Go grey

Now that we’re getting back into the routine of 5-day weeks, it’s also much easier to set-up clear DYI and home makeover plans. I recently spent a long weekend in Cape Town where I attended a small popular cultural festival. Needless to say I came back creatively refreshed and inspired and bursting with ideas. I’ve been saying it for a while, but colour is huge and having looked at the vibrant works of world-renowned illustrators and artists my lounge is about to be transformed into a Mondrian-like space with blocks of colour and clean lines.

Li Edelkoort once again named grey the colour of the season, have a look at her website http://trendunion.com/ to see what else is top of the trend list. Back to grey, when you focus on the myriad of shades available you have no excuse not to incorporate the colour into your living space. A great friend of mine recently revamped a gem of an apartment in Killarney and he instantly transformed cheap, textured damask wallpaper into a showstopper with a lick of grey paint – always a fab idea for a feature wall!

I think being based in Joburg does taint my decorator’s eye from time to time, simply because I go around sourcing so often that I have a pretty good idea of what is in store right now and, from visits to head offices of places like Loads of Living, I also know what’s coming in future months. That’s why I treasure my trips to Cape Town, and especially to shops like o.live and nap on Kloof street and Okha, now in the Cape Quarter. O.live is probably my favourite because of its amazing offering of vintage knickknacks, crockery and furniture pieces, as well as contemporary local ceramics and fabric.

My advice for the week is to be brave with your colour choices and once that’s under your belt we can conquer texture!

“Freedom lies in being bold.” Robert Frost (American poet, 1874-1963)

Have a look at my fave websites of the week for some inspiration:

http://blog.krisatomic.com/?p=783
http://www.bestinterior.com/
http://www.furniturestoreblog.com/
http://roomenvy.wordpress.com/

Winter mode

It’s been a very quick transition into winter mode – even though I’m still sitting here typing this blog in a very summery ensemble. Fabric houses are launching new winter ranges and all I can say is colour, colour and more colour! And to be honest, what better way to brighten up dark winter days?

Check out Alex Coomer’s stylish home in the April issue for inspiration. She was brave enough to incorporate the boldest palette in her house and it really works! I sound like a broken record, but wallpaper is just so effective – but fabric works fabulously too!
We’ve also ventured into interior goddess, Linda Barker’s, summer home – you’ll have more than enough time to revive and revamp your own garden to relax in by summer.
Also get a load of our favourite gadgets of the moment – I’ll forever adore the KitchenAid mixer, not only because it’s probably the most beautiful appliance ever to grace a kitchen counter – but it really is wonderfully efficient.

It must be the new season approaching but I’m spending almost all my time in the kitchen, testing and trying our new recipes! Our Fresh Tastes New Flavours food feature is beautifully shot and each dish is truly packed with flavour. The Balsamic glaze steak is super-quick and easy – give it a twist with pomegranate molasses! I recently found a recipe to make my own.

All you need is:
8 cups of pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons of castor sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Simply pour all the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and reduce to a medium to low heat until you have punchy, sticky syrup.

Oh, and the Intense chocolate caramel and nut tart will be the death of ANY chocoholic! Gosh, it’ll transform the non-believers too!

Have fun in the kitchen and we’ll chat again soon!
Lee-Ann