Outside & In | Spring 2022

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Since we last saw you, we’ve been sharpening our secateurs and scavenging the South African landscape to bring you inspiration and ideas that will put a spring in your step... No need to thank us; it’s just what we do. This issue also marks our second birthday (can you believe it?), which makes us real ‘spring chickens’. Truth be told, we feel like we’ve been doing this for a lifetime! Our team has taken to our role as SA’s friendliest home and garden magazine like a duck to water, and we are currently circulating 22 000 copies. (With all of these bird analogies, you’ll be very pleased to know we’ve included a brilliant birding feature in this season's line up!)

Renewal, a fresh start, budding blossoms, and that intangible feeling only this season can bring — the feeling that nothing is impossible! Oh yes, Outside & In fam, spring is here in full bloom, and so are we!

Amidst the clivias, cushion covers, countertops, and cantilevered architecture of our spring issue, you can expect: eight exquisite garden features covering everything from how to adopt your latest plant baby to prepping for poolside parties; two product pages with the latest and greatest season selections; three portfolios that will take you through the most inspiring homes from Camps Bay to Noordhoek; one DIY sensation where two besties design a bombshell Airbnb in 20 days; three colourful and curated features for the finest kitchens and recipes in town; one interview with the brand made famous for its carbon neutral canvas bags, totes, and local flair; and... a partridge in a pear tree (sorry, I just had to).

Let spring begin! Chanel Besson, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Editorial Editor-in-Chief & Director Chanel Besson Content Manager Liesl Lamprecht Commissioning Editor & Communications Amy Aries www.outsideandin.co.za@out_side_and_in Outside & In is Powered By Paper Plane Publications (Pty) Ltd. Cover Artist Kim Bischofberger @kimkimbolino Advertising Key Accounts Manager Justine Coleman Media Sales Executive Basheerah de Villiers Trade Show Partnerships & Media Executive Ryan Steensma Design Zoey & I Sarah Gregg-Macdonald

EDITOR'S letter

~ Rupi Kaur

“There is nothing left to worry about the sun and her flowers are here.”

There are now one-hundred-and-fifteen retailers proudly stocking our seasonal beauties in their stores and giving their customers the gift of Outside & In.

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The Sealand Inside-Scoop – 89

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Designing a Bombshell Airbnb in 20 Days, Casa Amor Inn by Katinka Oosthuizen and Lara Beukes

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Insect Science's Home and Garden Range Shows You How to Manage Those Garden Menaces

A Guide to Finding Your Perfect Foliage Friend by Andreas Keller, Owner of Plantify Veggiebonds

An Interview with Jasper Eales, Co-Founder of Sealand

Happily Ever After 49

Down-2-Earth – 55

Tall, Dark, & Handsome – 62

The Subtle Beauty of a White Garden by Nick Hampton, Landscape Designer, Oasis Design

Product Picks for Your Own Garden of Whimsy My Binocs Bring All the Birds to the Yard

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Our Favourite Kitchens for a Unique and Colour-Filled Home

A Contemporary Country Home and Food Garden in the Rural Enclave of Noordhoek

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Caesarstone is Stepping Outside – 46 Introducing the New Outdoor Collection by Caesarstone

Colour Coded – 83

Let’s Talk Texture in the Kitchen – 77

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It’s All About the Dough 96 Baking with Babylonstoren

Come on Inn 69

– Outside & In's Outdoor Essentials

– Help… I Want Them All!

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By Lisa Twyman, Interior and Product Designer

CONTENTS

The Epitome of Indoor-Outdoor Living in Cape Town

Embracing Bold and Black Design in Camps Bay by Wright Architects

Classic Plants You Didn’t Know are Immigrants by Mark Mac Hattie, Landscape Designer SA’s Favourite Garden Gurus Whimsy and Wonder

By Aldo Berruti, Founder of Birding with Aldo Outside & In's Top Picks For Your Own Garden-Bird Bonanza Pool Party Prep By Life is a Garden Get Ahead of Garden Pests This Spring

Starke Ayres has a wide range of garden care products that will ensure your garden is in tip-top shape. Choose from our range of liquid and granular plant foods and fertilisers to keep your plants in prime health and looking beautiful.

Plant Food – Reg. No. K7974 Act 36 of 1947 • Nutrifeed – Reg. No. K2025 Act 36 of 1947 • Hydrangea Food – Reg. No. K7977 Act 36 of 1947 • Nutrisol – Reg. No. K8591 Act 36 of 1947 • Sea Secret – Reg. No. B4319 Act 36 of 1947 • Kelpak – Reg. No. L5756 Act 36 of 1947

all!themwantIHelp... A GUIDE TO FINDING YOUR FOLIAGEPERFECTFRIEND

Choose your lifestyle companion

t’s happened again. You’re standing between aisles of greenery at your favourite local nursery, wondering which plants to add to your cart. The problem? You want them all! Don’t panic... This is totally normal. There are a few tips and tricks I can share with you though. Ones that will help you personalise your purchasing decisions to your lifestyle, so we can turn some of your favourites into perky plant pals.

Or are you simply looking for something low-maintenance that won’t droop after a few days?

Many folks choose to nurture plants instead of getting a pet, while others decide only to start having kids much later in life, or not at all. Regardless of your personal choices, one thing we all have in common is our innate desire to take care of someone or something other than ourselves. If you long to become a plant parent, then selecting a plant that is more responsive to care, such as a peace lily, might be a more fulfilling option than a stoic parlor palm.

I

"If you have a good track record with a certain plant, considerthengetting another one! "

Learn from your past experience

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Become a plant parent

Andreas Keller Owner of Plantify www.plantify.co.za @plantify_

If you have a good track record with a certain plant, then consider getting another one! Alternatively, give your green space a facelift by choosing a relative in the same genus, but in a different shape, colour, or pattern. Yet, don’t be afraid to gain entirely new experiences by testing plants that are a little more advanced when it comes to their care requirements. For example, the humidity-loving Calathea or the watering-sensitive String of Pearls. Establish what you’re comfortable with, stick to that, and then, when you’re ready, take it to the next level!

Then water-wise plants will be your friends! Select succulents and foliage plants with ‘built-in water storage', such as dragon trees, snake plants (Mother-in-Law's Tongue), or ZZ plants for your outdoor spaces or sunny windowsills. These are resilient to occasional bouts of dryness and should flourish for a few weeks after a good watering.

Are you a frequent traveller? Do you find yourself away from home for long periods of time?

If you’re just starting out on the gram, then know that foliage is your friend: the lusher the leaves, the more green fingers will click on that post! Try combining larger statement pieces with smaller foliage to create a textured point of interest. A couple of my favourite plant-picks for pics include Calathea orbifolias and Anthurium clarinervium . Remember, you can never go wrong by adding a pop of colour to your green corner (by colour, I mean flowering plants!).

Curate your green collection

FEATURE - HELP... I WANT THEM ALL!

Create your Instagram aesthetic

As a budding plant hobbyist, you may be interested in targeting specific plant pieces that speak to your curated collection. Be it foliage, a specific genus, rare plants, or specialised subspecies, accumulating new items for your home is a great way to let your inner garden guru geek-out. What’s more, sharing a love of plants also connects you to fellow enthusiasts who understand your quirks and interests.

GIVE YOUR EVERYTHINGPLANTSTHEY NEED Pokon range. Pokon Ortganic Food 500ml SA Reg. No. B3759. Pokon Geranium 500ml SA Reg. No. K7877. Pokon Orchid Food SA Reg. No. B3759. Pokon Universal SA Reg. No. K10613 Pokon Flowering Plant 250ml SA Reg. No. K8464. Pokon Bonsai Food 250ml SA Reg. No. K10776. Pokon Succulent And Cactus Liquid Plant Food Reg. No. K10614. Distributed by AVAILABLE AT A WIDE RANGE OF RETAILERS,CENTRESGARDENANDNURSERIES

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VEGGIEBONDS

CLASSIC PLANTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ARE IMMIGRANTS

Yet, if you think about it, when you're sitting in Italy enjoying a delicious Caprese salad, that tomato on your plate is also a veggiebond . You see, tomatoes aren't Italian (I can hear an Italian nonna faint as she cries for my head). Just like people, plants tend to move around the world. The culinary type tends to do it faster than the non-edibles due to their value exchange. But nowadays, some house plants migrate faster than a Western family to Dubai. So, buckle up and brace for impact as we look at plants that are associated with one region, but are in fact the ultimate veggiebonds.

The land of the lovely lavender

We’ve all heard the saying some time or another, but it should probably be rehashed, since roses are actually of Asian descent. Central Asia to be exact. The rose is one of the oldest flowering plants and has been cultivated for over 5000 years. Pink roses are the most commonly occurring natural variety, but colonialists and enthusiasts have also made hybrids of some pretty amazing varieties.

Lavender is often found in a typical English garden setting – a staple for anyone who yearns for the romance of an English cottage. I hate to break it to you, but it’s not English at all. As a matter of fact, this plant hails from the Middle East, India, and some Mediterranean regions to the south. History describes lavender as an aromatic commonly used by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans to scent their baths, clothes, and hair. They aptly gave it the Latin name 'lavare', which means ‘to bathe’. France aided in popularising the flower, as its climate perfectly suits the plant and perfumers use the oil in fragrances. A member of the mint family, lavender is also used as an ingredient in cuisine, especially baking.

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Often associated with pasta, the acidic fruit of the nightshade family has fooled everyone. Probably because Italians popularised the fruit so much, and when immigrants travelled to North America in the 1900s, the tomato came back to its home continent. Yes, it came back to the Americas. Originally, the plant was cultivated by the Aztecs and naturally grew in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The Spanish colonised South America and, like everything else, they took this fruit to their European homeland for trade in the 1500s. Bamboozled.

"We’ve learned toenjoy,embrace,love, and treat these exotic plants with the care and admiration we would our own."

don’t know if you’ve noticed (I'm being sarcastic), but everyone is either in Europe, on some Indonesian island, or living it up in the Hamptons. Our Instagram feeds have been bombarded with friends that are travelling like never before, and with our new hybrid work lifestyles, it’s never been easier to be a vagabond.

Let’s ketchup on the journey of the tomato

As fair as an English rose

Mark Mac Hattie Landscape@that_other_plant_dadDesigner

Side note: The word ‘vegetable’ is not a botanical term, but only culinary. The vegetative part of the plant is usually the part that can be consumed.

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Palm trees usually make you think of California or the Arabian desert. They’re probably the tree you associate the most with taking a holiday, which is why they’ve travelled so far and wide. It also helps that it’s extremely hardy and wind resistant. But our renowned holiday destination icon is originally from India, Northern Africa, regions of Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Those Spanish colonisers were at it again with this one, as the common palm made its way to the Californian coast on their boats, either intentionally or by waste.

There you have it. Tomatoes aren’t Italian; roses and lavender aren’t English; palms aren't Californian; and Cape gooseberries are actually an old Aztec favourite. Yet, we’ve learned to embrace, enjoy, love, and treat these exotic plants with the care and admiration we would our own. So, if we can manage to accept foreign plants as well as we have, without even knowing their true origin, we could happily live in a world where we eat South American tomatoes in our Italian caprese salad, while enjoying a lavender and rose-infused water under our Indian palm tree with our Asian partner and 100 houseplants as we celebrate the diversity of this world.

