Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i South African Home Owner

Open-plan living has been a buzzword for some years now, and a big contributor to this is the fact that many people are buying smaller homes, often in estates. By opening up the space, there is a better internal flow. Another trend that has been building over recent years is the transformation of industrial buildings into residential spaces, often referred to as loft living. These wide-open spaces with large windows don’t lend themselves to be broken up by walls, so, in most cases, only the bare minimum is enclosed. Open-plan living is also a great solution for people who have bought homes with a host of smaller rooms. By simply removing an internal wall, the space can be completely transformed to look new and contemporary. The most obvious areas for…

MARAIS 4 ARCHITECTS 087 942 2647 As an architectural firm, Marais 4 prides itself not only on the design of new buildings, but also on the more challenging alterations and renovations of existing ones. Commissioned by the owner to renovate and modernise a Tuscan-style residence, bought mainly for its location in an exclusive golf estate, project architect Marius Marais ensured the focus was not only on the drastic transformation of the exterior, but also to remedy interior design flaws. Which compromised not only the entertainment areas and liveability of the house, but also energy efficiency. After the facelift, this project has proved to be the perfect marriage of form and function. Four years after purchasing a house with unobstructed views of the fairway and river, in an exclusive golf estate…

Positioned on a prime site adjacent to the 18th hole of a golf estate in KwaZulu-Natal, this property is a fine example of a modern family home in a countryside setting. Built as a speculative house, it boasts flexible living and tasteful finishes to attract a wide audience of prospective buyers. “The design of the home has been largely based on bringing the outdoors into the home,” the architect says. Taking centre stage is the main living area, jutting out onto the naturally weathered timber deck. Oversized sliding doors provide the link from the lounge and eating area into the open, with careful thought going into the positioning of the windows and doors – each one had to capture the natural surrounding view. Internally, it has to be the double-height…

Minimalist bathrooms should be an expression of the perfect marriage between function and aesthetics. A simple, but streamlined design that embraces the use of natural light and textures will go a long way towards ensuring that you achieve low-key luxury in your bathroom. And with a few clever choices and much planning, you can create a lovely retreat, despite the hurdles that an open-plan – or limited – space can throw at you. Here’s how… DETAILED DESIGN What makes minimalist bathrooms efficient is a clean, functional and clutter-free space. Detailed planning will help you to achieve this. During the planning process, you need to be cognisant of the positioning of your sanitaryware, as well as where you will place water points (and where your current water pipes are running, if…

W hat exactly is a succulent? Simply put, succulent plants can store water in their roots, stems or leaves. These fleshy water resources are drawn on during dry periods, allowing the plant to maintain their healthy life-supporting processes when water is unavailable. This means they don’t use much water, making them well adapted for arid regions. So, if succulents are designed to cling to life through hardy conditions and long, dry seasons, imagine how they can thrive in a garden that is given tender loving care! NATURAL ENVIRONMENT A great way to achieve a natural-looking succulent garden that is in harmony with nature is by creating a rockery. Rockeries are most effective on sloped or terraced ground, and if designed for succulents, should ideally face north (as we are in…

W hat is it that grabs your attention the moment you enter a room? Is it the artwork? The fireplace? Perhaps the bookshelves or a unique item that you noticed? Our living areas have corners or places that become our favourite whenever we look at them. We regard them as our interior’s centrepiece, which explains why we take our time designing or decorating them. Focal points may be achieved using anything in the house, depending on your personal style and preference. TIP: ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES SUCH AS INDOOR FOUNTAINS OR AN EXTRAORDINARY BRICK WALL ARE IDEAL FOCAL POINTS. “The trend at the moment is suspended fireplaces and wall-mounted or floating fireplaces.” UNWIND AT HOME Some people like to unwind with a glass of wine or whisky after a long day. But…

