson-esque touches like the scalloped canopy bench by Ironstone and Ascot Upholstery, and chequered floor tiles by Tilespace. -
The rooftop bar brings Parisian sidewalk vibes with its concrete tables by Ital Cement, wrought-iron chairs by Ironstone, cushions and awnings by Ascot Upholstery, and scalloped umbrellas by Cape Umbrellas. And there’s no shortage of city views – or Instagram opportunities – thanks to Wes Anderson-esque touches like the scalloped canopy bench by Ironstone and Ascot Upholstery, and chequered floor tiles by Tilespace. -
The Anderson aesthetic of chequered and striped patterns abounds throughout The Trade, anchoring bold colour-blocked creations such as the balcony seats by Ascot Upholstery. -
The Anderson aesthetic of chequered and striped patterns abounds throughout The Trade, anchoring bold colour-blocked creations such as the balcony seats by Ascot Upholstery. -
The Anderson aesthetic of chequered and striped patterns abounds throughout The Trade, anchoring bold colour-blocked creations such as the balcony seats by Ascot Upholstery. -
The Anderson aesthetic of chequered and striped patterns abounds throughout The Trade, anchoring bold colour-blocked creations such as the balcony seats by Ascot Upholstery. -
The Anderson aesthetic of chequered and striped patterns abounds throughout The Trade, anchoring bold colour-blocked creations such as the balcony seats by Ascot Upholstery. -
City Bowl Hotel -
Skinny dipping is totally an option after 9pm in this pool by Horizon Pools, starring tiles from Pudlo and a cheeky caption contributed by the directors of Rawson Developers. Planters by ExecuFlora flank a cement fountain from Peppino, passing the Wes Anderson symmetry test. -
A cheeky caption contributed by the directors of Rawson Developers. -
A cosy work-from-home (or hotel) nook in a Ginger-themed room. -
Clever colour choices demarcate functional spaces in the open-plan suites. -
Artworks from Nifty Posters create moments of pause. -
A bathroom in a Fred suite, with chequered tiles by Tilespace, lights by Luna Lighting and an arched mirror from AGD, customised with a theme-appropriate band of colour. -
Pops of pink abound in a Ginger suite, which features custom cubed sidetables by Bone Studio and sofas from Wunders. -
Designed to double as self-contained apartments, all suites include a full kitchen.
Cape Town’s iconic heritage building, Commerce House, has been reimagined into The Trade Boutique Hotel – a space that defies all conventions of safe design, blending Wes Anderson whimsy with Parisian flair and old Hollywood glamour.
WORDS Annette Klinger PHOTOS House of Zaan
When it comes to renovating buildings in Cape Town’s city centre, property developers tend to bet safe, choosing return-on-investment monochromatics and unobtrusive fittings and finishes. It takes major backbone to sell an aesthetic vision for an iconic heritage building that involves equal parts Wes Anderson quirk, old Hollywood glam and Parisian sex appeal.
Then again, interior designers Nicola Orpen and Hayley Turner of Bone Studio have never been afraid of putting all their chips on the table. “‘Design with spine’ is the tagline we came up with when we started our business 13 years ago,” says Nicola. “A huge part of interior design is staying committed to your concept.” Luckily, Rawson Developers’ director Morné Möller was just as keen to push the boundaries of Cape Town’s existing hotel landscape with something fun and unique – which is how Commerce House was reborn as The Trade boutique hotel. High risk number one was enveloping the exterior of the building in seven bands of colour, gradating from a deep burgundy, through corals and peaches, to a warm biscuity hue. It was an extreme makeover with none of the invasive surgery. “We actually couldn’t decide on a colour, so when we were looking at one of Dulux’s colour decks, we thought, why not just go for a brush-down? It worked perfectly with the horizontal plaster bands of the building.”
The stakes get even higher once you step inside. To realise their singular Wes-meets-Beverly-Wilshire-in-Paris vision, Nicola and Hayley opted to employ the same slightly muted exterior shades, but punched them up with high-impact hues such as electric purple, cobalt blue and limoncello yellow, and anchored them with classic black-and-white details.
Each of the hotel’s seven residential floors features its own colourway, and each of their respective suites is decorated according to the themes of Ginger, Fred or Ruby (as in Rogers, Astaire and Keeler). “The goal was to create rooms that are whimsical, fun, spontaneous and romantic, but that could also serve as self-contained apartments,” says Nicola, explaining the aparthotel concept of the developers. “The challenge was to make sure the rooms had personality while still being highly functional spaces.”
To furnish and accessorise the interiors, Nicola and Hayley leaned heavily on pieces by local artisans and designers, complementing them with hand-picked antiques and vintage finds. The rooftop bar, for example, showcases bespoke lampposts, barstools and Parisian café-inspired seating by Ironstone, softened with cushions and awnings by Ascot Upholstery, and layered with vintage pieces such as an old marble chess set and mirrors.
While renovation is often synonymous with demolition, Nicola and Hayley don’t believe in swinging the wrecking ball just for the sake of it. The most notable example of this is in The Wes Bistro & Bar on the ground floor – the public face of the hotel. Here, the original parquet flooring was meticulously restored and polished; the awkward curved bulkhead over the entrance was softened with a dusty blush hue; and the dated, river-stone-clad pillars were transformed into contemporary focal pieces with a gentle pale sage. “So often in a development, people have an everything-goes attitude,” says Nicola. “By seeing the potential in existing features and pairing them with something new, you can create the personality that makes a space.”
Competing for first place in the selfie backdrop stakes is the Cara Saven wallpaper depicting Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel – albeit with a slight name change – and a stone fountain filled with dried flowers and crowned by a dramatic fabric chandelier. “I like to call it the wedding cake,”
says Nicola, smiling. “There’s a sort of Great Expectations whimsy about the dried-up fountain.” It sure is cinematic… Wes himself would agree. thetradehotel.co.za | thewes.co.za | bonestudio.co.za
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