Visi

ed's letter

’VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH COLOUR. Hard to believe, given that my monochromatic personal wardrobe and home-decor aesthetic (beyond the odd bright splash of the Barbara Hepworth print behind me) have usually followed a neutral palette. As it did for many, that all changed over the last year. After enduring months of lockdown, and the social, economic and emotional pressures brought about by the pandemic, we’ve shared a global chrysalis moment. I’ve felt a natural pull towards the positivity and encouragement of colour. It feels stridently forward-looking – and a crucial energy to tap into as the world rejuvenates and reinvents itself. A lot of that reinvention went into our homes: the place where we spent so much time both working and living. Lockdown was also an unexpected but wonderful opportunity to…

contributors

GINA DIONISIO, VISI DIGITAL EDITOR Winter is here. How do you plan to celebrate “hibernation season” this year? I definitely won’t be hibernating – I’ll be battling the wind, rain and cold (and probably questioning my life choices!) while I train for the Ultra-trail Cape Town 65km event that takes place in November. “I’ve spent the past 13 years in the media industry. I started as an intern at another local decor and design magazine, and I was hooked,” says Gina. And although she loves print as much as we do, she eventually made the move to the digital space, where her focus at the moment is digital marketing and e-commerce. Before she joined the VISI team in early 2021, Gina was living her “best fitness life” as the digital editor at…

visi.co.za

HAVE YOU BROWSED VISI’S ONLINE SHOP? VISIT SHOP.VISI.CO.ZA TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T MISS OUT ON EXCLUSIVE OFFERINGS, FROM HANDMADE CERAMIC TABLEWARE TO ALL OUR LATEST VISI ISSUES, INCLUDING THE BATHROOM EDITION. WE ASKED YOU ONLINE: WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT AUTUMN? More than 750 of you took our poll to let us know. Here are the results: #READERLOVE If you’re enjoying the latest issue, we’d love for you to take a pic of your mag and share it with us. Simply tag VISI on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with your snap. How amazing would it be to take a bath here?! Amazing views. An amazing read. And an amazing future bathtub. Photo taken from my balcony where I would love to build a bathroom surrounded by one-way glass. @megzhesse VISIMAGAZINE. Thank you so much @visi_mag. @andthentherewasfire_restaurant Haven’t done this…

vision

REST. RELAX. RESTORE. REVIVE. At Botswana’s design-driven new safari destination, Xigera (featured in VISI 113), the spa and wellness pavilion form a very special part of the lodge’s overall back-to-nature experience. Featuring this show-stopping metal water-lily sculpture surmounting a relaxation deck at the end of a wooden walkway from the spa and pool, the entire space was conceptualised by architect Anton de Kock to reflect the eternal cycles of the natural world. As he says, “They are the perfect continuum of opposites: of life and death, of light and dark… the sun, the moon, the entire universe, as well as the ‘circle of life’, which is synonymous with the wilderness.” xigera.com…

hibernation/rejuvenation

DIE STALLE AT BOSJES Equestrian elements abound at the new Die Stalle spa at Bosjes Estate in the Langkloof valley, and no wonder – it’s situated in what was the farm’s original stables. Interior designer Liam Mooney was responsible for transforming the historic building into a contemporary spa facility. “While we didn’t want to be too derivative, we wanted to speak subtly to the history of the building,” says Liam of the transformation. “It was important that the design was as relaxing as possible.” He opted for vaulted ceilings and rounded corners, with a soothing colour palette, textured Venetian plasterwork and beautiful Moroccan zellige tiles adding to the sense of luxurious ease. An elegant trough water feature at the entrance to the building is a nod to the original occupants, while…

out of the woods

PLEASE BE SEATED London designer Paul Cocksedge, whose original solutions to public-space dilemmas never fail to surprise, invites the public to sit on undulating, concentric benches made from upcycled scaffolding planks with this installation. “Please Be Seated” is made of three rings of benches that rise and fall in a wave-like pattern; where the waves meet the ground, they form benches that rise up to create backrests. The widest circle 15.2m, and the tallest element of the piece is 3.4m. paulcocksedgestudio.com BLEU NATURE French furniture company Bleu Nature, founded by designer Frank Lefebvre, produces pieces that use driftwood and other objects found by scouring beaches and forests near Lille in France as their primary materials. These are combined with man-made materials to create harmonious juxtapositions. The Outline collection – in which the free,…