Palm tree paradise

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Wild goose chase to the Cape

Cape gooseberries are common in South African gardens. I mean, it’s in the name, so it’s definitely from Cape Town, right? Not so much... The Spanish really said ‘Let’s colonise the world with plants,’ because our beloved Cape gooseberry is in fact Peruvian. Another one of the agents of Spain to infiltrate the world, this member of the nightshade family gives us a tart little fruit inside a leafy husk. The name ‘Cape gooseberry’ is an indication of the calyx or hood that grows around the berry. And once the fruit matures, the hood dries out, and the fruit should be golden in color and sweet with a tart aftertaste.

TEXT Haidee Muller-Isaacs and Sbu Mkwanazi

PHOTOGRAPHY Adel Ferreira Photography

STYLING Joanita Cillié

SA’sGardenFavouriteGurus

Garden gurus – we know them, we’ve seen them, we are them! Well, at least we try! If you’re reading this, then you probably enjoy your fair share of planting. You live to get down and dirty, sticking those green fingers in the soil with the sun (or rain) on your face as you drink in some chlorophyll. This spring, we’ve decided to shine our light on the stories of fellow plant enthusiasts who are inspirational greenies in their own right. Get inspired, give them a follow on Instagram, and appreciate all the wonderful things people are do ing for the love of plants...

NDLANGAMANDLASIYABONGA

Well@de_apie@happybynature_knownforhis

of the Makers Valley Partnership in Lorentzville, Johannesburg, Siyabonga subscribes to the notion: 'If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.’ In his case, the medium of teaching has been gardening. Hailing from a rural town in KwaZulu-Natal, he was raised by his grandparents who taught him about cattle and food farming from an early age. He eventually studied biological sciences, followed by IT programming and developmental studies. Siyabonga started Makers Valley Farm in 2016 through the Edible Streets project, where he encouraged the nearby neighbourhood to plant vegetables on the pavements around Victoria Yards (one of Johannesburg’s most popular markets). ‘When Covid hit, demand for our food increased dramatically and I had to innovate by even using rooftops as urban farms to be able to help my community,’ he notes. The entrepreneur who employs two full-time employees and over 50 casual workers, teaches his local community how to not only feed themselves, but to generate an income as well.

roles on Kyknet, Oelofse went to the nursery one day to buy some potting soil and never left! Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would work at a nursery and talk like an expert about indigenous plants. Yet, now he is that guy, and he is convinced there is nothing better for your mental health than digging around in your garden. De Klerk blames it on the post-production blues. ‘When you work for weeks on end on a TV or theatre production, the rest of the cast becomes like family. When the curtain comes down or the final scene is shot, you return home, the adrenalin rush is over, and that is when the blues hit,’ De Klerk explains. His love of gardening helps with that and initially began when he moved into his groundfloor flat in Tamboerskloof, which has a small garden. ‘I made a lot of mistakes. Some people are born with green fingers, but I had to learn the ropes.’

FEATURE - GARDEN GURUS

DE KLERK OELOFSE

Actor and volunteer at Happy by Nature nursery

Teaching his community how to use open spaces to grown their own gardens and food Co-founder@makersvalley.jozi@siyabongandlangamandlaandboardmember

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used to shout nervously when her and her sisters invaded the garden. Susie had no idea at that tender young age that flowers would come to be the blooming business she loves! Certainly no lightweight when it comes to gardening, she honed her gardening skills at the Royal Horticultural Society in England and spent two years as the head gardener of two estate gardens in Kent. Now a greenie entrepreneur, the mother of two is part of the female flower farming collective called the Hort Couture Flower Collective, and co-runs an urban flower farm located in Constantia, Cape Town, called Flourish Flower Urban Farm.

If you had told Boston three years ago that he would one day be making the most beautiful flower arrangements on a flower farm outside Stellenbosch, he would have never believed you. After studying to become a professional welder, Zimbabwe-born Gongwe had his sights set on other things. ‘I never thought I would work with something as delicate as flowers. You know, my friends laughed when they heard I was working on a flower farm. They said I had wasted three years’ study fees.’ Gongwe is a full-time employee at Jamestown Flower Farm (just outside of Stellenbosch) with the dream of becoming a florist. Making beautiful flower arrangements has become such a passion for him that he believes it’s what teaches him patience and commitment, ultimately making him a better person through the process.

The mother of ‘flower power’ @susie_harris_leblond@flourish_urbanflowerfarm@hortcoutureflowercollective‘Mindmyflowers,’hermother

From welding to flowers – making beautiful flower arrangements is what he lives for

@jamestownflowerfarm

SUSIE HARRIS-LEBLOND

BOSTON GONGWE

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR 9 OCTOBER 2022! Garden Day is a chance for people across SA to down tools and enjoy their gardens. Everyone can take part, regardless of the size of their turf. Rolling lawns, potted window sills, urban rooftops, and patio planters – all are welcome. Simply head outdoors, don a few flowers in your hair to celebrate the arrival of spring, and have a good time in the sun with fellow garden lovers. @gardendaysa FEATURE - GARDEN GURUS

The accidental ‘soilfluencer’

Peta,@backyardboerdery@petamalanwhohasbeenworking

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Sowing through suffering – discovering the healing nature of gardening

@hortcoutureflowercollective@akanakabloomsThosewhohavegreenfingers

in the advertising industry for more than eight years as a graphic designer and senior art editor, says her love for gardening began in her childhood on her parents’ farm outside Wellington. When lockdown happened, she focused all her attention on her backyard vegetable garden. Although she almost always took pictures when she planted something new, or replanted something, she came to realise that she couldn't always remember what she had planted where. That is how her Backyard Boerdery page on Instagram came about. Her main aim was to have a separate place where she could keep a record of everything. After a while, more and more people started chatting to her and following her journey. Peta then realised that Backyard Boerdery is worth much more than a page for helping her memory along. ‘People started asking more questions and even shared ideas. There is an incredible group of South Africans with the prettiest and most interesting gardens.’

PETA MALAN

have long known that gardening is beneficial for physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Owner of Akanaka Blooms and practicing advocate, Nzwisisai ‘Nzwi’ was not always a believer. But after the pains of her son’s disability and the loss of two pregnancies, she took all that pain she was carrying and planted herself into gardening, which brought her immense relief and joy. Her son, Muku, has cognitive impairment and other special needs and she wants her flower business to represent hope not only for him, but other young adults like him. Nzwi – whose favourite flower is the butterfly ranunculus – grows lesser-known cut flower varieties on a five-acre agricultural holding in Meyerton, Alberton. For this garden guru, gardening is more than just enjoying growing dahlias and struggling with her sunflower heads; it is also about using gardening to help others. Coming together with other upcoming flower farmers in South Africa and her friend Flo in Zimbabwe, they started a collective of female flower farmers, known as the Hort Couture Flower Collective.

NZWISISAI DYIRAKUMUNDA

Find the Rose your heart has been dreaming about at Ludwig’s. A dream is a wish your heart makes.

WONDERANDWHIMSY THE SUBTLE BEAUTY OF A WHITE GARDEN

T

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he other day I received a phone call from a potential new client. She had a small townhouse garden and wanted my help in getting the most out of the space. When I arrived at her home, two things immediately struck me. First, this is a competent, passionate gardener. Second, this a competent, passionate gardener who just cannot help herself. Don’t get me wrong; her plants were thriving. But in an area probably no bigger than an average-sized swimming pool, she had planted one of just about every single flowering perennial that I can think of! Calling it colourful would be an understatement. It was a bit like looking at Joseph’s technicolour dream coat – without the dream.

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The white garden is simple, uncluttered, and serene. The psychology of it is quite simple too: simplify things so you don’t have to make too many decisions. Looking after an herbaceous garden filled with colourful flowering perennials is hard work that requires a lot of thought and planning. It can also be incredibly overwhelming if someone isn’t an active gardener or doesn’t have the capacity to stay on top of it.

Noshrub.two

‘What colour is it?’ is one of my most frequently asked questions when discussing garden plans with clients. My response is the same every time: ‘Is that a trick question?’ followed by, ‘Green… It’s green.’ Now, my sarcasm has gotten me into plenty of trouble in the past, but I’m sure that by now you’re getting my point. How often do we forget that green is a colour? And not only is it a colour – it's the best colour! As gardeners, we go to great lengths to surround ourselves with it as much and as often as we can.

Next time you’re on a shopping spree at your local garden centre, try and pay attention to the leaves of the plants. Look at their shape, their size, and their arrangement on the stem. All these things, plus the size and growth habit, create the plant’s form. Fix your eyes on the shade of green of each plant, and (here comes the exciting part) think about how it would look next to a plant with different characteristics. In fact, go one better and give it a try. Test out plant combinations on the ground and – provided your chosen plants have similar environmental requirements – you’re already on the right track. Think of the contrast that’s created between the deep, lush green of a box hedge with the soft, silvery green foliage of lamb’s ear. Or how loose, billowing Aristida junciformi grass plays off against a neatly clipped saltbush

"The reason why this planting scheme works so well can be attributed to the variation in form, texture, and foliage colour."

@oasisdesigncapetown

Lamb's ear

greens are the same, and this should be celebrated in our landscapes and planting schemes. One of the biggest advantages of understanding this assertion, is that we can use these principles when designing beautiful scenes around our homes. Green makes the loveliest foil for décor items and furniture, which should be considered when we plan our spaces.

www.oasisdesign.me

Nick Hampton LandscapeOasisDesignerDesign

So, why white gardens in particular? There’s a beauty in simplicity. The world of today is driven by busyness and noise – a ‘consumer society’ where everyone is constantly on the go. We’re bombarded by media, advertising, and trends. Our minds are full and part of us yearns to remove all the stuff that fill our days. I think that the white garden design concept speaks as a remedy to this, and is metaphorical as much as it is practical.

Now, before you dismiss my apparent judgement and relegate my opinion to the ranks of ‘one of those modern designers who just wants to put formal hedges everywhere,’ please let me assure you that this is not that type of article. I love plants. They are (and always should be) the superstars of every garden. That said, I think we’re often our own worst enemies when it comes to flowering plants. We want them all! However, with a bit of planning, careful consideration, structure, and (dare I say) restraint, there's a way to create a balance of strength and softness, order, and whimsy – something classy and understated – and I believe that we can do that with just two colours: green and white.

The reason why this planting scheme works so well can be attributed to the variation in form, texture, and foliage colour. But don’t forget that gardens are transient. You may be looking at a flush of big, bold Agapanthus flowers today, but in a couple of weeks, the pretty blooms will be turning. They’ll slowly fade to brown stalks before we cut them off, leaving a clump of strappy leaves. So, as with all gardens, think of succession and try to plant your white garden so that there’s always something in flower. But if there isn’t, that’s okay too; you’ve got all that wonderful foliage interest and plant form. Remember that green is a colour too – the best colour.

A few years ago, I designed a garden for the most wonderful client. Apart from a few orangeflowering Clivias, which flower for a very short period, the garden colour palette was entirely green and white. We used Viburnum tinus hedges as a foil for much of the planting. These are stalwarts in the garden as they look good year-round and produce clusters of white flowers in winter. Offset against the hedges were groups of white dwarf Agapanthus, iceberg roses, and clipped Westringia balls, edged with Erigeron to compensate for the formality created by the box hedges and Westringias.

