AESTHETICS & DESIGN
Paradigm first floor restaurant
Grand Hotel at Grandwest Casino and Entertainment World
Hotel bedroom, Mozambique
Paradigm Penthouse
DÉCOR ALONE
WON’ T GUARANTEE LOYALTY
HOSPITALITY DESIGN THRIVES WHEN IT ANCHORS GUESTS IN PLACE, WEAVING LOCAL ART, CRAFT AND SENSORY DETAIL INTO EXPERIENCES THAT INSPIRE COMFORT, BELONGING AND RETURN JOURNEYS BEYOND THE TREND-DRIVEN ALGORITHM.
When dhki Director, Lisa Bridgeford, first started in interior design in the late 1990s, one of her key projects was a three-star hotel within the grounds of Emperors Palace, the casino and entertainment complex in Gauteng.“ At the time, the instruction for a three-star hotel was simple: let the art match the curtains,” she says.“ The prevailing attitude was that as long as it looked pretty, it worked.” Back then, access to international trends was limited. When it did arrive by mail, in the form of Wallpaper magazine, the publication was already six months old. There was no fingertip access as there is today.
Later, the emphasis shifted towards localisation. While working in the
Seychelles in 2010, Lisa’ s international hotelier clients asked their design team to source local art and objets d’ art.
“ We journeyed through the islands to find hermit-like artisans and artists to supply the décor elements for the venue,” she says. By 2023, Lisa was working on a five-star hotel in Cape Town whose owners had invested in a significantly curated art collection
92 TRADE & TASTE / 2026