Diary date: 23-26 May Venue: Cape Town Convention Center The Mother city will be hit by a wave of culinary delights at this years Good Food & Wine Show. Rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the food industry and...

Windhoek is rolling out a series of Pure Beer Society venues; existing venues, re-launched with handcrafted furniture and fittings made from materials specifically selected for authenticity and quality. Three local artisans were...

Recently launched at the Woodstock Foundry, the Benedikt-Taschen bookstore stocks the very best of Taschen titles, as well as a handful of carefully selected international magazines such as Frieze, The Gentlewoman, Architecture Now and Frame...

The culture of commuting by bicycle is growing in the Mother city, with events such as Moonlight Mass (happening tonight) raising urban cycling's profile. Starting in Green point and going throughout town, over 1000 bikers take...

Decorex is happening this weekend and the CTICC is going to be packed full with a variety of exciting and innovative products, people, trends and events. Decorex gave us a heads up on what not to miss! 1. Bliss Entrance Feature. Well...

r among Capetonians is well-established restaurant Societi Bistro. Known for balmy summer evenings spent under their fairy lit trees and cosy winter nights seated at their atmospheric log fires – they have something to offer all year round...

shopping may become a thing of the past with the newly renovated Siam Center in Thailand which incorporates a refreshing mix of technology, art, fashion and design to create an interactive digital interior between shoppers and retailers:...

DECO talent is always on the scout for talent of all kinds and when great art and furniture are found in one amazing creative space, we can't help but get excited. WHATIFTHEWORLD is a project space situated in the heart of Woodstock in Cape Town...

  On the first Thursday of every month, Cape Town’s streets become a museum, a gallery, a shopping experience. Walk the streets and enjoy an evening of art, entertainment and culture until 9pm. Starting off the weekend...

Another inspiring space aiming to be just that, is Cape Town based 'It's a house". Situated in the heart of the trendy De Waterkant 'it's a house' is a creative melting pot where imagination is the key ingredient...

A weekend or two ago, we took a trip down the rabbit hole, at the Flamjangled Tea Party in Durbanville near Cape Town. A realm of hilarious absurdity in which loved up dragons and giant vultures reign. In the world of the Flamjangled,...

With the ever-in natural-luxe mohair trend looming large, a talk and tea hosted last weekend by Mohair SA together with 'Glitter Knitter' Steven Berg in Port Elizabeth's trendy Stanley Street, piqued our interest.  Steven...

he Flamjangled Tea Party in all its quirkiness about to rock the socks off the Cape this weekend, what better to scribble about than the much loved drink called tea. Tea comes in four main varieties: white, green, oolong and black...

Bicycle Club is an expression of Madame Zingara’s colourful history and of its eclectic past in Loop street; a wacky bohemian venue where guests are encouraged to let their hair down - and expected to stay up way past bed time. Especially...

  We were knocked out when our new pop-up unit arrived at the office last week, courtesy of Xanita. We love the look of this eco-happy material. It’s such strong stuff, we can see it being happily lugged from one event to the next...

We're popping out of our skins with excitement, since just yesterday morning Label Orange agreed to have our Elle Decoration Xanita-sponsored pop-up alongside their stunning 7-day showroom in Woodstock's Salt Circle Arcade....

When we're not at our desks, there's a strong possibility you'll find us here. The Blend is the new coffee shop on Roeland Street, one of the nicest coffee shops in Cape Town. When ordering, you can choose between three different beans...

The Elle Deco team was lucky enough to be invited to a Le Creuset event with chef Reza Mahammad at Cape Town's Sillwood Cooking School earlier this month....

We look at the Cape Rococo architectural influence in Cape Town and other elements that inspired some of Michael Chandler's design....

The souffle On Wednesday night, DECO stylist Hendrik and I joined 15 of our readers at a Lindt chocolate workshop held at the Lindt headquarters in the Cape Quarter, Cape Town. Chocolate, its provenance and all things cacao related, was the main event...

We’ve just received this photograph (above) of the beautiful collaborative wallpaper design at the Saartjie Baartman Centre in Manenberg. The centre, a refuge for women and children who have experienced domestic or sexual violence,...

The Cape Town City hall is abuzz with last-minute touches and preparations for this weekend's Toffie Pop Culture Festival. For an entire weekend, the City Hall will be transformed into an avant-garde playground for design lovers and enthusiasts...

Mother’s Day is upon us, and let’s be serious…there will be flowers involved. Don’t do the usual this year, think laterally and give your mum flowers with a difference... Here are a few ideas: Stick them to...

