We’ve gathered a few of 2023’s stand out design ideas you should keep your eye on for the upcoming months, and throughout 2024.
1. Newton Bathtub
Here is your inside scoop on shopping, style, design, and culture. Starting off strong, this Newton Bathtub by Maison Valentina is both functional and a fibreglass structure with black lacquered spheres and a high gloss varnish.
2. Multidisciplinary creative: Jan Ernst
Jan Ernst's latest ceramic mural titled "Chance and Chaos," brings together the beauty of nature and the raw energy of volcanic eruption, creating a truly mesmerising three-dimensional organic composition. The design pays homage to the intricate patterns found in nature and the juxtaposition of tranquillity and turbulence and aims to capture the essence of life's dualities. Crafted from white stoneware clay, the mural commands attention with its bold size and intricate detailing. Each curve and contour has been meticulously formed by hand, showcasing the studio's skill in translating inspiration into tangible beauty. This installation serves to inspire designers alike, encouraging them to explore old mediums and techniques in new ways to convey their artistic visions.
3. Residential Design Studio: House of Kooks
Counter the typical formulaic interior, House of Kook are unswayed by passing trends, believing that honest design and authentic materials will never date. Kook is where timelessness meets boldness and simplicity meets authenticity.
Co-founders and long-time interior designers Kirsten Dodds and Amy Mckenzie started House of Kook as frustrated industry stalwarts; recognising a need for bespoke products and a design aesthetic that was otherwise lacking in the industry. The Kooks are inspired by the unique people who use their furniture and live in the spaces they create. On a deeper level, they are inspired by the many layers and textures that give people their personality. They believe that a beautifully balanced interior is much like a person - far more than the sum of its parts.
4. Studio Masson Invisacook
The Invisacook induction cooker by Studio Masson is an integrated stovetop into your countertop to create a continuous surface you can work on and cook on at the same time.
5. Multi-disciplinary design studio: Ananta Studio
Ananta is a multi-disciplinary design studio founded by sisters Viveka and Rucita Vassen about a year ago. Inspired by the traditional craft techniques, vibrant colours and textures from their homeland Africa and ancestral land India, there was a need to create a visual language that represents their identity with the cross-over of cultures. The sisters' purpose is to uplift humanity through creativity, economically empowering the craft communities they work with.
6. Origami Armchair by Royal Stranger
The relaxed Origami Armchair by Royal Stranger aims to capture the essence of an hexagon through subtle seams and an emphasis on simplicity, while alluding to the time-honoured principle of folding.
7. Contemporary homeware range: The Poetry of Living
A new limited edition furniture collection has just launched at Poetry. The Poetry of Living collection consists of marble, wood and gold plating. These items encapsulate contemporary living with a soft and modern touch.
8. Home staging: Residential staging specialists
Liesa Jossel started her company Home Stagers by accident back in 2017. She bought and refurbished an investment property, and the agent advised her to add a few furniture pieces to help sell the space quicker. Little did she know the property sold on show day, and Lies has been getting recommendations since to stage homes for property agencies, rental spaces and so forth. While home staging is not as big here as it is in the USA, the demand is slowly growing for this and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a regular occurrence.
9. Curated designer decor: Inova Concept Store
Inova Concept Store is the most recent addition to the Cape Town design scene. The retail store sits on the bustling Harrington Street and houses some of the world's most beautiful furniture, lighting and accessories brands including HAY, Moooi, Arflex, Audo, Magis, String, Miniforms and Varaschin. Our offering is carefully sourced across Europe and now an addition of local brands Vorster & Braye and Casa LV. The intention of the space is to inspire creativity, promote design and make it accessible in Cape Town.
10. Sustainably-sourced seafood restaurant: Galjoen Restaurant
Placing a spotlight on sustainable fishing, the new Galjoen Restaurant in Cape Town is all about showcasing our local produce and flavour. Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn have created the concept, a set menu served to all tables, and guide the culinary philosophy for Galjoen, although the kitchen belongs to Head Chef Isac Stoltz. In creating the menu of elevated seafood-focused cUisine, isac draws heavily on memories of childhood holidays in Mozambique, with shellfish foraged on the shoreline and fish fresh from the local market. Building layers of flavour, and with no shortage ot creativity and technique on each plate, each dish ensures that seafood is the hero. 'With every single plate we really put the focus on the ingredients, says sca. Everything we do in the kitchen is to make them shine.' To ensure a steady supply of fresh produce, Galjoen has partnered with some of the Capes leading seafood merchants, ensuring they support both environmental and socIo-economic sustainability. -armed mussels come fresh from the waters ot Saldana Bay, while Abalobi and Greenish merchants provide a range of fish caught largely by self-employed artisanal fishermen.
11. International Interior Designer: Kelly Wearstler
Well known in the interior design world, Kelly Wearstler has just unveiled her first collection of tableware, produced in partnership with Belgian design brand Serax. Echoing Kelly's penchant for mixed materiality, the Zuma and Dune ranges span ceramics, glassware, wood and marble accessories. Comprising a conversation between past and present, Zuma alludes to modern and historic technologies alongside a stripped-down graphic pattern with a hand-crafted feel which is intended to be mixed and matched. The Dune range marries the materiality and forms of the natural world, exhibiting two-tone finishes of matte and high gloss, with marble serv-ware evoking Grecian form, whilst relaxed, organic wood pieces round out the elemental family.
12. Art in the Spotlight: Top 40 Exhibition
Celebrating the rich tapestry of South African artistry and cultural diversity, this remarkable art exhibition entitled ‘Top 40' is set to showcase 40 pieces of portraiture selected from an impressive national pool. As Hamlin Jansen van Vuuren, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery curator and spokesperson explains, art aficionados can look forward to exhibitions that exemplity top-notch talent. 'This year's showcase will drive home in a very rea way, the timelessness of portraiture - its ability to capture the nuances of human expression and open a window into the world of the subject. The
Portrait Award is modelled after the UK's Portrait Award - an annual portraiture competition that is widely recognised as being one of the world's most prestigious competitions in the contemporary art world. Participants remain fully anonymous until the culmination of the competition, allowing the artworks to 'speak for themselves.'
13. LEMON Design
Discover the Winston Drinks Cabinet by LEMON, designed by Kevin Frankental is a seamless blend of form, function, and craftmanship.
14. Design to Watch: Taking Curves Further
While we know curves are everywhere in design and they help soften the space from the harsh, minimal look we've been avoiding, we seem to be taking it one step further with curves embedded into the space. This floating shelf has been integrated into the wall to appear as one cohesive look, as if sculpted out of rock, mimicking our natural world that we will always long for
15. Trend Focus: Dopamine Decor ideas
Vivacious colour, loud patterns and with exploding patterns, to create a space maximalist design best describes that focuses on feelings of happiness. This is dopamine decor. This trend may be a little eccentric for some, bringing in items that add a sense of fun. so test it out in a single room and see how joy to your space, no matter the shape or you react before carrying this throughout style. Layer your colours and fill your room your home.