This fireplace is ideal for creating the perfect focal point in the home focal point in the home Matte black mixers are trending and are a great way to add that unique look and feel to your bathroom. Bar carts are always handy when entertaining and lately they come in stunning designs like this gold steel one. These shutters are ideal for creating that minimalist look and they also come in a variety of colours to fit in with your colour scheme scheme. – CHAT TO ME WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! DROP ME A LINE, A TWEET, OR A PICTURE kelebogilen@sahomeowner.co.za @SAHomeOwner @SAHomeOwner…

I am inspired by nature, particularly patterns, as well as geometry. JACQUES CRONJE PRODUCT DESIGNER South African designer Jacques Cronje has always had a soft spot for timber. In the early 2000s he broke away from conventional architecture to specialise in timber buildings. His love of the natural material led to the launch of minima design in 2014. A manufacturer of digitally cut wooden lighting and furniture, minima has created over 30 different styles of ceiling lights, made from birch-ply or bamboo, a series of occasional stools, including the playful Baobab duo, his Modulus range of clip-together stools and the award-winning bench, Flow. Minima is a range of digitally crafted wooden lighting and furniture made using sustainable birch-ply wood, bamboo or hardwood veneer. Our Scandi-inspired style is in opposition to…

The family has owned this property for over 30 years. “After building and living in many houses in Sunset Beach on the West Coast, I decided it was time for myself, my wife and our 11-year-old son to move away from the constant wind,” the home owner explains. The result is a neat second dwelling on the 4 000m2 family property in the heart of Cape Town’s greenbelt. With sprawling mountain vistas, it seems the family has made the right decision. “The views here have always been admired, and it seemed an obvious choice not to buy another property when our family already owned one with enough space for a second dwelling,” the owner adds. The goal was to create a small, cost-effective, private space that felt huge, by capturing…

As it is one of the major selling points in any home, it pays to invest in a beautiful and functional kitchen space. As Danielle Sterling, branch manager of Sterlings, explains: “It’s a major benefit when it comes to increasing your property value. If your kitchen is beautiful and good quality, it will increase your property value up to 25%.” The practice principal of Walker Smith Architects, Patrick Smith, adds: “Architecturally, the kitchen has taken centre stage. Kitchens are designed open-plan to allow them to form part of the living/entertainment space. Remodelling the kitchen with this modern trend philosophy in mind will certainly add value to the home.” But, with an overwhelming number of factors to take into consideration before the build can even begin, it’s probably one of the…

The Bijou bath collection is the ultimate combination of elegance and innovation. The smooth curves with bold lines will add personality to the space. www.tiletoria.co.za Zara Home’s Silver Thread bathroom set is a great way to add opulence. These bathroom accessories are made of 100% porcelain. www.zarahome.com/za Black brings a dynamic shift to the bathroom, and you can make a statement with this range of matte black mixers. www.sterlings.co.za This traditional woven bath mat, from Amelia Jackson Industries, is made from 100% cotton. www.yuppiechef.com For subtle ambient lighting while getting picture-perfect, try Philippe Starck’s range of bathroom mirrors, courtesy of Duravit. The collection is available at Ferreiras Design Studio. www.ferreiras.co.za…

CONTAINER PLANTINGS Succulents of different sizes lend themselves well to being potted and placed on patios or around the garden. Choose your container well – be sure it has adequate drainage holes and never sits in a wet saucer. Use a fast-draining potting soil, ideally one specifically for succulents. Remember that, being limited to a container, the soil will, with time, become leached of minerals and nutrients. Like any potted plant, succulents in containers need feeding – but do this sparingly to prevent them from growing too rapidly, and becoming unsightly and scraggly. FERTILISER Succulents may be drought-tolerant, but, like all plants, they thrive on additional nutrients. Come springtime, fertilise your succulents (whether in garden beds or potted), preferably with an organic liquid fertiliser that has equal parts nitrogen (N),…