Our DECORATING issue (now on shelf) showcases various deliciously dark and delicious food. Exploring this a little further, we have compiled a list of dark foods to tantalize your taste buds.This is not just a trend; dark fruits, veggies...

utral and natural colour palette is a major trend for 2013. In no way dull, neutrals are evocative and reminiscent of nature. It is about going back to basics, removing unnecessary elements to get to the raw essentials. As described by...

We all know Pantone chose Emerald green as their colour of the year but chosen by the world’s foremost creative designers, architectures and fashion experts from all over the world, was the moody hue of indigo. A rich, intense shade...

  Featured throughout THE DECORATING ISSUE  (now on shelf ) white takes on a new stance. A very warm one.  Traditionally associated with a cool, pure look, we discover how white can inject cosiness. Also the colour of...

Following on from last week's post 'How do you like your eggs?' here are some ideas for laying your table in ways that honour the time and trouble you put into making wonderful brunches on weekends. These rustic settings...

It's worth the work, making your workspace a place you actually love to spend time in. When you consider that it is the place where we spend at least a third of our lives - that's around 90,000 hours of our lives - it makes complete sense...

Guest blogger, Cape Town designer Jaco Janse van Rensburg, sent us a few more images from his Instant Grass interior revamp - and more tips for you to copy at home....

Big thanks to former ELLE DECORATION Deputy Editor Kelly Berman, for sharing her wedding album with us. We love how Kelly integrated plants into the decor for her wedding party, and how...

As seen in the September issue of our sister magazine ELLE, this Chanel-inspired charm is the doing of our DECO designer Gera Smuts. ...

Our interns at ELLE DECORATION have been trying out a few things with fluoro and neon. On their travels, they also found these wonderful inspirational ideas (scroll down) on the beautiful...

This year's pile of invitations to scope out the "Salone Internazionale del Mobile" was a show in its own right. Our editor Laureen Rossouw got bagsful of beautifully designed 'Come See's' for The Milan Furniture Fair 2012...

We just love this vertical garden idea – a refreshing take on the traditional stag head display. These plants mimic the shapes of animal trophy heads in comical fashion. Here are some more contemporary animal trophy head ideas...

We're smitten with these porcelain plate cut-outs we recently produced for a fairytale-inspired shoot in our latest Ideas Issue (page 65). Lucky for you, were giving two away to a DECO reader... WIN A miniature porcelain stag head (above)...

We take the 'hunter gatherer' look to the extreme in our latest Ideas Issue. It's jam-packed with trophy heads, stuffed animals and nature-inspired curiosities, ranging from the more traditional to the more eclectic....

It's Easter weekend, so we went looking in our vast library of past issues for a little treat, and discovered this shoot by DECO contributor Maranda Engelbrecht in our 2011 Revamp Issue. It's a lavish tongue-in-cheek take/twist...

On page 94 of our latest Ideas Issue we’ve created a CIY typographic wallpaper (below) using whiteboard paint, primer and coloured pens. It’s inspired by this image (above) of a bedroom in the beautiful Danish family homestead on...

In anticipation for our upcoming Afro-inspired Ideas and Pattern Issue, we've gathered some more bright finds from the Design Indaba Expo: Dizzying patterns, afro-cool colour, beautiful pattern combos, and colour blocking with wood and steel...

Here's a fun idea: Grab all the plastic you can lay your hands on – garden chairs, tupperware, and plastic tablecloths – and head to the beach for an adventurous and waterproof outdoor dining experience. This is exactly what...

Cooking made easy! Hendrik Coetzee, DECO's talented new stylist and food lover, prepared heart-shaped beetroot for us to enjoy for Valentine's – each one carved by hand. Eat your heart out! Dress with balsamic vinegar,...

Today we visit the beautiful home of the happy-picture-making couple Maike and Travis, the creative duo responsible for the hugely successful wedding photography company welovepictures. We've been following their work for quite some...

DECO's Charl Edwards and housemate Katrin Coetzer have created a little garden on wheels in their Cape Town apartment. Sourced from a second-hand furniture store in Wynberg, this trolley has become the perfect indoor mobile garden,...

As a colour, as well as an earthenware material,Terracotta (terra cotta: baked earth) is fast becoming a favourite, with more and more designers harnessing its unique properties. Its brownish/orange colour varies considerably in...

We spied this prototype,the Cube Light, amongst all the people, art, gadgets, furniture, colours, techniques and food etc at Decorex this weekend. Perched at illustrator, graphic designer and thing-maker Lauren Fowler's stand,...

