Fifty Shades of Grey

To say that our Junior Designer, Linda, has been obsessed with the "50 Shades of Grey" movie is probably the understatement of the year!

I have been obsessed with Grey far before the book or the movie and probably before it came in fifty shades. The staple of any contemporary or modern interior designer is Grey. It is the perfect base colour as it goes with everything. If you don't believe me, you're simply wrong.

So I proudly submit to you my "50 Shades of Grey" for your enjoyment:

How Much Do You Love Your Dog?

How about this for loving your canine. Architecture studio 07Beach created a separate staircase for their client's 2 dogs. Featuring narrower treads and shorter risers this staircase is LONG, almost wrapping around the entire room. Gotta love your dog to do this one!

Happy Birthday Jossi Design

It is always exciting to celebrate a birthday, and July brings us no fewer than THREE birthdays in the Jossi Design offices.

I turned one year older (no, I won't be telling you that magic number), one of the DUT students who is doing her experiential training with us celebrates a birthday this month and, most importantly, Jossi Design celebrates her 6th birthday. What an amazing journey we've had so far.


Onward to next year's birthday cake!

Jossi Design's Birthday Tea

Emma Jones enjoying some cake while Doreen looks on

My cake which warmed up the office A LOT!

Ever Shopped for Something Like This?

When an interior designer goes shopping, we go large! I spend my Monday morning at ISS trying to source the perfect slab of granite for my client's kitchen.

Granite is a natural stone, so when the blocks are mined you have no way of knowing what the actual cuts will look like. There will always be some form of variation in the pattern and colour, so being able to hand pick a specific cut of stone give our clients a unique and one-of-a-kind kitchen.

So we're not just scatter cushions and vases...

We've Got Piles!

If that subject line didn't get your attention, nothing will! We've had another busy (oh-so-busy!) week at Jossi HQ with client meetings, launches, relaunches and IID community projects. Having a look around the office today I can see that things are really starting to pile up (understand the subject line now?). Have a look at these:

Paint, paint, paint... Samples for our various projects.

Drawings, drawings, drawings... All getting collated and ready for tender.

Tiles, tiles, tiles... Tiles samples for our various projects.

Magazines, magazines, magazines... Falling a bit behind on our subscriptions.

IID General Meeting

On Tuesday 8th May, the second IID General Meeting for 2012 was held at Cobin Light in Windermere Road. Cobin Light specialise in exclusive lighting and offer decorators and designers full support for projects requiring lighting solutions.

Guest speakers were invited to present their various furniture and lighting ranges. Guest speakers included Mr Francesco from Spazio, Mr Georg Kloepfer from XAL lighting, Kenny Karstens spoke on home automation solutions, Karen McEwan from Osram and Mervin Wadsworth from QLite.

The meeting was very well supported by the members and we are hoping to keep the momentum of support for the remainder of the year.

 

Interior Design Incubator

Are you interested?

Interior Concept Proposal

It appears as though I have been very bad at keeping this blog updated recently, sincere apologies to our faithful followers.

I met with a manager at the Wild Coast Sun two weeks ago, they had asked Jossi Design to quote on the refurbishment of their Slots Prive Area. An exciting prospect to get involved with some work at the casino. I managed to convert our PowerPoint Presentation into a little movie for you to enjoy - sorry there's no sound, but you'll get the gist of it.

Have a great week!

Decorex 2012

As members of the South African Institute of the Interior Design Professions, Jossi Design has once again been involved with Decorex. A stressful time leading up to the show, but fortunately the various suppliers do get involved with generous sponsorships.

This year we stepped out of our design box and went with a bold and colourful scheme. Lots of bright colours which made the result quite fun. 

Decorex is on until Sunday, 25th March, so go and have a look for yourself if you get a chance! 

Inspired Design

I am completely obsessed with this building! The main elevation has almost a children's drawing quality to it - it's such a simple silhouette but then has the offset glass panels to the one side making it sophisticated and edgy. Inside, the structural bits and pieces have been carefully incorporated to give an intelligent, cohesive design solution.

This building was designed in Berlin by Stefan Braunfels Architekten.

House in Westville

We have recently completed another inspirational residential project. It was fantastic to have been involved in the process from the very beginning:  we saw the existing building being demolished; we worked with the architects on the new layouts; we designed the bathrooms; completed the ceiling and lighting layouts and chose all the finishes and fittings.


We worked on this project from the inception through to hanging the curtains, putting out the final cushions and hanging the last artwork.


We have become good friends with this client and wish this family true happiness in their new home

Open plan dining and kitchen area

Inviting entrance and porte cochere

Diving wall with feature gas fireplace

Striking black & white bathroom

Main en suite

Stress & Interior Design

I suppose until you completely understand what a profession entails you won't ever understand the stress that goes on behind the scenes. Our job is not all shopping and fabric launches I assure you!

