Fresh ideas: Make it personal

Photographs Francois Oberholster and Greg Cox

A midas touch

When you’re tasked with the design and renovation of a chef’s kitchen, it better be as functional as it is beautiful. This was the nerve-wracking job that designer Kyle Coetzee of House2home took on when Ivor and Roxy Jones decided to revamp their home in Plumstead, Cape Town. Working with warm wood-look vinyl, a combination of greys and matte black touches to add a sleek modern look, Kyle nailed it!

Ivor, head chef at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, and Roxy already owned the bar stools that resemble the wire cages that encase champagne corks; they added brass touches in the customised cupboard handles, warm yellow light bulbs and a drinks trolley to enhance a glamorous look. “We wanted this space to be a showstopper; it’s small but the colours and design featuring lots of storage, open and hidden away, make it highly functional,” says Kyle.

Square artworks by Nadine Marola of Pure Creation

Framed!

Framed! When Helen and Franclo Henning built their Durbanville home in 2010, they came up with a unique design for their closed-combustion Godin fireplace that shows off the flue by framing it with exposed brick. “We loved the look of the flue so much that we didn’t want to hide it,” says Helen.

They created this nifty recess, a popular talking point for guests. The gallery display next to the fireplace is a combination of new and sentimental pieces, including a mirror and two etchings of Utrecht in the Netherlands that the couple brought back from their travels.

The picture rail was installed to avoid the struggle of precise measurements when drilling holes for odd-shaped art. “I thought the rail would solve this problem, but working out the details of how to hang the individual artworks from the rail proved trickier than anticipated!” says Helen with a laugh. “Originally, I hung every picture individually but the copper wires looked messy; to simplify the design, I doubled up and hung more than one piece from a wire. I don’t think I will ever move them again!”

Poster from stickaroo.com; doorstop from MRP Home

No mountain high enough

When moving into their new home in Port Elizabeth, Annette Griesel of online shop littlehandmade.co.za wanted to do something extra special in her son Hugo’s room. Since he was three years old, he was ready to transition from a nursery to a little boy’s room.

Annette painted a mural of triangular mountains, introducing colour in a playful way without committing to a strong theme that would date quickly. “I chose the geometric design so I could introduce black, grey, white and beige with just a splash of yellow. I also used blackboard paint so Hugo can draw on the mural,” says Annette.  

Curtains from @home; chair from MRP Home; rug and pouffe from bellapoppelina.co.za

For little Hugo’s headboard, Annette simply revamped an old room divider with vinyl truck and tractor stickers to make it fun. A side panel can fold in flush with the side of the bed, so it doubles up as a protective barrier to keep Hugo from falling out in his sleep. Clever!

Glass panel from Sublime Glass

Splash out!

Rozanne Taljaard loves vibrant colour and her old Victorian home in Port Elizabeth features elements of Moroccan style. When it was time to choose a splashback for her stove, she couldn’t resist this decorative glass panel with subtle touches of gold and rich blues. So striking!

Towel rail, shower rail and tap fixtures from Builders; basin and tiles from CTM; engineered stone countertop from Globel; hanging plant from Foxglove Studio; shower curtain from H&M Home

A shower revamp

Sarah and Richard Mattheyse turned their classic but rather dull bathroom into a quirky modern one full of eye-catching detail – no mean feat on a tight budget. The couple kept the original bath and toilet to save on costs; instead of replacing the bath with a shower, they opted for a bath-shower.

They used the same tiles as those in the rest of their home on the floor and side of the bath but splurged on white textured tiles (a Sunday morning impulse buy) above the bath to finish the look. The storage units are wall-mounted to free up space and were painted in Plascon Caribbean Current for a splash of colour.

The shower rail is actually a curtain rod that’s kept in place with adjustable Simplifit brackets that expand to lock the rail in place, so there’s no need to drill into the tiles.