The white garden eliminates a lot of options and speaks to a simpler life that so many of us crave. White soothes and calms. It signifies peace and purity, and I think that we could all do with a little more of those things in our lives. I’ve seen some beautiful examples of white gardens throughout the years, and while I agree that they often lean towards the formal side, appealing to those with varying degrees of obsessive-compulsive disorder, I don’t think that this has to be the rule. The principles of contrast, texture, and form apply no matter your style preference. Imagine a winding walkway through a shady garden of mixed Plectranthus and ferns, an English-style border of exclusively white perennials, or even a fynbos rockery with only white flowers, where leaf shape and texture provide enormous interest. These examples paint a picture of vastly different kinds of gardens, yet all still very much achievable.

FEATURE - WHIMSY & WONDER Wild & Free

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FEATURE - BIRDING WITH ALDO

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My theBringBinocsAllBirdstotheYard

With the short-term intervention of food and water, you can attract birds within days to weeks. Mixed bird feed attracts larger seed-eating birds, especially doves, pigeons, and weavers. Throw this food on the ground in open areas. Bird seed is smaller, and attracts smaller seedeaters, such as mannikins, finches, bishop birds, queleas, and whydahs. Invariably these will be new to your garden, as most gardens lack swathes of suitable grasses to attract seedeaters. Provide seed in customised elevated feeders or on the ground.

It is a well-known fact that placing food and water in your garden will bring more bird visitors. However, by judiciously providing a diversity of foods, you can attract far more species. Successful execution of this strategy depends on understanding the availability of different foods and the birds that enjoy them, plus how to present them. This will be an absorbing journey that enriches and matures over the years.

Spice things up

First, the essentials

Placing bonemeal, suet balls, and mealworms outside requires more time and effort, but you’ll be richly repaid with the close-up presence of insectivorous birds, such as shrikes, starlings, orioles, robin-chats, thrushes, and drongos. Whilst these species are usually present in your neighbourhood, feeding helps you to see them much more obviously, and some birds may become very accustomed to your presence. There are many ways of preparing and presenting these foods, but be sure to always do so in an elevated position.

Seed and sustenance

We all take great pleasure in designing, creating and frolicking about our gardens – that is a given! But the idea that we can design these spaces to attract and entice our feathered friends is a concept we’re less familiar with. Most of us believe that our garden birds are an accidental subset of the birds in the surrounding area. Yet, did you know that you can actually ‘design’ the bird assemblage in your garden, inviting the rewarding return of activity, colour, and sound of free-flying fauna? Switch off the TV, grab your binocs, and come sit right here... It’s birdwatching time!

A spoonful of sugar

Make sure that cats cannot stalk and catch birds from cover; either by using raised feeders or feeding in open ground. By nightfall, ensure all bonemeal is eaten and there is no food on the ground –excess can attract cats and rats. Offer your birds watering points at ground level or as elevated bird baths and remember to keep these filled daily. Watering birds can be incredibly successful during dry winter and early spring, or summer months in the Western Cape.

Plants provide food, roosting, and nesting sites for birds. Plus, in terms of food resources, they offer nectar, fruit, seed, and insects. Amongst the best-known nectar plants are Leonotis, tree fuchsia, and aloes, which attract sunbirds. Plants that attract birds through nectar in exchange for pollination, have red or orange flowers. Sunbirds are highly prized because of their bright colours, intense activity, and vocal presence. The Amethyst Sunbird, White-bellied Sunbird, and Malachite Sunbird all go a long way in uplifting a garden. Plants that provide fruit for birds, include the tree fuchsia, Searsia (Rhus), and indigenous Ficus (figs). These attract birds such as barbets, bulbuls, starlings, and turacos.

"

Place your feeders and water points where you can comfortably and regularly view the action. Remember, seeing your garden birds is the ultimate reward. Positioning them in clear sight also acts as a constant reminder to regularly top up the feed and water levels.

Local is lekker

Blooms for birds

Planting insect-rich trees is a less direct way of attracting birds, but some trees and shrubs are effective for providing fruit and nectar as well as insects. Insect-trees often have yellow and white flowers, helping to diversify the colour palette of your garden.

Plant attraction

Bugs for birds

Planting for birds takes time, and will take years to reach maturity as we find new plants and techniques to attract birds. A well-designed bird garden should aim to provide extended flowering seasons in white, yellow, orange and red, with classic form and structure. Open your mind to new possibilities to create a home for bird movement, colour, and song – something that’s all the more rewarding since free-living birds have chosen your garden!

Indigenous species are ideal, because they are a part of local food chains and biomes, and pre-adapted to attract insects and birds. Indigenous plants are often drought-resistant, which is increasingly important as climate change takes hold. Many gardeners believe that planting indigenous means boring, untidy plants lacking in colour. Not so; this view is quite out-dated. Given there are 25 000 indigenous plant species in Southern Africa, we have a wide choice of bird-friendly plants to bring colour, form, and structure.

36 / OUTSIDE&IN FEATURE - BIRDING WITH ALDO

Sugar-water is a specialist bird food and can simply be made combining white sugar with water in a ratio of 1:4 and placing it in a range of specialist feeders. This attracts a variety of stunning sunbirds, although feeders with larger drinking holes will also attract species with shorter bills, such as bulbuls, weavers, and orioles. This technique is less guaranteed to work successfully, but results can be spectacular.

Position, position, position

Given there are 25 000 indigenous plant species in Southern Africa , we have a wide choice of bird-friendly plants to bring colour, form, and structure. "

Cape Bulbul

A White-bellied Sunbird drinking from the flowers of a weeping boer-bean

A great example is the sweet thorn. This attractive tree tolerates a range of conditions, has a showy splash of yellow flowers that attract insects, and dense thorns offering a haven for bird’s nests. The fever tree, with stunning lime-yellow bark, usually attracts a colony of breeding weavers if planted next to water in a larger garden.

Two species, Crested and Black-collared Barbets, are widespread across South Africa. They are real favourites, readily coming to fruit, and are both very vocal and colourful.

Most South African gardens attract one of three species: the Olive, Karoo, or Kurrichane Thrush. They are ground-feeding birds and will come to bonemeal.

One of South Africa’s most widespread and loved birds, this insectivore will love water points and bonemeal. They typically forage in undergrowth and on the ground, so they require patches of shrubbery to survive.

Barbets

Present in all gardens, the most common are the Red-eyed Dove, Cape Turtle Dove, Laughing Dove, and Speckled Pigeon, which readily arrive in large numbers to feed on mixed bird food on the ground.

Cape robin-chat

Shrikes

Get to know your garden birds

There are three species: the Dark-capped, Red-eyed, and Cape Bulbuls. Their dark heads and yellow vents help to identify them, and they readily come to fruit and bonemeal.

Three common species in South African gardens, dependent on geographical location, are the Common Fiscal, Southern Boubou, and the Bokmakierie. The latter is less common in gardens, but a highly desirable resident for its evocative and beautiful calls. All three species will come to bonemeal.

We’re giving five lucky readers the chance to win a FREE birding course with Aldo! To enter, simply give us a follow on Instagram and slide into our DM's telling us your favourite garden bird! @out_side_and_in

Join Aldo Berruti from 24-27 October as he shows you how to bring a celebration of bird colour, song, and activity to your garden and home. Birding with Aldo's ever-popular online short course comprises three sessions of 90 minutes each. Participants are provided with a host of ideas and reference material to ignite their bird knowledge. www.birdingwithaldo.com

Doves and Pigeons

Cape robin-chat

Aldo Berruti

Most South African gardens have one of three species: the Southern Masked Weaver, Village Weaver, and Cape Weaver. They occur in busy flocks, sometimes construct small colonies of woven nests, and will enjoy bonemeal, seed, and fruit.

Look out for these common and well-known birds in your garden...

Thrushes

GARDEN BIRD GIVEAWAY!

Weavers

Founder of Birding with Aldo www.birdingwithaldo.com @BirdingwithAldo

38 / OUTSIDE&IN FEATURE - BIRDING WITH ALDO

BRING BIRDS TO YOUR GARDEN, AN ONLINE COURSE

Bulbuls

How do you take this forward? I hope that after reading this article, you’re inspired to rethink your garden, research ideas online and in books, visit garden centres to check products and expertise, or find fellow enthusiasts to share thoughts and resources. Falling in love with birds is a long, enriching, and never quite complete journey of filling your life with bird song, colour, and movement. I’m happy to say that in just two years, we attracted thirty-six species with food and water to our garden in Underberg, with a total bird list of 112 species. Now, go and bring back the birds!

040107 080502 090603 01. Eva Solo Bird Shelter – R729, Eva Solo | www.yuppiechef.com 02. Birdhouse – Price on request, wiid.design | www.wiiddesign.co.za 03. Kirchhoffs Wild Wings Garden Bird Seed – R66 for 1kg, Leroy Merlin | www.leroymerlin.co.za 04. GARDENA ClickUp! Bird Seed Feeder – R688, Takealot | www.takealot.com 05. Westerman’s Wild Bird Seed Bell – R70, Lifestyle Home Garden | www.lifestyle.co.za 06. Swarovski CL Curio 7x21 binoculars in Burnt Orange and Black – R 14 560, Takealot | www.takealot.co.za 07. ‘In Flight Bird Feeder’ in Ivory – R845, Pedersen + Lennard | www.pedersenlennard.co.za 08. 'King Cheetah Jade' Print Field Chair Oak – R 5 500, Melvill and Moon in collaboration with Ardmore, | www.melvillandmoon.com 09. Hanging Bird Bath – R829, Eva Solo | www.yuppiechef.com OUTSIDE & IN'S TOP PICKS For Your Own Garden-Bird Bonanza

POOL PARTY PREP

Sprinkle seeds 30 cm apart and cover lightly with a thin layer of compost. Lettuce varieties do well in containers too and can handle a bit of shade throughout the day.

Mixed salad leaves

rguably a gardener’s favourite season, spring is a much-welcomed treat after the dormancy of a long winter. Some of your cold trooper annuals may now be coming to an end, signalling the exciting time to remove those frost covers and help the garden put on a few extra pounds of foliage! Here’s how to get the garden back in shape in preparation for summer pool parties and backyard entertaining.

Spinach

Radishes

Show off your defrosted green fingers by sowing these yummies in full sun with compostenriched soil and early-morning watering. Simply pick up some seed packets and growing essentials such as compost, potting soil, and fertiliser at your local garden centre and you’re good to go.

A

Sowing to harvest: 25 days

Sowing to harvest: 21 days

www.lifeisagarden.co.za @lifeisagardensa

Sowing to harvest: 30 days

42 / OUTSIDE&IN FEATURE - POOL PARTY PREP

Sow seeds 12 mm deep and 2,5 cm apart. When getting ready to harvest, dust some soil away before pulling them out to see their size. Younger radishes have a milder taste compared to more mature ones.

Quick spring salad sowing

Seeds like to be planted in loose soil, 1 cm deep, and 30 cm apart. Grow your spinach in edible containers or raised beds and make sure to add a good dose of nitrogen-rich compost.

outdoors"Entertaining or on the patio is what summer is all about – so make yours flourishing and fruitful during spring!"

