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It's a phrase often attributed to Mark Twain and his famously bushy moustache back in the late 1800s. “We simply take a lot of old ideas,” he said, “and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn, and they make new and curious c

Receive a curated selection of local architecture, design, decor and art news in your inbox every Monday. Visit VISI.co.za WE ASKED YOU ONLINE: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE 2024 PANTONE COLOUR OF THE YEAR? 252 of you took our poll to let us know. Here a

IF THERE WAS ONE SKILL that the computersavvy, financially flush and restless picked up during Covid, it was buying knick-knacks on online auctions. Exactly how these denizens of the internet got so good at flexing their virtual paddles so quickly is

HOW DO WE WRITE OF HOME? Writing this piece reminded me how deeply personal and crucial a sense of home is. My realisation is that home is a mental holding space. It can be a memory – a linking of our archives of sensory experience. It can be a place

“THIS IS LIKE TINDER, but worse!” I exclaimed after yet another unsuccessful apartment viewing. Too pokey, weird layout, not enough light, horrible tiles, a definite swipe right. And even when I swiped left, something always seemed off. Of course not

OPTIMISM. It's a rare commodity in this country. It exists in pockets here and there, and when found, is carefully breathed upon and tended with the hope that the flame catches. If you were at the second annual Cape Town Furniture Week from 14 to 17

TAPPING INTO ITS ARCHIVES, Mungo has reinterpreted a cloth created by its founder and original designer, Stu Holding, when he first started experimenting with the versatility of antique looms. As Stu discovered, the magic of the double cloth was in i

ADRIAAN HUGO AND KATY TAPLIN, better known as Dokter and Misses, are stalwarts of the South African design community – but that doesn't mean they intend to rest on their laurels. The pair have recently added four new graphic rugs to Sketches From The

✖ THE IDEA “The piece uses our signature Kalki Ceramics tiles to create patterns inspired by local South African flora. But while the shapes and colours are inspired by fynbos, the possibilities for pattern and colour combinations are endless. The id

IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN, the word “concrete” is usually associated with aesthetics that range from Brutalism to minimalism. But it isn't always that black and white, according to South African tile retailer Italtile. With the neutral tones it offe

TIME IS A PRECIOUS COMMODITY in our busy lives these days, and this new showroom located in the Old Cape Quarter in Waterkant Street, Cape Town aims at giving you more of it. Called The Sourcing Lab, it is a showroom and consultancy that connects int

✖ AUCKLAND PARK PREPARATORY SCHOOL: STEAM CENTRE Part retrofit and part contemporary addition to the school's existing library and staffroom, the STEAM Centre was designed by Catherine de Souza and Guy Trangos, principals at Joburg architecture and d

LAST NIGHT, I DREAMT OF DOWNTOWN JOHANNESBURG. The dream stretched out across acres of grey, a mirage of thousands of square concrete paving blocks – crooked, marked with pieces of chewing gum and mottled by tens of thousands of footprints. Frantic b

“I WANTED TO CELEBRATE everything that I had struggled with in my own beauty journey – my hair, my skin, my identity as a modern woman in a traditional culture,” says photographer Thandiwe Muriu about her debut photo book Camo. Through saturated port

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF REASONS to visit the gem that is 31 Loop Street. One: its saint of a landlord has resisted the temptation to “modernise” the beautiful facade, and the shop retains its original Victorian-era wooden windows and doors. The second

TAKING A WALK THROUGH STEYN CITY with Bilala Mabuza is eye-opening. She's working on several houses and apartments on the lifestyle estate on the north edge of Johannesburg, and has a long history with the development. “My first project here was seve

IF YOU WERE ABLE TO ATTEND Cape Town Furniture Week in mid-February, chances are you would've noticed these two meandering around the various showrooms and spaces of this growing Mother City design fest. Anton and Dennis Teeuw are twin brothers based

MUNKUS, BY AWARD-WINNING DESIGNER Thando Ntuli, is a South African luxury brand known for crafting timeless ready-to-wear pieces. Celebrating individuality and womanhood, MUNKUS creates clothing for all age groups, inspired by the classic silhouettes

✖ RURAL: ASIA Ahungalla Point, Sri Lanka It was back in the early Noughties that Sri Lanka's Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company first ventured into experiences with Resplendent Ceylon – its tea plantation tours and resorts. Fast-forward two decades, and it ha

IT'S GREAT TO HAVE CHOICES, RIGHT? It means you're able to individualise your space and express your aesthetic. There is a downside, though: making the right choice isn't always that easy. It takes a careful eye to curate furniture, decor, paint colo

FOR A WHILE, IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE OVERSIZED TIMEPIECE – the bigger and flashier, the better. Now, enthusiasts are starting to adorn their wrists with smaller, simpler watches. Just make sure you pick an arm accoutrement in glamorous gold – and, let's

PHARRELL WILLIAMS'S KNOCKOUT 2024 men's collection for Louis Vuitton took inspiration from the American West, swaggering in with an explosion of embroidery, fringing and denim. Beyoncé has had everyone bootscootin’ to “Texas Hold ‘Em”. The contempora

A family affair is how architect Bettina Woodward describes the design of this Stellenbosch house. And it quite literally is. Bettina is the principal architect at her practice Open City, and she designed the house for (and with) her brother Roland A

IT'S THE KIND OF HOUSE YOU BARELY NOTICE from its jacaranda-lined street in Waterkloof Ridge in Pretoria. It is “very low-profile”, says Johan Wentzel of W Design Architecture Studio, which he and his partner in life and work, Grete van As, founded t

IN ITALY'S FAR SOUTH, THE RESIDENTS TALK IN THE LOCAL DIALECT about lu sule, lu mare, lu ientu – sun, sea and wind; the three powerful natural forces that have shaped the landscape and the local population over centuries. With its redcoloured soil, g

IN 1994, when luxury safari operator &Beyond first opened a lodge in KwaZulu-Natal's Phinda Private Game Reserve, it was ahead of its time. In an era of safari-pastiche and taxidermy-as-decor, &Beyond Phinda Forest Lodge offered a minimalist vision o

Not only is the Western Cape the oldest continuously wine-producing region outside of Europe, it is also home to one of the oldest documented soil types on our planet. This unique defining characteristic, along with the region's varied climate — wet,

Tech Eden – the theme of this year's Maison&Objet Paris – addressed the need to find a balance between nature and technology in order to improve comfort and wellbeing in our spaces. The fair's designer of the year, Mathieu Lehanneur, was celebrated t

Fornice Objects’ fluid-formed iridescent vases and a Vox Populi Compagnie crystal shard vessel seem to flow against Tarkett's sustainable wallpaper (above). forniceobjects.com | voxpopulidecoration.com | tarkett.com There is a world of ideas centred

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