Compiled by Shereen Lurie, Photography Nic Baleta
One of the must-sees on any design enthusiast’s to-do list should be a visit to Johannesburg’s premier design centre, Design Quarter, located in Fourways. With a wide range of decor, furniture and homeware shops and restaurants in the vicinity, you are truly in store for an unparalleled shopping experience.
The SA Home Owner editorial team recently took some time out to soak up the sights and sounds, and speak to a few select shop owners and managers from this fabulous creative hub.
If there is one place to get a team of writer’s creative juices flowing it would be the Plascon Spaces Showroom. Thato Morake, who is on the Plascon team of colour specialists, guided us through the showroom and demonstrated how technology can aid you in selecting the colour of your dreams. Using their onsite tools your consultant will prepare digitally generated “before” and “after” mood boards, which will be presented to you at your scheduled appointment. In a nutshell, the Plascon Spaces Showroom “offers Plascon fans professionaly guided advice on Plascon paint colours and colour schemes”.
Vendange is French for grape harvest and signals the promise of the annual vintage. I must say that it was extremely difficult to leave the store empty handed as it is stocked with so many lust-worthy items such as accessories for food, wine and olive oil as well as many other decor items. It is is also home to the popular Boutique Vineyards Trudeau cheese and baguette board range as well as carefully sourced glassware, ceramics, olive oil, Champagne buckets, wooden wine crates and other products that are useful for entertaining. Vendange is in the process of opening two new stores this month, in Bedford Centre as well as Design Square in Brooklyn mall.
As an absolute tech-junkie, our Editor Kerry Hayes couldn’t wait to browse around the StudioMatrix store. More than just a stockist of high-end tech products, StudioMatrix prides itself on professional demonstrations and CEDIA-accredited, clean and neat onsite installations. All their solutions are custom-designed to meet their clients’ needs, and feature the latest in cutting-edge technology. StudioMatrix focuses on energy efficiency, sustainability and cost-of-ownership from TV lounges through to purpose specific theatres and multi-room solutions.
With cutting-edge kitchenware such as induction wok cooktops that use electromagnetic energy to heat the wok (we had to touch the surface multiple times to check whether this was true!) and touch-sensitive cupboards and drawers, which you touch to open and close, blu_line elevates the humble kitchen to another level. Each of the six kitchens on display express their philosophy of relational living, which prescribes that a space must be designed in a way where the experience of each user performing a task or not is enhanced and not hindered. blu_line has ensured that the space exhibits character and emotion through the use of various textures, designs levels and essential ergonomics.
Morceau de Mantel is often referred to as the most beautiful “boutique decor shop” in Johannesburg. This small piece of heaven owes its fame to its fine furniture, decor, art and stunning hand-carved marble and travertine fireplace surrounds. Stockists of decadent Italian silk cushions, locally-sourced treasures, sublime European lamps and limited German decorative porcelain, MdM is like no other decor shop in town. Owner, Werner Bonthuys’ has gone to great lengths to source items from a multitude of exotic destinations for his shop making each piece a special, one-of-a-kind object.
Marble Classic Exclusive Warehouse
Marble Classic Exclusive Warehouse for natural stones offers clients the perfect space to embark on a journey of discovery, giving you a visual portrayal of how natural stone can transform any space. The showroom provides an opportunity to see life-size samples of the local Desert Collection range of granite, imported natural stone products and HanStone fine quartz surfaces.
From mattresses, base sets, headboards and beds to lamps, linen and even water beds, Bedroom Basics is your one-stop-shop for all items bedroom related. And, when it comes to getting the bedroom of your dreams (excuse the pun) it’s important that you get the basics right, so their consultants are on hand to provide you with expert advice on how to select the correct mattress and find the perfect pillow. In addition to bedroom essentials Bedroom Basics also offer contemporary and classic bedroom furniture.
Ghorbany offers a range of Persian, Oriental, Nguni skin, sheepskin, modern, shaggy and patchwork carpets. Owner Shervin Ghorbany has created a unique collection of hand-painted Persian carpets, unique to Ghorbany, featuring a range of motifs and ancient symbols. We were also captivated by their range of Persian carpets with Aramaic poems of love weaved into them.
Lovers of fine linen will adore the fine stitched and exquisitely embroidered 100% cotton percale cotton cot and adult linen available at Willowbrook Cotton Co. All of their linen products are handmade at a factory in White River, Mpumalanga, and besides their standard ranges they are able to customise bed linen to your unique specifications. They also stock a large variety of giftware such as Lou Harvey bags, vinyl artwork, and Charlotte Rhys home, bath and body products.
A huge thank-you to Waldo Marcus, Property Manager of Design Quarter, for organising our visit.
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