Your garden’s best-kept pollination and pest-control secrets will be keen to get back in the game (and show off a few new additions to the family, hooray!). Welcome back these helpful visitors by planting some spring treats they’ll particularly enjoy.

Try this: Pelargonium 'Mozzie Buster' produces the smell of citronella oil, excellent for repelling mosquitoes on those summer nights.

43OUTSIDE&IN / FEATURE - POOL PARTY PREP

Enjoy DIY designer cocktails filled with aromatic herbs and flavoursome fruit. Purchase seedling trays from your favourite garden centre to plant straight into the ground or patio containers for easy access. Have fun experimenting with different herb and fruit flavour combinations.

Aromatic foliage: Sage (Salvia officinalis) has wrinkled, aromatic grey-green leaves and purple, blue, or white flowers. Scented-leaf Pelargoniums have small flowers and are grown for their wide variety of leaf scents, such as lemon, orange, rose, peppermint, and nutmeg. These plants release their scent when touched, making them a great choice for kids.

Try this: Egyptian starcluster (Pentas lanceolata) is a stunning butterfly-attracting shrub that produces red, pink, mauve, and white flower clusters in spring and summer.

Fruits: Apples, Cape gooseberries, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, pears, pineapples, strawberries, blackberries, and watermelon are all ready for rich soil and full sun.

Essential pollinators: Simply put, your harvest needs the bees and they need us. Create a pollen-rich flower border around your veggie garden with marigolds, sweet alyssum, and cool-season vygies. Allowing herbs to come to flower will give bees added sustenance.

Heavenly scent

Get the gin garden going

Fragrant flowers: Try the spring-flowering sagewood (Buddleja salviifolia) , which bears cream to purple sweetly scented flowers, and the mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) that has lovely white blossoms emitting a rich perfume.

Highly aromatic plants add a whole new dimension to the garden and truly bring the spring and summer spirit to life. Fill beds, edge borders, highlight pathways, or sweeten up patio containers with delightful fragrant shrubs.

Herbs: Plant dill, chervil, origanum, coriander, mint, rosemary, fennel, basil, anise, and summer savory in composted soil in an area with full sun.

Bring back the birds and the bees

Blooms for birds: Growing indigenous plants means more habitat creation for our local wildlife, while also increasing our native plant species reduced by urbanisation and deforestation. Bushy bulbine (Bulbine abbysinica ), blue felicia bush (Felecia amelliodes) , and African blood lily (Scadoxus puniceus) are some local bird favourites.

DO: Choose evergreen ferns and ornamental grasses that don’t shed.

DON’T: Plant trees with large invasive root systems that may damage pool infrastructure.

DON’T: Plant flowers too close to the pool as petals can become a nuisance.

DO: Go for hard-shelled, non-shedding edible trees such as lemons or lychee.

DON’T: Plant annuals that shed during autumn, littering the pool and surrounding area.

DO: Plant evergreens that are always jolly and low maintenance.

DON’T: Grow soft fruit trees like plums and apricots that’ll drop and rot around the space.

DO: Rather plant trees in containers to ensure your paving and pool is safe.

FEATURE - POOL PARTY PREP

Poolside planting – the dos and don’ts

The last thing you want is to be stressed out by maintenance or constantly needing to replace pool filters because of rotting leaves. To help you out, here are some factors to consider and avoid when creating your poolside paradise this spring.

Entertaining outdoors or on the patio is what summer is all about – so make yours flourishing and fruitful! Enjoy preparing the garden to host your loved ones this spring, and remember to ask your garden centre assistant for guidance on products and plants. Have fun!

As insect pests wake up to the prospect of fresh young buds and shoots, now is an important time to monitor for early infestations. Sucking insects, such as leafhoppers, white flies, aphids, and thrips are commonly found in gardens and veggie patches, and can inflict extensive damage if not found early.

Home and garden owners across South Africa have recently gained access to a new, ecofriendly range of responsible insect pest-management products that will help you monitor and manage insect pests. The Insect Science® Home and Garden range provides a simple, easy-touse alternative to traditional insecticide-based products.

Meet the new Insect Science® range

Insect Science

The Insect Science® Home and Garden range includes blue and yellow sticky cards and rolls for plant pests; sticky traps for flying and food storage pests; and even a pleasant-smelling glue remover that removes all kinds of sticky residues, from wax crayons on your walls to sticker glue. The range is available online at www.shop.insectscience.co.za and other online stores, as well as in major nurseries and retail stores.

Research has shown that some thrips are attracted to yellow, while the common western flower thrips are more strongly attracted to blue. That’s why Insect Science’s Blue and Yellow Sticky Cards are the perfect pesticide-free method to attract, trap, and monitor all types of thrips in fields, gardens, and greenhouses.

www.shop.insectscience.co.za @InsectScience@insectscience

As warmer days bring the flowers in your garden out of hibernation, it’s the perfect time for insect pests to start looking for young green shoots and flower buds to feast on. Fortunately, the Insect Science® Home and Garden Range is on hand to help.

FEATURE - INSECT SCIENCE

Insect Science has spent years researching and developing products that help farmers – and now gardeners and home owners – to manage insect pests using nature’s ways, leaving no harmful residues. A major focus for Insect Science® is the development and manufacturing of pheromone-based products, along with the use of specific colours, to help growers to target certain insect pests without the use of toxic insecticides.

Contact Ally Thomson for more info 015 ally@insectscience.co.za0650199

This targeted approach means the products avoid harming beneficial insects such as bees and other pollinators. Home owners can produce environmentally-safe crops and plants with these safe, easy-to-use and eco-friendly pest-management solutions.

Get a head start on spring

What’s in a colour?

Scout for pests by walking through your garden to look for insects, stressed plants, and signs of sooty mould or honeydew. You can also monitor pests by hanging Insect Science’s yellow and blue sticky cards in fruit trees, on rose bushes, or near plants that were plagued by insects in the previous season. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and making use of sticky cards early in the season is a great way to get ahead of the game.

Get Ahead of Garden Pests This Spring

515 Palm Shade: Palm Shade adds a fresh accent to a natural setting, bringing a sense of lightness. Palm Shade conveys the authentic depth and majestic look of marble with its elegant milky base and discreet, earthy charcoal vein. Its white base and discreet veining are anything but plain. This beautified stone complements natural façades and landscaping materials, decking and pavers, and all manner of interior design styles.

Available in three colours, 405 Midday, 406 Clear Skies , and 515 Palm Shade, the world’s most premium surface will elevate your outdoor entertainment space. Just as Caesarstone first pioneered quartz surfacing in 1987, the brand continues to lead the industry’s innovation.

The World's Best Countertop is Stepping Outside!

Chasing the sun

406 Clearskies: Clearskies has a smooth concrete grey base enlivened by a scattering of tiny flecks. The design adds the earthen look of a pebble’s surface to outdoor spaces. The natural style of Clearskies brings a sense of continuity and flow from the inside out – a stylish accent and focal point for your designs.

Introducing the NEW Outdoor Collection by Caesarstone

Back to nature

Ready to take it outside?

47OUTSIDE&IN / FEATURE - CAESARSTONE

The joy of alfresco living

The Caesarstone Outdoor Collection boasts a breakthrough combination of high durability and UV resistance for outdoor luxury. For the first time in quartz history, Caesarstone has combined the best of all it has to offer by taking the luxury of its surfaces to the outdoors. Inspired by the tactile nature of polished concrete, these new designs have a lightly textured, concrete finish.

MEET THE SHADES:

405 Midday: Midday’s sandy white surface is embellished with warm grey and soft white flecks, which add texture to its neutral façade. The organic look of Midday correlates to the beauty of nature, conjuring up relaxing spaces with classic materials like wicker-plant pots in warm grey, beige, or terracotta.

The Outdoor Collection provides the convenience of stain-resistant, easy-to-clean surfaces, while innovating a highly-durable material proven to withstand UV rays and extreme environ mental conditions. We’re in a time where there is more desire than ever to cook, dine, and entertain in an outdoor kitchen. From braai counters to sinks and backsplashes, patio dining tables and poolside bar tops, the range has countless uses.

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The Outdoor Collection brings the continuity of beauty, strength, and durability to outdoor kitchens and contemporary backyards.

Corner North Rand & Trichardt Road, Bartlett BoksburgAH, BOKSBURG Corner FourwaysRoosBoulevardFourways&Street FOURWAYS Corner Blackrock Street & Stoneridge Drive, Greenstone Park Ext 2, Edenvale GREENSTONE Corner Hendrik Potgieter & Cascades Road, Little RoodepoortFalls, LITTLE FALLS shop online at www.leroymerlin.co.za leroymerlinsa1leroymerlin.southafrica leroymerlinsa Create an outdoor oasis The time is here for you to create your own outdoor oasis with Leroy Merlin. Laze around in our sofa sets, or a lounger on the pool deck. Keep your outdoor parties under cover with a pergola, umbrella or gazebo, you’ll still need the sunblock though. Dip your feet into that cool pool water again, we’ll make sure it’s sparkling blue with our pool cleaning gear. There’s nothing like the smell of the braai on a hot summers day, while you’re relaxing in patio with your favourite drink. Braai to your hearts content, charcoal, gas, kettle or built-in, we’ve got the braai for you. For all your lanscaping, outdoor furniture and garden solutions outside and in... visit any Leroy Merlin store or shop online at www.leroymerlin.co.za

HAPPILY EVERAfter A bold indoor-outdoorposterCapefamilytransformsmakeoveradreamhomeinTownintoachildforliving

A signature of both rooms is plush curtaining that gave Simone a starting narrative to work from for the rest of the furnishings and design choices. The games room – by day a TV and music room for the kids, by night a poker room – is dominated by Christian Lacroix Reveries Vert Buis fabric, featuring mythical creatures. It was the ideal choice for the dual-role room, perfectly balancing it with playfulness amid practicality. Simone had a leather fireplace fender made as a nod to a 'gentlemen's club', and the piano is housed in a custom-made casing that transforms it into a homework desk.

Bordering the dining room and the neighbouring rooms is a patio that runs the house's full length. Doors can be flung open to connect the inside and outside. Simone wanted to create a unique destination, converting the space into a truly comfortable outer lounge with a less formal dining space, all consumed by greenery. A Designer's Guild fabric and combinations of natural textures expressed in the rattan furniture, grass matting, and side tables in stone and ceramic deliver warmth and understated luxury.

The dining room, which flanks the games room, was another underutilised zone that Simone felt was a missed opportunity to make a statement. She selected a bark-like, textured Zimmer + Rhode fabric for the dining room curtains, and commissioned a forest scene to be handpainted on wallpaper in soft charcoal tones. The touch of whimsy can also be seen in the dramatic, oak leaf chandelier that hangs above the dining room table. Removing, reimagining, and then reinstalling the bar from outside to create a feature wall totally changed how they used the space, says Laurie. The wallpaper and glamorous bar combination made all the difference. 'It made sense to make a wow statement in this room because it's the first thing you see when you enter the house,' he says.

ith grand rooms and a park-like garden, this graceful Cape Town abode held the promise of a comfortable family home for Laurie and Danica Slatter. However, it lacked the warmth and personality they sought for their tribe of six — including pre-tween triplets. Fortunately, interior designer Simone Hirsch was given a clean slate to craft inviting living spaces suitable for enjoying family time and entertaining friends.