Deadlines. Deadlines strike fear into the heart of any interior designer. Things have to happen by a certain date; drawings need to be done, quotes need to be received, contractors need to be chased, clients need to attended to, payments need to be made, furniture needs to be sourced and emails need to be answered. And that is just for one job! Multiply that by however many projects you have on the go at any moment and you will suddenly find that an 8 hour day is just not even an option any more.

Stress is unavoidable, but it's how we deal with it that sets us apart from each other. We all have different ways of coping, but irrespective of how bogged down and hopeless it sometimes feels the sun still rises and sets each day. Although it's never as soon as we like, hard work is always rewarded when the time is right. Take my advice and try not to stress your life away, it's really not worth it. Unless of course you want grey hairs like me!

Deep breath.

You can do it!

IID Professions Update

Jocelyn Jones, CEO of Jossi Design (Pty) Ltd, is also the Head of the KZN Region of the IID (The South African Institute of the Interior Design Profession).  Jocelyn has also now been chosen as the President Elect, which means she will take over from the current President when his term comes to an end.

So Jossi Design somehow manages to make time for our projects as well as IID KZN commitments, and in order to achieve this we have put together a new committee for 2012.    

Committee members for 2012 now include:

Jocelyn Jones – Jossi Design (Pty) Ltd and KZN Regional Head
Craig R. Bennett – Jossi Design (Pty) Ltd
Alicja Gibson – Shirley Burrows Interiors
Lyndall Stols – Style Design College (Durban Campus)
Odette Uys - Eye Candy Interiors
Donna Platter - St. Leger & Viney
Nikki Rolfe - Nikki Rolfe Interiors

The IID KZN region is aiming to exceed all expectations for 2012, so the committee got together for coffee at Europa to plan for the year ahead.

Hot on the agenda is the IID stand for Decorex 2012.  The IID committee members must come up with a concept for the stand that will eye catching yet also informative.  The message of the IID will need to be expressed to all of those attending Decorex, whether it be fellow industry members - reminding them of what the IID does for its members; or the public - informing them of what the IID is about and how they can use the IID to source a reliable Interior Designer, Decorator or Interior Architect.

Decorex 2011

The next IID General meeting will be held in February at Plaisir du Jardin where a host of interesting speakers are lined up to tell us about outdoor furniture and fabrics.  The General meetings are always a fantastic way to catch up with our members and find out what is happening in the industry.

Jocelyn Jones is also planning on going around to the Colleges, Universities and various IID accredited Educational Institutions to tell them about the new IID student membership.  Jocelyn plans to tell students how they make use of the IID to further their knowledge of interior design, materials and supplies available in the industry and the students can also use this as a platform to rub shoulders with the Interior Design and Decorator members.  All of the above will help to further their careers in Interior Design.  Student members can apply for Candidate or Professional membership once their student membership expires.  This is a really exciting development and we hope students make the most of it.

These are just a few of the topics that were discussed at our committee meeting.  And it seems clear that, together with all of Jossi Design’s projects, Craig and Jocelyn are finding time for the IID.  Look out for further posts on IID meetings and events.

Inspiration Strikes

They say that inspiration comes from the strangest places. It's true. You never know where you're going to be or what you're going to be doing, but all of a sudden it hits you! Most of us think about for a few lingering moments and then forget about it, but you actually never know whether it could have been the next big thing.

I find inspiration all over the place. But recently music videos have shown me snatches of creativity that I am dying to incorporate into an interior concept. Have a look at these few screen captures and see if you can figure out where I got them from.

Shakira - Rabiosa (Music Video), Chainlink Fence Design

Jessie J - Domino (Music Video), Dark Retro Print Wallpaper

Jessie J - Domino (Music Video), Dark Masculine Floral Wallpaper

Friday at Jossi Design HQ

I'm not entirely sure what happened to the week, it still feels like yesterday was Monday to me. Regardless, I'm not going to complain. Friday is here and time to unwind and put my feet up for 2 days.

The good news from our side is that we had a new client signing up with us. He is building a new house in Izinga and we will be assisting him from the time foundations go in until he and his family move in. This should be an exciting project to watch. You might just get some ideas for how to create your own space while adhering to the strict requirements set in place by the home owner associations on your own estate.

The rep from Romo fabrics stopped by our office to see us. She will keep our fabric library up to date with the latest imported fabric ranges. Beautiful fabrics and we can't wait to use them.We also met with a local Durban company who will print wallpaper to any spec, any design and any colour - can't wait to try it. Who knows, maybe you might see a Jossi Design signature wallpaper range in the not too distant future. Watch this space...

ROMO Fougere Collection

Lastly, have a fantastic weekend!