Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Scandi nest decorscape. Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Image: Supplied

You’re spending disproportionate hours at home, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams of grand voyages. Here the Wanted team shows you how to bring the globe into your lounge. And not just any destination, mind. Turn your living room into a lair fit for royalty — English, rock, or otherwise. Or fashion your pad as a cocoon straight out of a Scandi dream. Whatever your style proclivities and travel fantasies, we’ve got you covered.

1. SCANDI NEST

Some of us, faced with the prospect of being confined to our homes for substantial amounts of time, want to turn them into spaces that remind us of the wider world. Others crave the exact opposite: a clean-lined but marvellously comforting cocoon. This sort of interior-design style certainly ticks all the boxes for hygge — a Danish word that loosely describes a feeling of cosiness and ease. In this updated version, multiple tones of cream meet rich shades of caramel and a variety of textures: think wood, bamboo, natural linen and faux (or real) sheepskins. Candlelight is essential too, and the Danish designer Tine Kjeldsen — whose hugely successful Tine K Home décor line has been much imitated around the world — is the look’s leading light.

For extra inspo:

Listen to: There are few sounds more soothing than Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach, so cue up the Spotify playlist that takes your fancy — we like Yo-Yo Ma: Bach Cello Suites. Then simply light some candles, pour yourself a snifter of your best SA brandy, and enjoy.

1. Tarida drinks unit, R47,000, Tonic Design. 2. Fundo basket lampshades, from R460, Knus. 3. Bamboo flower mirror, R1,000, MRP Home. 4. Fiddle leaf fig, R625, Plantify. 5. Natural wood shadowbox frame, from R285, Knus. 6. Inoculation II by Nkosana Nhlapo, R4,410, Artist Proof Studio. 7. Amakoporosh Mission print by Sifiso Temba, R5,060, Artist Proof Studio. 8. Theo wall unit, from R38,300, La Grange Interiors. 9. Square alarm clock, R129, Superbalist. 10. Dome pendant light, R5,800, Bofred. 11. White shadow box frame, from R285, Knus. 12. Natural wood shadow box frame, from R285, Knus. 13. Greener Pastures by Nathi Ndlandla, R4,640, Artist Proof Studio. 14. Cappellini Basket 011 armchair, POA, True Design. 15. Daily Show With Trevor Noah mugs, props only. 16. Rattan side table, R1,000, MRP Home. 17. De Padova Tattomi chair, POA, Generation Design. 18. Natal floor lamp, R10,200, Bofred. 19. Bespoke Frances VH x Tara Hogan mohair rug, Frances VH. 20. The Radius lounge chair, R5,800, Knus. 21. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, R224, Exclusive Books. 22. Punshair rug, R16,995, La Grange Interiors. 23. Black, light grey and white patterned Terrazzo tile, R377 per box, Union Tiles. 24. Bleached coffee table, R12,200, La Grange Interiors. 25. Small white and gold ceramic vase, R2,900, La Grange Interiors. 26. Medium white and gold ceramic vase, R3,400, La Grange Interiors. 27. Set of 3 copper and marble candlesticks, R1,100, Knus. 28. Velvet stool in clay colour, R1,860, Hertex Haus. 29. Soho wool blanket, R5,201, Knus. 30. Cavalier II no 97 medium duffel bag in Chestnut Leather, $1,495, Ghurka. 31. Formentera sofa, R28,000 (excluding fabric), Tonic Design.

2. MUSTIQUE MYSTIQUE

Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Mustique Mystique Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Image: Supplied

Guided by the supremely elegant spirit of its patron saint — Princess Margaret in sunglasses and a kaftan, with Roddy Llewellyn on her arm — the “Mustique Mystique” look is all about expat living on a tropical island.

It’s a décor style that eschews the obvious (shades of blue and white) to instead embrace muted tones of green and yellow, with a special mention going to “Messel green”. This is a chic mid-green shade (not as pale as eau de Nil, not as bold as apple) that looks just perfect in bright, tropical light, and is named for Oliver Messel, the theatre-designer-turnedinteriors- guru who designed and decorated a large number of beautiful homes on the islands of Mustique and Barbados in the 1960s and 1970s. This “island style” also casually mixes antique pieces with cane and wicker — latticework of some sort is essential — and includes plush sofas and armchairs for all-day lounging, as well as loads of side tables on which to (briefly) rest your G&T.

For extra inspo:

Image: goodreads.com

Page through: Island Style by India Hicks (Rizzoli) — an interior-design style tome by the contemporary queen of English-expat “island style”, who was one of Princess Diana’s bridesmaids. She lives in the Bahamas with her partner and their five children. Sadly, Rizzoli’s book dedicated to Oliver Messel himself is now out of print. Hicks’ Instagram feed captures her version of island life rather well too.