In celebration of Earth day we decided to feature the idyllic and eco-friendly home of Graphic designer, Tino De la Carrerra. A desire to escape the hustle and bustle of city life in Madrid led him to the mountains of Segovia, Spain...

We are thrilled that it is this time of year again, hello Decorex Cape Town 2013! Taking place at the CTICC between the 25th and 28th of April, we look forward to being inspired by what is new in decor, design and lifestyle and trying...

shopping may become a thing of the past with the newly renovated Siam Center in Thailand which incorporates a refreshing mix of technology, art, fashion and design to create an interactive digital interior between shoppers and retailers:...

DECO talent is always on the scout for talent of all kinds and when great art and furniture are found in one amazing creative space, we can't help but get excited. WHATIFTHEWORLD is a project space situated in the heart of Woodstock in Cape Town...

    Featured on page 11 of the DECORATING issue (on shelf now) we commemorate the one hundredth year of Piero Fornasetti and his eye-catching designs (excuse the pun!) and also gives a nod to the black and white...

Tomorrow night, pop on your social hat and join the Elle Deco at Crema Design in Cape Town for the launch of their new Tom Dixon 'Shop in Shop'. Designed by the Tom Dixon team and including many of his recently launched...

We're big fans of the Soweto Theatre and our Editor Laureen Rossouw put in a vigorous punt for this extraordinary building, one of the top ten finalists in the 'Most Beautiful Object in South Africa' 2013 awards. The...

rtesy of maxrollit.com and Jasper Conran The announcement of emerald as Pantone Colour of the Year - 2013, inspired us to scope out at these heady infusions of green (see Laureen Rossouw's top emerald pick in Ed’s Letter of our TRENDS issue, now on shelf)...

Elle Decoration stand at Design Indaba Expo 2013 Thanks to the amazing cleverness of Graphic Laminates, our Elle Deco stand at Design Indaba 2013 last weekend made us incredibly proud. We loved every minute, sitting around such a...

t comes again... a showcasing of stellar international design ideas along with South Africa's top creative talents at the Design Indaba 2013. Taking place at the CTICC in Cape Town this week, creativity of all sorts will reign. From...

  Inspired by the Beijing house on P82. and Trend 13 in our TRENDS Issue No. 88 (now on shelf), we explore pendant lights in all their hanging glory. From industrial minimalistic cool to clustered and unusual, there are pendant lights to match any taste...

Art director and graphic designer Tatjana Buisson is the creative mind behind Postick, an innovative way to transform virtually anything into a personalised postcard. Whilst living in Barcelona, Tatjana got busy and enjoyed collecting...

Yesterday Elle Deco Managing Editor Maryke Olivier zipped up her travel bag and flew off to the Black Forest, to get an eyeful of Duravit Design Days 2013.  A collection of the most beautiful bathrooms in the world, including design-minded...

In our Trends Issue, our trend piece 'Memphis-Meets-Africa' looks at the colourful revival of the famous 1980's Memphis design movement and explores its links to local South African design. We featured a beautiful...

LLE DECORATION SOLVE New Talent Search is back, now in association with Pick n Pay. For 2013 SOLVE, creatives are asked to turn their ideas for the perfect piece of green design into reality. The inspiration for the competition is simple:...

    We know emerald green is the Pantone colour of the year for 2013. But beyond that, what else is on the horizon for the forthcoming year? Just when we were beginning to wonder, guest blogger Jaco Janse van...

    Last week, Kartell celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Louis Ghost chair. It seems like just the other day that L.G. entered our realm and left our jaws on the floor on account of its...

Freshly launched online, Africandy calls itself ‘The Definitive South African Design Emporium’ - an assertion that's anything but hot air. The store is packed to its virtual rafters with the very hottest local design...

Moroso presents 'Metamorphosis - Moroso Collections, from design to visual arts': the inaugural exhibition at Casa Cavazzini, the new modern and contemporary art exhibition space in the Udine, Italy. Masterfully designed...

Irving Harper is one of the most iconic living figures in modernist style industrial design. Harper, who was born in 1916, worked for George Nelson Associates, Inc. creating designs for Herman Miller furniture. During that time...

  Do you feel like you need an excuse to party someplace wonderful? You can win an exclusive party for you and 30 of your friends at The Snug, with R3 000 worth of Canapés. (You can view the canapé menu online at http://societi...

Our DECORATING issue (now on shelf) showcases various deliciously dark and delicious food. Exploring this a little further, we have compiled a list of dark foods to tantalize your taste buds.This is not just a trend; dark fruits, veggies...

