Decor ranges that make being at home better

These local design brands are meeting the need to create nurturing spaces

18 July 2021 - 00:00 By Julia Freemantle and Leana Schoeman
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Paradise Light from Arrange Studio.
Paradise Light from Arrange Studio.
Image: Frances Marais/Sanri Pienaar

FOWL PLAY

Arrange Studio was founded by designer Roxanne Ferreira as a way to showcase what she calls the "sweet spot between South African and international design''. Inspired by the colour found in SA and nature's perfect proportions, she aims to create pieces that will be loved and relevant for years to come, pieces that feel familiar but also inspiring.

Her new Paradise Light is everything we're looking for right now in decor - beautiful, uplifting, original. Ferreira has recently started bird watching - enjoying the thrill of slowly recognising which markings or song belongs to which species - and it's birds in fact that inspired the Paradise Light, more specifically birds of paradise. Their myriad colours and flamboyant feathers cued the glossy, Smartie-toned spectrum of different colour combinations this lamp is available in. Designed with a golden coating on the inside of the shade, the light that is emitted is extra warm and inviting.

Flight of Fancy daybed from the Pipe Dreams range from Douglas & Co.
Flight of Fancy daybed from the Pipe Dreams range from Douglas & Co.
Image: Hayden Phipps/The Fourth

FROM CUT-OFFS TO COOL

Douglas & Co recently launched a brand-new range called Pipe Dreams, a small collection of pieces consisting of a daybed, bench and stool using leftover material, proving in a unique and refreshing way their savvy eye for design and incredible knack for reinvention.

The collection is made up of cross-laminated timber and high-density chipped foam left over from a recent construction project that was carefully crafted into geometric shapes layered and stacked into beautiful and functional yet simple shapes and completed with a touch of blush-pink leather.

"Conceiving of and launching a new collection amidst omnipresent uncertainty felt like a fanciful scheme at first," says Liani Douglas, one half of the design duo behind the brand. "But we decided to banish our current state of limbo in favour of a previously unimaginable new reality which is revealing itself. The pure geometric assembly and plump curves of the collection evoke a playful dreamlike state, fitting for a not-so-fleeting daydream."

Elula blanket by Lulama 'Wolf' Mlambo for Something Good Studio.
Elula blanket by Lulama 'Wolf' Mlambo for Something Good Studio.
Image: Okay Deer

ALL GOOD

Zydia Botes founded Something Good Studio in 2018 on the spirit of collaboration - and since inception her blankets and throws have been created in partnership with some of SA's brightest and best artistic and design talent.

The latest is with Joburg-based visual artist Lulama "Wolf" Mlambo, a mash-up that's resulted in two ultra-dynamic collector's pieces. Both translate the artist's abstract style, which references vernacular architecture and more universal themes such as spirituality and the human condition, into striking, hyper-stylised pieces.

Elula (translated as "the easy one") is a blanket that Wolf hopes embodies a sense of ease and rest - and the idea that life can be simplified with more introspection.

The Coalition mohair rug represents the joy of unity, the power of a shared vision of peace, and the idea of people coming together as one, without losing their individuality.

THE FULL 360

Interior designer Hendre Bloem has applied his affinity for materials and form to his new - inaugural - range of furniture.

The collection is a celebration of simplicity - in line with the designer's signature clean-lined style, and balanced by the incorporation of pared-down organic and graphic forms. Bloem has intentionally used materials in as raw and natural a state as possible, to allow unique textures to be achieved, and to which he's introduced striking details. This all culminates in a collection that's timeless but also unexpected.

Lined Table and Trip Tables by interior designer Hendre Bloem.
Lined Table and Trip Tables by interior designer Hendre Bloem.
Image: Karl Rogers Photography

To complement the collection is a series of artworks, by Bloem himself, that picks up on some of the tones and elements found in the collection. The full 360-degree offering means that he can create seamless spaces using all of his own designs.

And while the collection is comprehensively designed, the pieces can also be customised in terms of finish and measurements - the perfect one-stop shop.


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