W

50 / OUTSIDE&IN PORTFOLIO - HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The couple's previous house in Johannesburg was slick, cool, and modern. After the shift in cities and lifestyle, they required a softer touch for their new home. Simone took her cue from Laurie's quirky tastes. 'Laurie is quite eclectic and likes fun things, but also pieces that are timeless. He's not afraid to push the boundaries,' she says. 'If their first home was minimalist, the move was towards maximalist for this one,' she explains, and she set out to bring the home to life through the use of fabrics and interesting objects.

In the hallway, a beautiful round table with dried plants and books welcomes visitors and sets the tone for the house. From there, the view opens up to the striking staircase and dining room, and a lounge they converted into a 'games room'. Both were spaces Simone wanted to reclaim. 'They were dead areas, and I wanted to make them interesting areas the family would be drawn into and want to be in,' says Simone.

PORTFOLIO - HAPPILY EVER AFTER

51OUTSIDE&IN /

Generous fabric curtains are used to section off the game room from the rest of the home. 'It's a fun, eclectic, and practical room that contains the noise while still feeling luxurious,' says Simone.

PHOTOGRAPHY Elsa Young TEXT Lori Cohen

But this is a home filled with children, and as much as Simone responded to Laurie and Danica's design brief, it was the children who inspired many of her decisions. The kitchen, for example, already housed a breakfast nook, and Simone wanted to make it the heart of the kitchen and the home. It needed warming up as well as a colour update. A bold blue pinstripe was chosen for the seating, the walls were wrapped with textured paper, and the existing cabinetry was refreshed with navy paint. This is where the family now congregates for meals and Upstairs,homework.thefun

52 / OUTSIDE&IN

The garden below is shrouded behind walls of trees, with the swimming pool nestled to one side of the greenery. 'We wanted the pool area to be a place where we could go and enjoy spending the whole day without having to run back to the house,' says Laurie. Here, cane furniture surrounds a bar featuring ceramic tiles in moss green. A ceiling strung with hanging plants and day beds gives it its own character and bragging rights as the ultimate retreat.

she had working with the foursome is evident. 'Each of the children told me what kind of room they wanted, and then I interpreted these,' explains Simone, who, as she often does, collaborated with local artisans to create unique pieces. In Mila-Belle's 'horseinspired' room, artist Michael Chandler handpainted wooden mules in hot pink and orange, and these were mounted on the bedroom walls. Layla's 'jungle' room features a signature monstera leather leaf chandelier, created by Clarisse Design. Textured or vibrant wallpapers complete the themes and give each room a signature identity.

Whether one is inside or outside the house, the success of Simone's excellent choice of colours, textures, and patterns ensures the home feels contemporary yet cozy. 'It was so fun to bring what was an already wonderful house to life, and reimagine it through the eyes of this family,' she says.

The merriment of the children's rooms is contrasted by the simplicity of the homeowners' ensuite and open-plan bedroom. With vast windows and a balconette, the bedroom is dominated by views of the verdant garden below, which prompted Simone to keep the room pared back.

RIGHT: The dining area on the patio is both inviting and contained thanks to a layer of hanging plants, which define the area, and laidback canvas chairs, creating an informal feeling. Table by Simone Katherine Interiors; canvas and wood chairs, Private House Company; black cane chair, owners.

PRODUCTION Sven Alberding

PROJECT INFO:

PORTFOLIO - HAPPILY EVER AFTER

spaceindooranasauthenticasfeelitmaketodetailandconsiderationsametherequiresareaoutsideanDecorating patio.aforappropriateandpracticalboth—itemsgardenandplantshousetoshelvesbaker'sinstalledShewould.

(011) 262 2727 (031) 569 2236 +264 81 379 2625 (087) 150 (013)Mpumalanga56007532060Limpopo(015)3072151Protects, nourishes and colours wood in one easy application (011) 444 7221 | info@jaxoleum.co.za | www.jaxoleum.co.za Can be used on all types of uncoated wood for both interior and exterior application Easy to apply in one single coat 1 litre covers up to 50m² Global Green Tag certified product A member of the Green Building Council of South Africa Low WideVOC’scolour range with over 70 colours to choose from Good stock levels and quick turn around time Competitively priced product backed by great Proudlyservicemade in South Africa The homeowners' ensuite bathroom is a plant oasis. With steam and filtered light, the wide shower is the perfect place to freshen up. Simone added a mirrored wall and brass details to the wooden bar, infusing it with a vintage gentleman's club luxe feel to complement the dining room. Bark-like Zimmer + Rhode wallpaper completes the 'moody' scene, as did painting the bronze oak leaf chandelier matte black. Handpainted wallpaper and rug sourced and designed by Simone Katherine Interiors; dining room table and barstools, client's own; curtains, Zimmer + Rhode in Mano; bronze oak leaf chandelier, painted matte black and standing lamp, Morgan Associates; heron feathers and spotted eagle owl, sourced from Mandibles, ethically sourced taxidermy. (Cat is Leo.)

Down- 2- Earth

The Gomes family’s dream to live more connected to the land and more in tune with themselves has been fulfilled with Jardim, their food garden and contemporary country home in the rural enclave of Noordhoek, Cape Town.

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“ About six years ago, we all went to a childhood friend’s farm for Sunday lunch. It was late in the afternoon. We were sitting at a table under the trees and our host had just brought a pitcher of lemonade for us to drink while the kids were riding horses as the sun was setting. It couldn’t have been more picture perfect. So, I leaned over to my wife Angela and said, ‘This is what life is all about.’ That was the moment for us."

PORTFOLIO - DOWN-2-EARTH

Right after that moment of rural bliss, Justin — an owner of a successful advertising agency and one of those people who thinks in visual narratives — and Angela began developing their vision of a semi self-sufficient life on a beautiful piece of land. Their new home was close enough to surrounding schools for their three children while still being a place that could offer them an opportunity to lean into into the rural lifestyle they wanted. Jardim consists of a sprawling self-sufficient food garden, horse paddocks and stables, and a yoga studio built using reclaimed doors and windows from their home renovation. 'Originally the property consisted mainly of horse paddocks and felt hemmed in by trees, but removing some of them to reveal the mountain view is one of the first things we did and it was a revelation,' says Justin of their sun-filled property in Noordhoek, Cape Town.

The original house was a typical 1980s facebrick family home, but it was perfectly liveable. 'We had no idea how much land we needed to create the food garden we had in mind, but we had very clear ideas why we wanted the garden, so we just cordoned off an area and hoped it would be big enough,' laughs Angela, who together with her talented team of gardeners has spent the last five years building the garden into an impressive organic community enterprise where local restaurants buy produce to cook, nearby soup kitchens are given vegetables for their feeding schemes, and where people can come and pick their own veggies to buy and take home. Their garden has turned into a truly circular economy that feeds the family on many levels. Wedding feasts have been celebrated at the central harvest table (built using wood from the property’s felled trees) and weekend lunches with family and friends are of course a regular occasion here too.

When the time came to plan their house renovation, which kicked off three years ago, the Gomes family sat down with architect Alex Stewart. 'We loved how he really wanted to know more about our aspired lifestyle and what our goals were as a family and for the property as a whole. From there he developed a space where you can always see and feel connected to the garden; he just got us so perfectly,' says Justin, pointing out how at every turn, the garden can be seen or engaged with. 'We love our home, but the garden is the thing we’re ultimately most proud of, especially because it's at the centre of the process and was the trigger for so much of what was to come,' says Angela.

'We wanted a rustic feel with easy indoor-outdoor flow, but we didn’t want to fake the country aspect. So, the living room extension is a nod to a barn structure and also takes into account that we really wanted the view of the mountain to come into the space too,' Angela explains the interior mood they were after. With that in mind, the new design resulted in the interior being gutted and rebuilt from the engineered oak floors up. The kitchen and living room are predictably the heart of everything for this busy family of five. 'We made sure to split the kitchen in half so that the prep and reality of life can be hidden when we entertain,' laughs Angela. Custom designed freestanding kitchen units echo the modern farmhouse feel, as does the intense charcoal colour Angela chose for them.

The space is infinitely comfortable and effortlessly elegant with a myriad references and often sentimental nods to the family’s journey thus far. The entrance hall is fitted with a beautiful pressed vintage metal ceiling (a nod to Angela’s childhood home), while a huge poster of 'The Wave' by cult Japanese artist Hokusai, bought for Justin in New York, sits comfortably next to a Cape table by local designer Gregor Jenkin. Like the Gomes clan themselves, there is little pretence in their family space. It’s designed for kids and dogs and everyday traffic, but there is always an underlying commitment to living life as mindfully as possible. Theirs is a work that changes with the seasons. The family’s original dreams have evolved and grown exponentially from then to now, and there is so much more still to come. 'We are in the process of conceptualising a space where people can come for group getaways, be it for business or leisure breakaways, and experience the joy of picking and cooking the food we grow. This is how we want to live, making progress in our lives but still feeling connected to the garden that started it all,' Angela says.

RIGHT: The family’s property is aptly named Jardim – ‘garden’ in Portuguese. 'Originally, we wanted to call it Jardin, which is the French word for garden because we’d lived in Paris, but then we came across the Portuguese spelling (our family is originally from Madeira) and then I also remembered that Jardim is actually my father’s second name,' says Justin, who is a firm believer in synchronicity. 'It felt like that was another sign we needed that we were doing the right thing,' he adds.

58 / OUTSIDE&IN PORTFOLIO - DOWN-2-EARTH PROJECT INFO:

TEXT Vicki Sleet PRODUCTION Sven Alberding

PHOTOGRAPHY Warren Heath

ABOVE: The couple met 20 years ago while working in an advertising agency in Johannesburg, and it is clear they both boast common and unique creative talents. Angela’s eye for display and the beauty found in organic form is evident throughout their home and studio (her latest ceramic endeavours make perfect succulent holders). Tending, nursing, and nurturing plants come together as the perfect antidote for a busy life. Angela especially loves immersing herself in the joy that they can bring.

“We had no idea how much land we needed to create the food garden we had in mind, but we had very clear ideas why we wanted the garden, so we just cordoned off an area and hoped it would be big enough.”

TOP RIGHT: The garden studio is a testament to the couple’s commitment to creating a space to feed their creativity. It was built in the garden using windows, doors, and beams retrieved from the original house during the massive renovation. It’s a space where Angela tends her orchid collection and indoor plants, where Justin recently wrote a children’s book, and where outside practitioners have held yoga workshops and development courses. 'This space, like the new one that we are busy conceptualising, is everything Zoom is not – a place to really connect and feed what makes you and your friends tick. And it has given us so much,' says Angela of their garden studio. 'I love pottering here for a morning, meditating, or doing yoga,' she says.

BOTTOM LEFT: A passage peels away from the entrance hall, revealing the children's bedrooms, a central work and homework station, and Angela and Justin’s plant-filled bedroom and bathroom.