Following on from last week's post 'How do you like your eggs?' here are some ideas for laying your table in ways that honour the time and trouble you put into making wonderful brunches on weekends. These rustic settings...

Melissa's Eggs For Hiding So this long weekend, what'll you be doing ... besides staring at those shelves in that your pretty pantry of yours, eating chocolate, hiding chocolate away from people, cooking, sleeping and eating? A...

Vovo Telo is an idea that started in Port Elizabeth, and ended up just about wherever crumbs land on tablecloths. We love everything about Vovo Telo. Their sarmies, their salads, their incomparable pizzas, and of course their wonderful...

For a while, Superette has been an icon of Woodstock cool, uttered in the same breath as words like Instagram and amazing or as concluding remarks in a property trend report. So what's new? What's new is that Superette has...

Our November 2012 Johannesburg Elle Decoration reader event was held in Sandton City. Since we find it virtually impossible to go to Sandon City without popping into Walnut Grove, it seemed so right to meet our readers there. Walnut Grove is an institution...

Our beautiful Eastern fusion food feature in Elle Decoration Trends Issue No. 88 has had a few of our readers feeling hungry for more. So here you have them. The shots that didn't make it into the magazine. Turn to P89 in our latest...

Elle Decoration Trends Issue No. 88, now on shelf, offers a DECOKids cooking feature, with fun, cool recipes that kids can easily pull off. This chicken pie, for instance, raises an instant smile and is as easy as falling off a rolling pin...

Melissa's, The Food Shop, has come to Joburg. Finally. And if you're anywhere near Parkhurst, then please help yourself to a large slice of one of the Cape's most adored institutions in food. Melissa's...

The Elle Deco team was lucky enough to be invited to a Le Creuset event with chef Reza Mahammad at Cape Town's Sillwood Cooking School earlier this month....

Nook in Stellenbosch is a daily eatery that does breakfast, a seasonal lunch buffet, light snacky meals and home baked pastries. 'We love meeting and serving people in a space filled...

It's hard not to like the look of Durban's 'Love Coffee'- muchas gracias to Durban photographer, Bron Fourie of Vanilla Photography, whose pictures gave us a look-see...

Cafe Paradiso of Kloof Street, Cape Town, is about as old as we are. And we're going to say it again, loud and proud. Elle Decoration celebrated its 25th birthday, last week. So Paradiso stood us to a birthday lunch on Friday...

Have you ever made lamb koeksisters? Not? Really? Well scribble down the recipe below. If you can plait hair, koeksisters and wool, you can plait lamb belly. And what a great party trick. The plaited lamb belly, up top, was served...

O goes to Creation Wines in The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley There's a tickbox approach to living well. On the list (which could and should change periodically) there are a few mandatories. For instance, we need to all have cake once a week...

What a treat to have dinner with world-renowned Food Network chef Reza Mahammad. On 31 May, Reza treated ELLE DECO readers to an intimate cooking demonstration, preparing a three-course meal using Le Creuset cookware. The warm and inviting...

The souffle On Wednesday night, DECO stylist Hendrik and I joined 15 of our readers at a Lindt chocolate workshop held at the Lindt headquarters in the Cape Quarter, Cape Town. Chocolate, its provenance and all things cacao related, was the main event...

It's Easter weekend, so we went looking in our vast library of past issues for a little treat, and discovered this shoot by DECO contributor Maranda Engelbrecht in our 2011 Revamp Issue. It's a lavish tongue-in-cheek take/twist...

Save the date for our Design Banquet at Toffie Pop Culture Festival on Saturday 31 March. Amsterdam-based designer Hannes Bernard and his team from the Sandberg Instituut (Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam) will be curating and hosting a...

On our first encounter to this street-side burger joint we walked in and asked for a business card. The response: "We prefer word-of-mouth." That was late last year and it hasn't taken long for the word to spread. This...

If you've picked up a copy of our latest Colour Issue, you would've noticed a second person on our Editor's page picture (below), alongside Editor Laureen Rossouw. While shooting this photograph, Ezzy, a drummer at the...

  Box it, hang it, store it and even stack it, these are just a few ways to make your magazine collection work for you.     Elle Decoration, Mid Century Modern Magazine Rack from Etsy     Images: Cristina Toledo Create an art installation in your living room using simple wire hangers.   Stacking against walls (or as a part of your existing furniture) is an international trend. This is an effortless way to deal with clutter. Behold design that doesn't try too hard and gives your space a lived-in, unregimented feeling.         Be creative, repurpose and make your clutter useful. Your magazines don't have to be stowed away. Show them off, they can make an interesting decor feature and double as seating or an eye-catching statement piece.  

