FURNITURE INK

Tattoos serve as inspiration for this update of this occasional chair - Garth

A SUCCULENT LIFE

On Saturday, Michelle and I, ventured into Pretoria to go to Woodlands Boulevard (a shopping center) as Amy was raving about this coffee decor shop.

My mouth fell to the floor when I walked into Succulent Decor - it is a visual feast and I did not even know where to start. Michelle and I had to go back for a second helping! The shop is a must for anyone who is looking for stylish gifts that are affordable. The shop also stocks great furniture and fabrics. Next to Succulent Decor is Succulent Cafe and the menu does not disappoint. With cake names like Diet's Revenge and Thunder thighs, you know that you are in for a delicious treat - Mart

For more about Succulent Decor and Cafe click here

SHOWER FUN

I have always preferred quirky bathrooms over traditional ones - mine is so many bathroom ducks it is absurd - and one of the quickest way to lighten up the bathroom is with the shower curtain.

I love this psycho shower curtain. I found the shower curtain and other rad products on www.urbanoutfitters.com. Unfortunately they do not ship to South Africa - Mart

PRINTS RETURN

Home Fabrics have launched seven new collections, three of which see the long awaited return of prints to the decorative fabric scene.

Hamptons and Newport celebrate casual Ralph Lauren-esque living featuring gentle geometrics, bold ikats and beachy stripes. Capri is collection of gorgeous classic prints.

The contemporary tones and modern, graphic scale is from New York designer wunderkind Thomas Paul, who started out in the fashion business working as an intern at DKNY in the mid-nineties after graduating from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in textile design.

Click here to see Paul's entire collection of lifestyle products from scarves to bags and lighting - Garth

TRIPPY WALLPAPER

Swedish designers are hard at work turning flat 2 dimensional wallpapers into 3D wonders for your walls - Garth

CHALK DINING

Martin wants a kitchen with a chalkboard wall, but I have found this image of a dining room with a chalkboard wall and cant help think of the messages friend and doodles friends could leave during many parties around the table - Garth

IF YOUR HEIRS WON'T FIGHT OVER IT, WE WON'T MAKE IT

A Jonathan Adler Teacup

I have always been an admirer of Adler's work - Garth

About Adler
According to Wikipedia: "A potter by trade, Adler sold his first designs to Barneys New York in 1993 and opened his first retail store in Manhattan in 1998. His company has since expanded to include eleven retail stores nationwide, a thriving e-commerce site, and a wholesale business boasting over 1,000 locations worldwide. Adhering to the company motto "If your heirs won't fight over it, we won't make it," Adler has developed a unique style that mixes modernist forms with bold colors and groovy graphics. Offerings include decorative objects, tabletop collections, bath accessories, bedding, candles, furniture, rugs, pillows, and lighting."

ALL STRIPED OUT

Stripes are classic, timeless, elegant, chic or even casual, they can widen, shorten or heighten.

I simply love stripes - Garth

PLUMEN 001

One of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is by switching to energy saving light bulbs. It uses 80% less energy than the traditional light bulb and lasts up to 8 times longer - which means your electricity bill will be considerably less and of course you are helping save the environment.

The only draw back is that these bulbs are not stylish, but fear not, the Plumen 001 is the world’s first designer energy saving light bulb and will make your lights a feature in the room. The name comes from plume – a bird’s show feather, designed to attract attention to a bird’s prowess and beauty. The Plumen 001's designs do the same for the energy saving light bulb.

Unfortunately the Plumen 001 is currently not available in South Africa but according to their website their are plans to distribute this light bulbs globally. Watch this space - Mart

TAKE A SEAT

Verner Panton (13 February 1926 – 5 September 1998) is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant colors. His style was very "1960s" but regained popularity at the end of the 20th century; as of 2004, Panton's most well-known furniture models are still in production (at Vitra, among others).

Panton was trained as an architectural engineer in Odense; next, he studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) in Copenhagen, graduating in 1951. During the first two years of his career, 1950-1952, he worked at the architectural practice of Arne Jacobsen, another Danish architect and furniture designer. Panton turned out to be an "enfant terrible" and he started his own design and architectural office. He became well known for his innovative architectural proposals, including a collapsible house (1955), the Cardboard House and the Plastic House (1960).

Near the end of the 1950s, his chair designs became more and more unconventional, with no legs or discernible back. In 1960 Panton was the designer of the very first single-form injection-moulded plastic chair. The Stacking chair or S chair, which would become his most famous and mass-produced design.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Verner Panton experimented with designing entire environments: radical and psychedelic interiors that were an ensemble of his curved furniture, wall upholstering, textiles and lighting. He is best known for the design of a German boats interior, now a famous museum.

He is also known for a hotel in Europe that utilized circular patterns and cylindrical furniture. Additionally, Panton is well-known for his innovative design work for Der Spiegel, a well-known German publication in Hamburg - Garth

CANNOT GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD

Celebrities nowadays feel the need to enter all aspects of your lives. We can smell like them, wear clothing designed by them, cook with the tools they use and now the latest celeb-trend invasion to hit South Africa is decor: you can decorate your house with things that your favourite celebrity has especially handpicked for you.