TOP LEFT: Contemporary country is the mood in this easygoing and easy-living Noordhoek family home. The family commissioned the elegant three-metre Cape table from local South African designer Gregor Jenkin. The contemporary lines of the table are juxtaposed by classic farmhouse riempie chairs. Central to the cooking and dining space is an oversized kitchen island. 'I really wanted to have the informal feel of freestanding elements like you find in old-fashioned country kitchens while still keeping it modern and relevant,' says Angela, who is a very keen cook. The colour Angela chose is infinitely modern. 'I really really wanted a very dark blue and, finally, we settled on this colour. It’s called Sushi Wrap and I love it,' she says. Mismatched lighting fixtures (found at Morgan Lighting) mirror Angela’s preference for creating an interesting and eclectic effect. Invariably, the family ends up sitting at the kitchen island counter or at the bay window dining nook. 'We’ve been using that so much more lately and it’s just the best being able to see the garden and what’s happening outside while we’re having a bite to eat,' says Justin.

100% Plant based, made from Potato & Sugar beet Approved for Organic Growing Grow nutrient dense food & climate resilient crops No preservatives or artificial growth stimulants Ideal for Organic Vegan & Vegetarian growing No Odour ‘Growing Health’ is not only cost-effective but planet-SMART too. Available in the following sizes: 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 5kg, 10kg and 25kg www.talborne.co.zabags Available in the following sizes: 500ml (makes 100L), 1L (makes 200L), 5L (makes 1 000L) a Superfood for Plants a Sustained Release of Nutrients a Climate, Carbon and Water SMART a Won’t Burn Plants a Feed Every 4 Months a Value for Money SouthInnovationAfrican NOURISH your Garden Growing Health Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants = Healthy People

TALL, DARK, & HANDSOME

This Camps Bay belle embraces bold, bronze, and black design to embody the urban-chic character of Cape Town...

Laminate surfaces Arpa Fenix, available from Max On Top – 086 111 3495

Neolith – 083 805 8698

Dazzling in its dark colour and angled composition, the structure is situated above the original main house. The morphology of the cottage is characterised by two thin floating planes stacked on top of each other, jutting out into the surrounding lush garden. The illusion of these floating planes is accentuated by levitating them from the perimeter stone walls by means of discreet steel columns, achieving the characteristic light and open structure of a Withpavilion.sweeping

Interpon, available from AkzoNobel South Africa –011 861 0500

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Joinery FFC Joinery – 021 556 0695

views over the Atlantic Ocean from the west-facing façade, the iconic Lion's Head from the first-floor terrace, and the Twelve Apostles Mountain Range framed through the clerestory windows; the site perfectly embraces its coveted Camps Bay topography.

SHOP THE LOOK

Interior and exterior boundary thresholds are blurred by means of large sliding aluminium doors that, when opened, provide the sense of expanse into the external landscaped areas. The interior furnishings, form, and the selection of materials and colours have been carefully orchestrated to work harmoniously together with the architecture, further complementing the experience.

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The dark colour palette and materials reference the main house, with the earthy greys, blacks, and bronzes of the stone wall getting picked up throughout the building. The floor tiles subtly reinforce the geometry of the primary structural elements, fragmenting the tiling pattern with the introduction of brass in-lays that extend vertically into the ensuite bathrooms accentuated by the late afternoon golden light.

cting as an addition onto the client’s existing main house recently completed by Greg Wright of Wright Architects, Cranberry Pavilion brings the two together to create something truly striking. The pavilion typology largely informed this boutique home project, culminating in a structure that has been kept to the minimum while still celebrating materiality and blurring spatial boundaries, as the Cranberry family of buildings are known to do.

Flooring Belgotex – 033 897 7500

Paint Dulux – 0860 330 111 Marmoran – 021 797 4250

Sintered stone countertops

Tiling WOMAG – 021 447 6161

Interior designer: Mazel Interior Design

Structural engineer: Poise Design

Quantity surveyor: Riverside Consulting

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PAVILION

Architects: Wright Architects, Greg Wright (Director and Principal Architect), and Suzaan de Kock and Gert Coetzee (Design Team)

Photographer: Christian Cooke

021 200 7660 | info@thermo res.co.za | www.thermo res.co.za 18 Viben Avenue, Brackenfell Infustria @thermo res ThermoFires

Thermo Fires

THERMO FIRES is a privately owned Proudly South African, Cape Town-based family business. We are manufacturers of Quality and Bespoke Braais & Fireplaces. With over 18 years’ experience in manufacturing and design, THERMO has become synonymous with quality and custom products. As proof of our commitment to our products, THERMO is the only company that gives a 20-year warranty against faulty workmanship.

InnonComeDESIGNING A BOMBSHELL AIRBNB IN 20 DAYS... CASA AMOR INN

The first week of this project was basically the two of us chirping around, throwing ideas into the air, and being giddy with excitement. We went to every thrift store, coming up with crazy ideas about how we’ll restore and ‘funkify’ everything as we walked through the aisles. Oh, little did we know the mountain of challenges and expenses ahead!

I get by with a little help from my friends

How it went

How it started

Casa Amor Inn Katinka Oosthuizen Lara Beukes

I (Katinka) drove home from visiting Lara once, and as I was driving past all the open fields, the idea popped into my head. I immediately messaged Lara to ask if she’d like to do this with me. After we found the perfect place in Mossel Bay, the realisation sunk in that this is actually happening. Right after that, we immediately got started!

@larabeukes1@katinkadiekat_official@casa.amor.mosselbay

Overlooking the beautiful Mossel Bay harbour, you’ll find the eclectic, retro-chic Casa Amor Inn – a DIY project by Instagram-famous Lara Beukes and Katinka Oosthuizen. After working non-stop for three weeks to make their dream Airbnb a reality, the duo takes us through their latest venture into interior design... Come on Inn!

As soon as we arrived at the Airbnb, we packed out all of our stuff – everyone gave us a hand! We have this really cool 1950s Bosch fridge that we had to carry up the steep hill to the house. I think that was the biggest challenge. Vintage fridges are so heavy! When we finally had everything inside, the place looked like absolute chaos. We felt wholly unprepared and began rethinking this whole project, asking each other, ‘What on earth are we doing?’ That’s when we realised we were actually going to do 90% of the renovation ourselves. We dealt with the uncertainty by laughing off our nerves and just started doing things little by little. The first night we browsed the entire internet looking for good prices on beds. After we frustratingly couldn’t find a specific couch we were looking for, we decided to drive to George the next day and were able to buy everything we needed there.

Lara’s great grandmother’s Art Deco cabinet was an amazing piece of furniture to discover. We eventually painted it a dark emerald green and absolutely adore it! While we were buying all of the decor, we got a good feel for the vibe we wanted to go with. We tried to think out of the box as much as possible. A big motivation for this project was the fact that we wanted to create a space where guests could create content with their family and friends. We live in a media-driven world, so we really wanted to utilise that throughout this Airbnb.

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We jumped straight into this project with no experience in interior design whatsoever, except for our personal style, passion, and a few small DIY projects we’ve done at home. But both of us love a challenge – especially when it comes to flexing our creative muscles. Usually, when we spend time together watching the telly, we always end up flicking through reality TV or home interior series. Once, we binged-watched an entire season of an Airbnb show, and we honestly think that’s where it all started.

First, we set up a budget and tried our best to stay on top of it. Next, we started going through our garages and searching through Facebook Marketplace for unique, Art Deco, and mid-century modern finds. Eclectic and retro interior has always been one of our faves, but there’s something daunting about decorating your own home in that style, because it’s so bold and colourful. But having a blank canvas and being able to go all out for other people to enjoy such fun interiors, was very satisfying to do.

Tip: If you’re looking for affordable second-hand shops, Bredasdorp in the Western Cape is where it's at!

Our daily lives changed like this:

The kitchen was our biggest concern of all, because we started working on it at the very end. We first had to wait for the sink to be moved to the back of the kitchen, but as soon as we started on that space, everything fell into place. Now it’s everyone’s favourite room in the house! Casa Amor Inn came to life as soon as we decided on the perfect prints that would represent our funky space as well as our humour. You would think that picking out prints is easy, but that was actually one of the hardest parts!

The first few days involved browsing through a lot of second-hand stores, buying tons of paint, and scrolling through Pinterest each night for even more inspiration. The first time this project felt real, was when we bought the beds, mattresses, and linen. Yes, we almost started crying when swiping our credit cards, but boy-oh-boy will our guests have the most comfortable beds when they come and stay at Casa Amor Inn. It was totally worth the spend, and after investing our money on those items, there was no turning back.

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The last day we rearranged everything in their assigned spaces, made up the beds and stood back, looking at our Airbnb with big smiles of relief and satisfaction. We can’t believe we actually did it! The whole process, from start to finish, was 20 days –blood, sweat, and tears. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but it was worth every minute and cent. We left the project in Mossel Bay as better versions of ourselves than when we started, and that is enough of a reward.

1. Second-hand doesn’t always work out cheaper Restoring antiques isn’t exactly inexpensive, since you still have to factor in the cost of wood primer, rust remover, sandpaper, paint, and paint primer. But when it’s a statement piece that you really love, then it’s 100% worth it. You won’t find anything like it anywhere else!

Before

Done and dusted

Everything but the kitchen sink

Some tips and takeaways we learned from this project are:

We woke up every morning at 7 am, made a to-do list for the day, put on our overalls, and started painting, putting up wallpaper, restoring pieces, and shopping till we dropped – literally. Gradually, we started adding pops of colour like spray-painting the David statue a shocking pink. We realised that we needed to figure out a colour scheme for each room, otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to decide on types of furniture and so on. So, plenty of colour palettes and brainstorming sessions later, we had a vibe for each room.

The hustle and slay behind the stay

"We straightjumpedinto this project with no experience in interior design whatsoever, except for our personal style, passion, and a few small DIY projects we’ve done at home."

4. Spend wisely

5. Do it yourself

Opening an Airbnb as a pair of 24-year-olds is no joke, but we’ll do it all again a thousand times over. Hopefully, this isn’t our last project. Now we just need those bookings to come in! We are so blessed with everyone who helped and supported us on this journey. So, we just want to say thank you and welcome to Casa Amor Inn!

If you want to thank yourself later, plan everything before you get started. Make a list of what you need to buy and take measurements of all the windows and rooms.

The project might take a little longer and you’ll be a bit of a zombie for the duration of it, but in the end, doing it yourself is so rewarding. You save a lot of money, learn so many new things, and ultimately have the satisfaction of saying, ‘I did that!’

2. Time is money

FEATURE - COME ON INN

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If you have limited time to do something, get people to work on the big stuff (like painting walls) when you’re not there. That way you can focus on your strengths and have peace of mind knowing that when you’re driving around for the smaller stuff, something is actually happening back at the Airbnb!

3. Fail to plan, plan to fail

Invest in high-quality mattresses, bedding, and towels that will bring good value for money for your guests, and rather cut back on decor expenses, since these won’t make as big of an impression in the long run.

Tapware in Tiger Bronze, Gun Metal, Brushed Nickel, Champagne, Polished Chrome and Matte Black. Available throughout South Africa. www.meirsa.co.za - 021 510 0489 OPULENT.RoundKitchenMixer.MK03-PVDBB.UnderslungSink.MKSP-S380440-BB

Hand-crafted tiles bring the back wall of a kitchen or bar to life. Interior design by Lisa Twyman. Tiles by Kalki Ceramics. Photography by Nikhil Tricam.