Decorex is happening this weekend and the CTICC is going to be packed full with a variety of exciting and innovative products, people, trends and events. Decorex gave us a heads up on what not to miss! 1. Bliss Entrance Feature. Well...

Ombré, French for “shaded”, is here to stay. At this year's Milan Furniture Fair we saw designers such as Werner Aisslingler embracing the trend. Paint it, eat it or wear it, we don’t mind, but get with it. Whether...

We are thrilled that it is this time of year again, hello Decorex Cape Town 2013! Taking place at the CTICC between the 25th and 28th of April, we look forward to being inspired by what is new in decor, design and lifestyle and trying...

Playing house has never been this fun. Swedish real estate company Fantastic Frank has taken selling and renting to a whole new level. Having a 'love at first sight' philosophy in mind they create spaces that sell the dream...

    Featured on page 11 of the DECORATING issue (on shelf now) we commemorate the one hundredth year of Piero Fornasetti and his eye-catching designs (excuse the pun!) and also gives a nod to the black and white...

Got some Moerse Random ideas? Big Blue is asking. Makhulu Polane (roughly speaking, a ‘big idea’) is their annual t-shirt design competition and it's now in its sixth year. This year’s theme is 'Moerse Random'...

ain. Sorry, we just can't tear ourselves away. Next week our International Issue will be on shelf, so we've got global on the brain.   The venue for the show was a Parisian mansion where five large rooms were...

Architect-designer Renee Rossouw strolled the streets of Paris looking at the vibrancy of pattern that is literally everywhere in the French capital. The detail is remarkable: like the plates on a wall at Shop Merci, the tiger graffiti...

Forget arguing over who gets to hold the remote - or what series to watch tonight. Bang & Olufsen have just brought out a new range for the contemporary minded - it's called BeoPlay. Not only are these products...

We asked urban farmer, multi-talented creative and blogger Matt Allison, of Curate This Space fame, what he'd really, really, really like for Fathers Day. This is what he came back with. 1. Apple iPad 3, yes, I know, who doesn't...

  Inspired by blogger (Curate This Space) Matt Allison's super-organised camera shelves, we got all nostalgic about Lomography and started sniffing around in anticipation of Fathers Day. (See the whole story on Matt's place on Design Sponge...

Some friends and DECO readers are asking how I made the papier-mâché vessels on our latest cover, Issue 84. Want to do something interesting and artsy this weekend? Try one. Papier-mâché pottery, sculptures and vessels are easy,...

  Our very design-minded intern Inge van der Merwe, went strolling through the streets of Cape Town this week and snapped off these beautiful cameos showing the classic use of typography in architectural signage. Good to...

Featured in our IDEAS ISSUE No. 83, these hand painted ceramics want to come home to you and only you, don’t they? This Stoned Cherrie vase and the Moroccan Warehouse bowl are both begging to check out of the DECO office. Just comment on this blog post...

'The city is a living body that is born, develops and differentiates its buildings and functions: from the very first nucleus (an isolated church among the trees in the countryside) to the huge metropolis crowded with streets,...

If you've picked up a copy of our latest Colour Issue, you would've noticed a second person on our Editor's page picture (below), alongside Editor Laureen Rossouw. While shooting this photograph, Ezzy, a drummer at the...

In anticipation for our upcoming Afro-inspired Ideas and Pattern Issue, we've gathered some more bright finds from the Design Indaba Expo: Dizzying patterns, afro-cool colour, beautiful pattern combos, and colour blocking with wood and steel...

This past weekend Max Mogale paid us a visit at our Design Indaba Expo stand for a quick blogging spree. We gave him a camera, 10 minutes, and a simple one-word brief: colour. Here's his interpretation... and raw colour palette...

We asked Renee Rossouw, speaker at this year's Design Indaba Conference and pattern-obsessed designer and architect, to explore the Design Indaba Expo in search of handmade knitted and woven goods. Here's what she encountered...

Yesterday we had an impromptu visit at our Design Indaba Expo stand from Aaron Kohn, contributor to Coolhunting.com and OkayAfrica.com. We asked him his thoughts on this year's talented bunch of Emerging Creatives. Here's what he had to say...

We asked Men's fashion blog Polaroids on Sidewalks to take a look around the Design Indaba Expo to see what was on offer for men.  Here are 3 of their top finds... Men's fashion by Amanda Laird Cherry (above). Bag...