Minimalist interiors are all about a calm, clutter-free atmosphere with clear surfaces, and this includes windows. Irrespective of their size and style, windows will either enhance or detract from this style, depending on how you choose to cover them. While drapes and curtains add colour, warmth and texture to a room, minimalist decor requires windows to be kept uncluttered, to allow the maximum amount of natural light to enter during the day. This makes blinds and shutters the ideal window coverings for this purpose, precisely because of their simple grid-like structure. Shutters are better used in large, open areas because they crowd smaller rooms visually due to the bulk of the product. SHUTTERS Werner Jansen van Rensburg, MD of Plantation Shutters, says shutters allow owners to protect the home from…

Keeping an eye on the current trend for minimalism, Kohler’s Mica basins – available in two options: square or round – are modern classics in the making. www.africa.kohler.com Radiating warmth and comfort, the Style range of laminate wood flooring is easy to maintain and so versatile that it can be used to cover walls too. www.tiletoria.co.za Providing a tough and safe, non-toxic finish, Woodoc Water-Borne Floor is lead-free, very-low-odour and easy to apply, making it safe for nursery woodwork too. www.woodoc.com Available in polished finishes that will bring any bathroom right up to date, these rose gold accessories are manufactured from high-quality stainless steel and are designed to last. www.bathroombutler.co.za With the option to configure the suite to suit your specific needs, via adjustable headrests, pull-out seats and a range…

Having spent his early adulthood in Johannesburg, this home owner has returned to his Durban roots, settling in a golfing estate. The home is all about style and versatility – a series of shape-shifting spaces that allows the household the freedom to enjoy open-plan living to the full. Being in the business of design development and project management, the owner relished the opportunity to build his own home. “I was very involved with set ideas on space and feel. The architect was instrumental in interpreting my dreams and ideas,” he says. As with many estates, there was a design code that the building had to adhere to. From the road, the structure affiliates itself with the surrounding properties, with a gable facade and entrance clad in a variegated stone. The…

Frankfurt, Germany, is renowned for its famous museum embankment and as the birthplace of German poet and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It is also known for hosting the largest trade fairs in the world at Messe, Frankfurt’s Trade Fair grounds. We were recently invited by Messe to attend ISH Frankfurt (14 -18 March), the world’s top showcase of innovative water solutions and products for the home. HERE ARE A FEW OF THE EXCITING PRODUCTS THAT WERE ON SHOW: FOOT BATH Dornbracht’s newly developed Foot Bath uses changing water temperatures to stimulate the reflex zones on the soles of the feet. Daniel Rubinetterie’s Ceiling Columns emit water from ceiling spouts, allowing you to dramatically change the look and feel of your bathroom. THE TOILET OF THE FUTURE The toilet of…

Timber fold-aside doors offer the natural beauty of a living material and is a great thermal insulator. There was a time when sliding doors were in vogue. Today, the best way to create a seamless flow from the indoors to the outside is with fold-aside doors, which can open up a space entirely, allowing a home’s exterior space to function as an additional living area. “Thanks to their concertina design, fold-aside doors easily transform from a wall of glazing to a wall of, well, nothing, to create an open space that pulls in tons of light. The rule of thumb is that the cleaner and wider the view to the outdoors, the bigger the indoor space will appear,” says Cobus Lourens, national sales manager for Swartland. Fold-aside doors can be…

EASY STYLE Fast becoming the new hotspot of Bali, Canggu has been placed firmly on the map by The Slow, an amalgamation of boutique hotel, retail, art curation and all-day dining. Taking influence from tropical minimalism, local crafts and the owner’s personality, The Slow is the place to be seen in 2017. MINI-STYLE We share our top styling ideas for making your child’s bedroom a functional and stylish space. WINTERLAND 20 home decor accents to welcome winter home. BATHROOM REVAMP 101 10 things to consider before renovating your bathroom. ENTER & WIN! Win a Drifter Floor Tripod lamp from Spitfire Furniture, valued at R5 900. www.spitfirefurniture.co.za GET IN TOUCH! @SAHomeOwner www.sahomeowner.co.za…