Getting cabin fever? Here are eight of the best ways to bring the natural appeal of the outdoors into your interiors.
A NEW LEAF
This apartment’s owner has opted for large-scale elements – including items of furniture and bold finishes – throughout her small city apartment. It’s a brave move, and one that’s certainly paid off: in the main bedroom (left) this lush leaf-print wallpaper creates a dramatic, cocooning nature-inspired backdrop that enables its occupant to feel as if she is waking up in a tropical jungle rather than in the urban variety.
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A stylist and boutique retailer, the homeowner has confidently paired the printed linen wallcovering used here with antique French side tables, crystal hanging bedside lights and a Persian carpet.
GOOD WOOD
Renovated over a number of years, with much of the work done by the owners, the suburban family home in which this shower area (right) is situated is a real labour of love. “We did what we wanted and knew what we required for our family’s needs,” they say. The shower screen was made by hand over the course of a weekend, and brings a real feeling of the simplicity of the outdoors to this indoor space.
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Recreating this unpretentious look is all about replicating its use of materials: use salvaged wood to build a simple screen, paint the rear wall plain black, fit a vintage shower head and add adornments collected from nature – it all adds to the carefully considered rustic feel.
GO GARDENING
During the renovation of this urban apartment, floor-to-ceiling glass doors were installed between the living room and the enclosed central courtyard area, ensuring that the interior feels light-filled and airy. The doors also boldly invite the outdoors inwards, creating the “idea that nature is entering the living room” says the home’s art director owner. He’s right: the “deliberately chaotic” plant-filled terrace has become the central focus of the indoor living room.
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The bold black sofa is the main event in the living space, creating a solid anchor point in the jungle-like atmosphere. The rich, green rug provides a further point of connection with the lush greenery of the courtyard.
LOOK UP
A key part of the renovation of this mid-century urban house (left) was including a circular “porthole” in the dining area and windows above eye level in this living room. “[Creating] new, bigger windows … was a big driving force,” says the consulting architect, as the aim was to reconnect the house to its lush garden and the additional greenery of the park landscape beyond it.
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The vintage armchairs are upholstered in a leafy green that provides a further element of connection to the natural world, and these are set off perfectly by a zebra skin rug and a colourful screen.
TRUE TEXTURE
This safari villa bathroom (right) combines earthy textures, materials, and building and decorative techniques to one small interior space. Stippled, mud-coloured walls evoke the homely all-natural appeal of wattle-and-daub homes, while intricate Zanzibari carvings on the wooden shower door frame (a decorative element that is continued throughout the rest of the house) add a sophisticated touch.
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Creating a detailed finish like this is best left to the experts: local architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens collaborated with a network of crafters they have come to know and work with over years.
TEXTILE TREASURE
Artfully draped over the four-poster bed in the master bedroom of a young family’s holiday home, a fabric printed with botanical illustrations beautifully evokes the plethora of flora and fauna outside. It’s complemented by a selection of natural textures, including the wooden stumps used as bedside tables and the basketware light fittings, all of which help create a tranquil yet layered feel.
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The linen botanical hanging is from Babylonstoren farm in Franschhoek, and the rug and textured bedspread are from South African fabric house Hertex Haus.
BOTANICAL BEAUTY
Whether your home is located in the bustling centre of the city, forms part of suburbia or is in the quiet heart of the countryside, few decorative elements bring nature into a domestic space in as charming a manner as botanical prints (left). Combining art with scientific endeavour, plus a good dash of historical appeal, too, reproductions of drawings showcasing fauna and flora are easy to source and will add a nostalgic yet natural ambience to just about any interior.
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The botanical artworks seen here are Jung-Koch-Quentell teaching panels, and they finish off this casual and colourful family room – complete with an inviting three-seater couch and bright red rug.
NATURAL TOUCH
As seen in this effortlessly stylish beach bungalow (right), using furniture pieces made from natural materials that are usually associated with patios and verandas instantly evokes the feel of being outdoors. Here, a woven cane peacock chair is both an eye-catching focal point and right away connects the open-plan kitchen, dining and living room area with its beachside location.
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The peacock chair in combination with additional woven textures – in the form of a cane and grass side table and rattan planter – add to the outdoorsy feel.