1. Palmera wallpaper in Midnight/Green, £125-£185 per roll, House of Hackney. 2. Coco mirror, R2,995, Weylandts. 3. Bamboo Room Divider, R2,990, Mon. 4. Trestle ceramic pot plant in dark blue, R899, Superbalist. 5. Kelim carpet in ornament green, R7,229, Kare. 6. Halston slipper chair, R13,000 excluding fabric, Tonic Design. 7. Handmade 150cm teak and rattan cupboard, R11,500, 8 Degrees South. 8. Pink glass Lucton table lamp, £1,492, Fritz Fryer. 9. Enchanted Rhodania print, R2,990, Pezula Interiors. 10. Jasmine & Serin wallpaper from Cole & Son’s Seville collection, POA, St Leger & Viney. 11. Fanimation Islander ceiling fan, from R17,700, Sky Fans. 12. &Klevering Canaries mirror in pink, £40, Amara. 13. Disk wardrobe in pink, R39,889, Kare. 14. Famous Grouse Scotch whisky, R199, Makro. 15. Joanne Buchanan Palm Tree bottle opener, £58, Amara. 16. Natchmann Noblesse whisky tumblers, set of 4, R379, Yuppiechef. 17. Gordon’s London Dry Gin, R159, Makro. 18. Rattan tray with leather handles, R610, Cécile & Boyd. 19. Cha cha table, R8,510, Haldane Martin. 20. Fundo baskets, R230 each, Plantify. 21. Chindi rug in beige, R10,995, Block and Chisel. 22. Burr coffee table, R16,000, Tonic Design. 23. Blushing coral on stand, R1,295, Block and Chisel. 24. Basley-Dyer fronted cushion, £120, Vintage Cushions. 25. Kedare sofa, R32,999, Egg Designs. 26. Jungle turquoise vase, R5,299, Kare. 27. &Klevering ’70s vase, £33, Amara. 28. Gold parrot wall decoration, R2,739, Kare.

3. DISCO INFERNO

Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Disco Inferno Production: Sarah Buitendach.
Image: Supplied

It’s all chunky curves and rounded edges around here, where Grace Jones pops in for a Long Island iced tea on the regular, and fabulously upbeat disco records are on permanent rotation on the stereo... This take on vintage ’80s style features loads of glossy textures and surfaces: think gleaming glass and highshine tiles. In short, you should have the aesthetic of French photographer Jean-Paul Goude — most famous for photographing and making music videos for Jones — in mind at all times. (Ideally, keep a copy of his eponymous coffee-table tome of images, published by Thames & Hudson, on the chrome-and-glass coffee table.) Red, blue, and black are key shades for this decadent, very sexy version of the ’80s interior, which can really only be lightened up by choosing a white wine spritzer to drink — and then only when you’re not in serious party mode.

For extra inspo:

Listen to: The simply heavenly soundtrack to the much-underrated movie The Last Days of Disco (1998), which these days is available as a Spotify playlist that takes you through all 27 epic disco songs featured in the film.

1. Pink Contour Lines art print, R365, Knus. 2. Black Tubey floor light, R10,900, La Grange Interiors. 3. &Klevering blue arch vase, £45, Amara. 4. Loop dining chair, R6,999, La Grange Interiors. 5. Deluxe plain rug in Gunmetal, from R3 680-R6 240, Hertex Haus. 6. Full moon floor lamp, R9,995, La Grange Interiors. 7. Dane single seat in grey velvet, R8,499, @home. 8. Qeeboo Korall small planter, £165, Amara. 9. CM Coffee Table, R38,000, Tonic Design. 10. Wild Thing fabric in Onyx, R750/metre, Hertex. 11. Seletti gold-rimmed tongue glass, for similar, Generation Design. 12. Ligne Blanche black Keith Haring scented candle, £35, Amara. 13. Cherry stool in Leo fabric, R1,519, Kare. 14. Iggy Leopard cushion, £240, Bella Freud. 15. De Padova Erei sofa, POA, Generation Design. 16. Caletta armchair, R20,000 excluding fabric, Tonic Design. 17. Kisumu Server, R84,000, Tonic Design. 18. Bicoca table lamp by Marset, from R6,268, Newport Lighting. 19. Seletti Canopie vase, R4,670, Generation. 20. Set of 2 disco-ball-shaped tumblers, £4, George. 21. Jonathan Adler lips trinket tray, £98, Amara.

STOCKISTS

From the May edition of Wanted, 2020.

© Wanted 2024 - If you would like to reproduce this article please email us.
X