When interior designer, Paige Waplington of Redesign Interiors was asked
to design an interior of a home in Westville, Durban based on the ‘Little
Karoo’ with a neutral colour palette and adding a lot of light, little did
she know that the design would ultimately win her a prestigious African
Property Award in September last year.
T
his award, part of the longstanding International Property
Awards, celebrates the highest
level of achievement by various
companies in the property and
real estate sectors. The award
is recognised internationally as
a symbol of excellence, and is
the greatest compliment that a
company can receive.
Redesign Interiors went up against numerous
other highly skilled interior designers in their
area, coming out on top. They were then invited
to attend the high-profile gala that took place
in Dubai in December, to compete against other
winning countries from around the globe – a
huge honour.
The award-winning interior for House De Goede
saw them redesigning the entire home from top
to bottom. Their green fingers lead the way with
this project, by using all of the existing furniture
to revamp and refurbish the space, to create the
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client’s vision of a natural, calm, ‘Karoo-like’
environment.
“We redesigned the lounge, dining, kitchen
and bar area from the floor to the ceiling,”
Waplington explains. “We knocked down a wall
to open up the space, replaced the dated brown
tiles with fresh screed, painted the dark wood
ceilings white and added more lighting. All the
furniture was reused and reloved, by painting
and reupholstering. Even the kitchen cabinets
were painted and reused in different positions.”
The most noticeable feature of the completed
project, which sits at roughly 150m2 in size,
is the amount of natural lights that floods the
room, which was originally blocked by a huge
wall. The neutral colour palette also helps
accentuate this and creates a beautiful calm and
airy interior.
The concept is based on the ‘Little Karoo’ and
you can definitely see the hints of Africa in the
textures, hides and weaves, even in the lights.