Designer Spaces: Pure Love Home

The HOMEMAKERS Johannesburg Expo is almost two weeks away. As the perfect place to find everything you need under one roof, the expo arena brings great advantages. This year visitors will be delighted by an impressive collection of show features. The Play(AR) Zone will knock your socks off as you enter the Dome. The popular InHabit Workshop and new Garden Table feature area will offer visitors an array of workshops with demos by guests such as Izelle Hoffman, Sandy Roberts, Jana Nel and Joe Strydom. One of our personal favourites is The Designer Spaces Challenge.

This is a challenge where eight designers go head-to-head to design and decorate the most beautiful space.  HOMEMAKERS gives each participant a stand where they can get as creative as they like. The only rule? Keep your designer space aligned with the 2020 InHabit theme, using Africa as the main inspiration.

We had a chance to ask our seventh Designer Spaces team a few questions. Divan Stewart and Charl Greeff from Pure Love Home is a dynamic duo to whom this year’s theme is no stranger. Fusing the contemporary, raw and uniquely African elements into a large part of their projects, makes them a stand-out team – one to look out for.

What does InHabit mean to you?

To immerse oneself completely in one’s space.  It should be an integral part of your identity.   

What is one thing every South African should invest in when it comes to interior design?

Purchasing good quality furniture, just like buying a new property, serves as a substantial investment. Furniture pieces, such as well-made sofas, represent one’s acknowledgement for the utmost quality in timeless pieces. 

What are your interior decorating trend predictions for 2020?

Canopy beds, comfy fabrics, textured fabrics such as velvet, crochet and knitted pieces, as well as curved design sofas and occasional chairs will be a trend in 2020.  Floral and over-scaled wallpapers are still proving to be a popular choice among clients. Black and classic blue will be the predominant colour trends in 2020.

The Biophilia trend is also picking up quite rapidly as a way to showcase one’s support for bringing in natural elements for an organic design aesthetic.

How do you combine beauty and functionality?

I believe that not only must every item be aesthetically beautiful in a space, it also needs to be functional and serve a unique purpose. The way I determine this is to ask these questions:

• What is the purpose of this item?
• How will it contribute to and enhance the space?
• If we remove it from the space will the space have a void?
• Is it a core or an accessory item?

Through these simple questions, it is easy to determine if the items will marry and make the space functional and beautiful.  

What is something or someone you always turn to for inspiration?

I am inspired by fellow designers and artists and their innovative ideas and contributions to the interior design industry.

Don’t miss Pure Love Home at the Johannesburg HOMEMAKERS Expo.

Did you know you could win R1000 by voting for you favourite designer or decorator at the Expo in The Designer Challenge competition? Visit the expo to stand a chance!