Let'sTextureTalk in the Kitchen

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Natural timbers warm up the kitchen and add plenty of depth with the wood grain texture. In line with a Scandinavian look, the grain texture is best accentuated when applied to flat panel doors and drawer fronts. Low sheen and oiled matte finishes help to keep the wood looking as natural as possible. A wood and marble pairing creates an overall cosseted feeling, enhancing a sense of safety and well-being.

Hand-crafted tiles

Hand-crafted and glazed tiles create lively and rich surfaces that bounce the light around and go a long way in elevating the new layered and textured look. Introducing them in a splashback will bring warmth and light to your kitchen. The hand-crafted sentiment is a trend that extends beyond the kitchen throughout the home. It suggests the charms of the old world – something people are leaning towards more and more.

"Low sheen and oiled finishesmattehelp to keep the wood looking as natural as possible."

Warmth, warmth, and more layers of warmth coupled with texture. The nested and insulated feel of the kitchen responds to the current need for a sense of security. Kitchen by Inarc Archtitects, Australia.

The latest kitchen trends both amplify and fulfil this sense of stability, highlighting our need for a calm retreat into the heart and hearth of the home. The overall aesthetic has shifted towards a warmer, more textured feel in the kitchen introduced through finishes of natural stone, timber, and hand-crafted tiles. With an emphasis on warmth and earthiness, and a resulting feeling of security, let’s explore the latest tips and trends that will turn your kitchen into a sanctuary...

fter the past few years of global upheaval, the world can seem like a very stark and scary place. Thankfully, the home has become a cocoon for rest and respite, with the kitchen taking a central role of refuge. The kitchen is the place where we nourish our nearest and dearest, and gather together to socialise with family and friends.

Marble has seen a huge revival, with bold patterns taking the lead. Seen in larger areas, covering whole islands and backsplashes, this surface is great for making a big statement with lots of colour and bold veining. It gives the kitchen a new sense of purpose and personality, and adds a sophisticated yet playful feeling.

Wood

Lisa Twyman Interior and Product Designer www.lisatwyman.com @lisatwyman

Marble

marble.colourfulbold,andfinishestexturedofcombinationawithplayfulgetsStudioYSGfromGhoniemYasminemaster,Another

TOP RIGHT: Brass shelving offers a warm texture against this concrete wall. Interior design by Lisa Twyman. Photography Lar Glutz.

TOP LEFT: Flat panel doors allow the wood grain to pop – it’s all about the texture. Kitchen by Belle ‘Ame Agency, USA.

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FAR RIGHT: A tiled splashback will bring warmth and light to your kitchen.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Oil paintings in this space make the kitchen feel homely and warm. Kitchen by Devol Kitchens, UK.

The kitchen plays a major role in our sense of home, security, and well-being. Thankfully, the tide has turned, gracing us with a warm, cocooning space that encourages connection and a sense of calm.

"The overall aesthetic has shifted towards a warmer, more textured feel in the kitchen, introduced through finishes of natural stone, timber, and hand-crafted tiles with an emphasis on warmth and earthiness."

FEATURE - LET'S TALK TEXTURE IN THE KITCHEN

In terms of new appliances and features, there are some exciting innovations that elevate both the functionality and aesthetic of the kitchen space. Integrated hobs and sinks create a seamless look on your stone top. Plus, sinks are also becoming wider, incorporating integrated functions like drying racks and chopping boards.

Lighting is another way to go when mixing the old with the new. Even a small addition of vintage oil paintings on the wall or an antique table lamp on the counter can add a sense of old-world charm, which is what this trend is all about. Plus, by adding a sense of history, the endearing idea that the kitchen is the heart of the home is also emphasised.

In open-plan homes, kitchens often form a backdrop to the living area, which is why the general style of the kitchen needs to fit the aesthetic of the living area to create a harmonious interior. This means seamless floors and finishes that tie in with what is happening beyond the kitchen. Such enhancements can be achieved by introducing a central colour in the kitchen and surrounding areas, or by bringing some of the marble or timber textures of the kitchen into the living room furniture pieces. The overall effect should be calm, nurturing, and harmonious.

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Metals are still having a moment, showing up in brass, gold, or copper accents in islands, sink mixers, and even inside sinks. The metals are all about warming up the kitchen and complementing the natural timbers, stone, and marble.

Two colours that are all the rage for creating a soothing space this season, are blue and green. From light, mint greens to dark, rich, and moody olive greens, the verdant shade spectrum offers a restful atmosphere to complement those brass and gold accents. Soft blue brings a fresh modern look that is a beautiful replacement for typical light grey, greige, and neutrals on cabinetry.

Metallics

Green and soft blue

Harmonious rhythm

Mixing vintage and modern

This trend sees vintage or antique pieces being introduced to the modern kitchen as major show pieces. Balancing charm with modern sensibility, restored furniture pieces can be turned into cabinetry, islands, and pantry cupboards.

Colour Coded

OUR FAVOURITE KITCHENS FOR A UNIQUE AND COLOUR-FILLED HOME

OLIVE GARDEN

The kitchen is open plan to the dining room, and leads out an open courtyard space. The vintage runner provides a touch of complementary colour, as do the artworks, while the industrial lights date from the late 1930s and originally hung in an old German warehouse.

For a similar paint colour, try Terracotta Teas or Lovely Papaya, both by Dulux (dulux.com). The kitchen joinery was custom-made by Kitch Inc (kitchinc.co.za), and the concrete countertops are by Stoneform Concrete Studios (stoneform. co.za).

TIP:

TIP

Owned by an art dealer and collector, it seems very appropriate that the kitchen of this austerely lovely urban abode should feature a wall of built-in cupboards painted in a shade resembling Yves Klein blue. The colour offsets the cast concrete structure beautifully, complementing the mid-century furniture and the contemporary and tribal African art the owner has been collecting for more than 20 years.

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The cabinetry is painted in Garden Seat by Plascon (plascon.com), the cooker is by Bertazzoni (universal.bertazzoni.com), and the white glass light fitting is from Gilles de Moyencourt Haute-Antiques (instagram.com/haute_antiques/).

This open-plan mountainside home is filled with natural light year round, so the bold decision to go with a pale coral shade for the kitchen walls, combined with plenty of dark, rich iroko wood, has paid off handsomely. The result is a warm and genuinely inviting space. The skylight window inserted above the open shelves means the play of light on the wall – and the items displayed on the shelves – changes throughout the day.

In a real old grande dame of a house, this ground-floor kitchen leads out onto the garden and a covered patio, as well as an adjacent casual dining space and sitting area. The traditional-style fitted joinery is painted a beautiful deep green colour reminiscent of park benches and leafy trees, and is smartly com plemented by vintage light fixtures and patterned encaustic floor tiles that add to the room’s old-school appeal.

TIP:

rom leafy greens to bold blues, peachy coral, and even a luscious lilac, the lively shades used in these bright and breezy kitchens are sure to inspire a colourful makeover in your own home...

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MY BLUE HEAVEN

JUST PEACHY

TIP

The all-white island and cabinetry in this family kitchen have been designed to fade into the background, focussing one's attention on the plethora of colourful artworks and objects on display. What’s more, by night the lighting can be switched to a colourful 'disco' mode, transforming the kitchen from a domestic hub into a strobeand colour-filled party zone at the flick of a switch. 'I love the notion that we are having a regular family dinner, but have disco lights turned on too. It’s all about being playful,' says the homeowner.

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Homeowner and interior designer Kim Stephen (kimstephen.com) decided on a chic monochrome 'backdrop' in the open-plan kitchen and dining area of her home. Onto this, she layered subtle texture – as seen in the dining chairs, from Sika Design (sika-design.com) – and eye-catching colour accents such as the bright pink rug from Gonsenhausers Fine Rugs (finerugs.co.za).

PARTY CENTRAL

A series of eye-catching photographic prints by homeowner Kirsten Goss’s (kirstengoss. com) husband, Clive Will (clivewill.com), as well as objects and artworks collected from artists, craftspeople, and markets across Africa are showcased here and throughout the home.

TIP

TRUE BLUE

IN THE PINK

Renowned for her penchant for bright colours, an interior designer took the use of bold shades – and combinations thereof – to the next level in her own family home. First off, she painted all the walls of the dining room, kitchen, and lounge in a vibrant forest green (inspired by the colour of a ceramic beer mug she’d found in an antique store!) and then splashed dashing blue on the kitchen cabinetry. 'Once I start, I can’t stop,' she smiles. 'White just looks blah.'

'I am naturally drawn to colour,' says the interior designer and owner of this petite yet perfectly-formed family home. From the bright blue and green ikat wallpaper in the guest cloakroom to the fuchsia pink seen in the open-plan dining and kitchen space, joyfully vibrant shades meet the eye throughout the house. Asked where her affinity for colour comes from, she simply says, 'Colour makes me feel happy and brings interiors to life.'

TIP

The kitchen was all white before interior designer Sarah Ord (sarahord.com) put her colour sense to work here. The walls are painted in Hunters Prairie (G4-C1-1) by Plascon (plascon.com), and the cupboards in Granite Falls (B4-C1-2), by the same manufacturer. The artwork of a seated lady viewed from behind is a Picasso print on chipboard, unearthed at Cape Town’s Milnerton Market (milnertonfleamarket.co.za).

Photography by Paige Fiddes

Born out of the scenic beauty of the Cape, lifestyle brand Sealand is making waves in South African sustainability. Designing timeless adventure gear and apparel from waste and environmentally-responsible materials, we are over the moon to sit down with co-founder Jasper Eales as he shares their conscious take on consumerism.

THE SEALAND INSIDE-SCOOP

Jasper Eales Co-Founder of Sealand www.sealandgear.com @sealandgear

FEATURE - SEALAND

Q: What does it mean to be a carbon neutral company? How is it aligned with your heart and mission?

Q: Starting a unique brand in the saturated textile industry can be tough. But somehow you have managed to capture a huge market of conscious consumers and on-trend urbanites who are dying to be ambassadors for your brand. Heck, most of our office owns a bag or two, so we can’t wait to see what’s next from Sealand!

Thanks so much for those compliments. It certainly has been a journey and not always an easy one. I think most entrepreneurs or business owners will agree that the last three years have been a challenging time. However, even though Sealand's journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, at the end of the day, we know that as a brand we really are onto something, which is great.

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Talk us through your humble beginnings as a South African start-up to where you are today…

It's super important and means a huge amount to us. We published our first responsibility report in the beginning of this year, which made us realise that we were already so close to being a carbon neutral brand to start with. I think a large part of it comes down to our material usage, upcycled material having a 97% lower carbon footprint than conventional virgin canvas. Since we started off by trying to build the most responsible product possible, we were able to become fully carbon neutral when we prioritised it. All our deliveries are also carbon neutral. I’ve always loved the outdoors, so treading lightly and investing in quality that lasts have always been part of what I do.