Kylie Minogue is one of those celebrities that have their fingers in the capitalistic pie and two years ago she launched the KYLIE MINOGUE 'AT HOME' Collection to critical success in the United Kingdom. The Brits instantly took a liking to the beautiful range of bed linen, throws and cushions. The collection has done extremely well across the globe and now South Africans can look forward to being able to buy a piece of Kylie as Boardmans is exclusively stocking the new Spring/Summer collection.

According to edgars.co.za "These stunning designs capture all the style, magic and on-stage glamour of the showgirl herself; extremely seductive fabrics have been selected with rich layering and elegant styling ensuring that every discerning customer will fall in love with Kylie all over again".

I must say that this collection does pass the Martin style test and I might even own some Kylie in the near future - Mart

* For more information about the KYLIE MINOGUE 'AT HOME' Collection click here

COLOUR ME PRETTY

By now you probably have realised that colour is an important part of my life. But to be honest with you when it comes to decorating my own house, I played it safe and chose conservative colours: earth tones for the lounge, greys for my bedroom and blue for the bathroom.

I decided to be bold and have a red feature wall in the lounge. The splash of red is all I needed to break down that 'safe-colour wall' and when I move again I am going to be experimental with colour and have accessories that make the room pop.

The above picture is definitely an inspiration for my new look lounge. There is even yellow cushions, lampshades and a painting just for Garth - Mart

FAKE FAUX

Faux is French for fake.

Trust the frogs to make 'fakes' sound expensive, but nonetheless, taking the faux fashion decor lead are faux animal skin rugs like this Zebra skin in vibrant orange. Apparently it also comes with a Union Jack design - Garth

BLIK ON BABY

This is the story of Blik, the world’s first removable wall graphic company. But before Blik became the internationally acclaimed design company they are today, it started as just two people looking for something different. One night while Scott Flora, an architect extraordinaire, and food writer Jerinne Neils, were debating whether to paint or wallpaper their walls, they realised that neither option was really what they wanted.

The problem was, what they did want didn’t exist. In addition to that, they quickly discovered that there were very few alternatives to this whole paint/wallpaper conundrum. Looking to end the tyranny of limited options, they decided to do something about it. And that something was Blik. Soon, the oppression was lifted, and people were liberated to try something unique, different, and a lot less permanent. Welcome to the newly renovated world of Blik - Garth

*Blik is a recipient of the Product Design Distinction Award for Furniture from the I.D. Design Annual.

**Along with Apple, Pixar, Google, Nike, and others Blik was a participant in the 2006 National Design Triennial at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

LUCKY NUMBER 3

Garth's did a post about numbers becoming a fashion must have and I have to agree with him. I came across this picture and thought, now that makes a statement! It is a sure way to brighten up a dull wall. I also love the vintage fan - Mart

PS. Garth's favourite number is 3

PICK A NUMBER

I have spotted a NUMBER of things rather quirky which seem to be the next big thing for décor accessories and objects, so my advise would be to pick a NUMBER and be on trend this season - Garth

EVOLUTION

At long last there is a new collection furnishing textiles that are not the run of the mill protea or bokkie design but a reflection of a personal history that has been interpreted into a collection that is honest, beautiful and 100% South African, showcasing signatures of the first Huguenots to land in SA, a family crest, first day at school and the infamous Quiver Tree Forest as well Nelson Mandela Bridge, the Bo Kaap and Table mountain in one graphic design.

Injected into the collection in bright vibrant colours and in various scales, is the Adinkra Symbols from Ghana which all tell a story, such as the crocodile means flexibility, the bird, also called Adinkra, refers to looking back at the past to move into the future, these are just a small selection of the symbols that can be found in the collection. In Ghana these symbols are hand printed on to cotton cloth by means of hand carved wooden blocks and tell a story or to represent something.

Home Fabrics is proud to be the distributors of Evolution the first jacquard collection of furnishing textiles from acclaimed designer Amanda du Plessis for whom this collection is a story that had to be told, it’s a personal testament of what it means to be proudly South African and will be available to view in the Home Fabric’s showroom from the 18 August.

All the fabrics are 190cm wide and are suitable for drapery and domestic upholstery applications.

Please note that the accessories shown here are available through Amanda’s website – evolutionconsulting.co.za.

WELCOME HOME

welcome home is a collection of products that celebrates the essence of South African Design.

Boardmans, with its longstanding heritage for stocking the best of global brands, has undertaken an exciting new collaboration with internationally esteemed curators Trevyn and Julian McGowan of Source.

Their years of experience working with design studios around the country have been out to excellent use, they bring you a collection that feels fresh, spirited and significant. Showcasing products from 44 leading lcoal designers, the range focuses on quality and originality using authentic,reponsibly sourced. materials.

With 186 items, the comprehensive selection includes solid timber furniture, fine upholstery, luxurious throws and cushions, collectable glass and tableware, inspired lighting and original artworks, with many of the items being exclusive to Boardmans.

My personal favorite is the red bench (pictured left) - Mart

Click here for more details

A BALL OF FUN

Yesterday Garth's mom showed me her latest mosaic project - a colourful plate that made me long for summer. This longing resulted in me wanting to plan a summer party and I came across this wonderful decor idea - using colourful balls of wool! It just goes to show that you can totally transform what you may already have on hand into a super chic, fun affair - Mart

Crafted and designed by City Cradle Design and photographed by Jackie Wonders