When it comes to sustainability, there are always two choices you can make. Hemp versus cotton is a good example. For so many reasons, hemp is the best material for apparel, due to its water usage, its land impact, how long it lasts, etc. But hemp isn’t produced in South Africa, so you have to import it. Cotton, on the other hand, is produced in Africa, so your carbon footprint is lower. However, the production and longevity of the material isn't as strong as hemp. So, when faced with these kinds of dilemmas or forks in the road, we have to weigh up the options and make a difficult yet responsible decision. Consumers buy our products knowing it’s a guilt-free purchase that’s supporting a responsible cause.

Q: Your gear has a very distinct style and design that has managed to set it apart from other lifestyle bags, accessories, and apparel in South Africa. Which type of materials are used to create your eco-friendly range? What has been the inspiration behind Sealand’s unique look?

We have three different material pillars, each with their own subset of textiles: upcycle, recycle, and eco-cycle. Upcycle includes our waste material and will continue to be a key component of what makes us unique. We use advertising billboards for the internal lining

Mike Schlebach and I started Sealand in 2015. Both of us are very passionate about the outdoors, but also about South Africa and local production. I came from a product design and branding background, and Mike was more involved in manufacturing. We joined forces and started to look at protecting our natural surroundings by creating a product that's designed to last, and made locally as far as possible to encourage job creation. In the beginning of 2016, we got a kiosk at the V&A Waterfront and we also launched our e-commerce store. From there, we opened our flagship experience store just outside the mall. More recently, we opened a shop in Hout Bay and moved our headquarters there as well, plus a shop in Stellenbosch. We’re currently exploring our next steps and will be opening up a new store in Johannesburg soon. To us, it’s fundamentally important to make sure that we maintain authenticity as we continue to grow. Something that has been very important from day one is building an aspirational brand with an educational voice. It's allowed us to reach and connect with like-minded people who believe in what we do.

Photography by Sacha Spex

“I think a large part of it comes down to upcycledmaterialourusage,material having a 97 % lower carbon footprint than conventional virgin canvas."

In terms of style, our materials determine the form and aesthetic of our products. They are designed to be functional, and in the process, the waste materials have given it quite a unique and clear identity. The brand is influenced by an outdoors, adventure, and healthy lifestyle. However, we also operate within an urban environment, so our aim is to create products that allow wearers to switch between the city and outdoors quite easily without having to change their whole wardrobe. Our range can be dressed up and dressed down; it just depends on how you decide you want to wear it.

"We hope that by including people in the process,production we can inform and inspire others to bring new life to waste materials through upcycling."

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Q: To us, the Sealand Moon Bag is such a cult classic. What other shapes and variations are on-trend for the spring and summer seasons ahead? And what else can we expect to see from Sealand in the coming months?

You are a people-centric brand by heart. Inside every Sealand bag, you’ll find the name of the craftsperson who made it. Can you tell us a little bit more about your Sealand family and what it means to you to give a face to the people behind the bags?

of the bag and canvas material made from old tents and boat sails on the exterior. Post-consumer waste is destined to make its way to a landfill, but now it’s inside our bags; and pre-consumer waste like rejected off-cuts and end-of-roll fabric are now used for the bag exterior.

You’re spot on about the Moon Bag; it's by far our most popular item, which is amazing to see. I think it has to do with the classic shape and style, but also the accessibility from a price point of view because some of our products are quite premium priced. We have another product called the Zeplin, a portrait bag accessory. It’s great for holding your essential items, like your wallet, cell phone, keys, or purse, and it's a really successful product as well.

Buddy Backpack

Including the names inside the bag is definitely one of the key features that sets Sealand apart and one of the things I'm really proud about. We refer to our Sealand family all the time, and we truly do try to create a family environment. If you were to come and visit us, you’ll see that the way we operate our business is a bit unconventional. We’re not bound to any constraints of how things are supposed to be done traditionally. Instead, we try our best to look at things through a unique lens, to bolden the business, and do something special that values people really well. It's really our way of championing the people who are the real heroes within our company. Even though you're interviewing me and I’m often hailed as the founding person behind Sealand, at the end of the day, without the people producing the bag, there would be no business.

We'll be launching a whole bunch of new apparel this summer, which is very exciting. One of the pieces I'm very excited about is our light-weight linen hemp shirts. We'll also be launching a fantastic cooler bag that is fully waterproof and perfect for your beer, wine, and picnics this summer.

Hero Convertible Duffel

We’re about to release a new recycling range made from regenerative nylon to become a significant part of Sealand’s bag collection. Generally, when you recycle, it loses structural integrity every time you recycle it and you have to add a component of virgin material. This regenerative nylon is made from old fishing nets, carpets, and other nylon waste; therefore, it maintains its structural integrity. I believe Sealand will be the first brand in South Africa to produce bags making use of this licensed material. Lastly, eco-cycling includes natural fibres such as organic cotton and hemp.

Q: We love your take on customisation… Explain how someone like us, or one of our readers, can pop in at one of your stores and leave with the colour, texture, and style that suits their unique personality?

FEATURE - SEALAND

The Moon Select campaign is now complete; it's both educational and aspirational, allowing customers to choose and personalise a product panel-by-panel. Almost like a deconstructed bag that puts the power and creativity into the hands of the consumer. But then from an educational perspective, it also enables you to see the components and materials, and how these products come together. The exterior panels all have slightly different stitching, textures, designs, marks, and stories to tell. By allowing people to design their own Sealand products, we are encouraging uniqueness and personalisation to the extreme. We hope that by including people in the production process, we can inform and inspire others to bring new life to waste materials through upcycling.

PhotographybyElenaCremona

Photography by Sacha Spex

We've run the concept on our Moon Bag for the last two to three months and before that, it was our Toastie toiletry wash bag. Possibly this coming summer or December we'll launch a new campaign around the next popular bag – perhaps the Zeplin. We want to keep it special and something unique where it's not always available to go and make your own one. There needs to be a limited timeframe to it. Readers can keep an eye on our Sealand socials for when we launch a new version of the customised bag.

Photography by Rolbos

Jade Bothma (@oceano.reddentes) – An enthusiastic and passionate lady who loves the ocean and looking after it. Almost like South Africa's Greta Thunberg, she’s started her own organisation that is educating people around plastic and how to mitigate and rework waste.

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Q: We see you collab with celebs and famous faces quite a bit. Who are your brand ambassadors and why do you feel they represent your brand well?

Gita Carroll (@gitakies_treasures) – A social impact specialist, modern philanthropist, and the founder of an incredible organisation called The Good Machine.

Roushanna Gray (@veldandsea) – A wild food forager who is a perfect example of somebody who lives off the sea and the land while seeing the importance and the value of protecting the natural environment.

Upcycled Pronto Cross Body Pouch

Sacha Specker (@sachaspex) – An all-round incredible individual, talented photographer, and one of the most amazing ocean-goers that I have ever come across – whether it's surfing, bodyboarding, or bodysurfing.

The important thing when collaborating with brand ambassadors is having a natural synergy between what they believe, what they do, and what Sealand stands for. Our ambassadors are an extension of the Sealand family, especially because of the alignment between our values. They range from working in conservation to system design, photography and wild food foraging. Likewise, our investors are as diverse as the land we live in. A few of our awesome ambassadors, include...

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IT'S ALL ABOUT THE D o UGH BAKING WITH BABYLONSTOREN...

She believes, ‘Baking gives people the opportunity to tell a story and to symbolise something that is more than just a loaf of bread on a plate. It is not just about the baker, but also about the ingredient, farmer, supplier, and everyone in the process. Bread is a symphony between so many people and elements that work perfectly together.

Every day, our Master Baker Nezel Jacobs (affectionately known as Peachy) conjures up delicious baked goods. These are sold in Babylonstoren's online retail shop, the Farm Shop, and all farm restaurants, including the Tasting Room, Bakery, the Greenhouse, and Babel restaurant. While the farm sleeps, Peachy and her team diligently labour to ready a variety of loaves, including sourdough, rye, white, and wholewheat, as well as a spread of confectionery and pastries. Peachy is determined to choose only the best quality ingredients in her baking – from the grains to the flour to the risen bread.

We want our bread to reflect the changing of the seasons and incorporate ingredients that grow in the Babylonstoren gardens. Garlic, pumpkin, olives, and various seasonal herbs are used to enhance the bread’s flavour. During the summer season, when it’s time to harvest our grapes, it is also time to bake the traditional South African mosbolletjie; and during Easter, the spicy sweet aroma of fresh hot cross buns fills the air.’

"There is truth in the phrase, ‘breaking bread together’ . I truly believe it brings people together.”

97OUTSIDE&IN / FEATURE - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DOUGH F

At Babylonstoren, we pay homage to these processes by growing our own bread, so to speak, from scratch. Since 2013, all the wheat, rye, and barley used in the Babylonstoren bakery are grown and harvested on the property under the watchful eye of farmer Ian de Villiers and his team. After the harvest, the wheat is taken to Caledon where it is stored in silos, and later stoneground. Stoneground flour undergoes a more natural milling process and so retains its healthy wheat germ, fibre, natural oils, vitamins, and enzymes. From flour to finished product, this translates to a more flavourful and robust loaf with added nutritional benefits to the eater.

or many, a loaf of home-made bread starts in the kitchen with a handful of humble ingredients – flour, water, yeast, and salt. However, behind each of these ingredients is a story that starts long before the baking ritual begins. A history that recounts the seasons, the sun, and the soil. These are the elements that give a loaf of humble bread the gravitas it deserves.

Babylonstoren’s Bakery also doubles up as a restaurant two times a week. On Monday and Friday nights, guests are welcomed with a decadent bread and garden grazing board as soon as they arrive, after which a selection of scrumptious Italian-inspired meals is served from 18h00. This is followed by homemade pasta, then round after round of wood-fired pizza served by the slice from the oven to your heart’s content. We round it off with a delicious dolce and our famous coffee. Cold beverages include homemade cordial, craft beer, and the Babylonstoren range of wines. If you are looking for a memorable dining experience this spring, then email enquiries@babylonstoren.com or phone 021 863 3852 to make a reservation.

1 L water

1 porous lid

RECIPE

MAKE YOUR OWN ‘MOTHER’ DOUGH

Mix 1 kg of flour (rye) with 1 litre of water, cover with a porous lid, and leave in a warm space until you see small bubbles forming on the surface. Give it at least 24 hours to become stronger, and then store in a lightly sealed jar or bowl in the fridge. Once you’re ready to start baking, remove the starter from the fridge and allow it to double in size before using it as the yeast in your chosen bread recipe.

You will need...

Pro tip: When stored in the fridge, you have to feed The Mother at least once a week by adding 250 ml flour and 125 ml fresh water to the mixture and giving her a good stir.

To make ‘The Mother’, starter dough, or ‘poolish’ as it is also called, Peachy makes a mixture of water and flour, which is left to ferment at room temperature. Natural yeast spores in the stoneground flour are activated by the addition of water, which catalyses the first fermenta tion or rising process. The mother starter is then left for about a day or more to increase in volume until it is powerful enough to act as a raising agent or yeast.

1 jar or bowl

Essentially, the breath from living micro-organisms within the flour creates the yeast bubbles, making it look alive. To harness these good gut organisms, it’s up to the baker to feed and encourage the process to produce a well-risen bread with those desirable, baked-in bubbles!

Recipe from the Babel cookbook, available for sale in Babylonstoren’s farm shop or online store.

FEATURE - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DOUGH

1 kg flour (rye)

Proceed to...

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