House La Lucia Site Visit

Sunday morning and I have just been woken by a call from the client whose house we are working on in La Lucia. They are concerned about the carpet inlay that has been allowed for in the tiling, they feel it may be too big. I said I would meet with them on site shortly to have a look at the tiling, as when I was there this week the tiling had not yet started.

Exterior View

Craig and I went to site this week, we had decided to take a walk around the see the progress that had been made over the past few weeks. The construction side has been moving slowly for a while now, but the ceilings have almost been complete. This is a very good thing as it brings a lot of proportion to the room now as high ceilings make the rooms look smaller than they actually are. By installing the lowered plasterboard ceilings and painting them white the room comes back into proportion.

Fireplace and Feature Wall

I am very glad that the tiling has started and come as far as it has in the short amount of time since I was on site. This means that the messy work is almost over, the walls need to be painted and the house will start looking more like a house and less like a construction site. We have suggested wall colours and the builder has painted sample patches on the walls for approval.

Internal Staircase

Craig has been ordering the furniture this week, and the client has chosen some of her own items for the house and purchased these herself. This does make it more challenging from Jossi Design's side as co-ordination is a large part of our business in ensuring the client is happy with the end result. It seems that all is working out at the moment in terms of the furniture and the overall look, the concern today with the size of the carpet inlay should be easy to resolve with a site meeting. Unfortuntely, the size of the carpet inlay is very much determined by the positioning of th furniture and therefore the size of the furniture. As the furniture selection is still changing it is difficult to pin down exact sizes, but the use of additional tile borders should recitfy the proportions.

Bathroom Ceiling

Tip for the week: It can be extremely tempting to accept the cheapest quote, but very often you will find that you will "get what you pay for". I have seen so many cases where the cheapest quote is accepted only to result in time and money being wasted trying to retify the problems that result from the poor quality or workmanship. Get in a few quotes, this can take time waiting for the quotes to come in from the various companies, but at least you will be able to compare all the quotes and make an informed decision. If the one quote is far cheaper than all the others, then there is possibly something that has been left out or some corners have been cut.

THE SECOND SHOWHOUSE

Palm Lakes Estate is bussling with building work, the apartments are now seen grouped around the dams and individual homes are starting to take shape. The first showhouse has created a buzz with those people looking to buy land and build their new homes in the Estate, and now the second showhouse is almost complete.

Jossi Design therefore decided on a site visit to check on the progress of the second showhouse. Although smaller than the first showhouse it is still an open and inviting space. Jossi Design worked together with Royal Palm Property Holdings choosing the furniture for this showhouse and the fabric for the curtains which were then made up by our curtain contractors and successfully installed. There are some last finishing touches that we need to arrange and then this showhouse will be open to the public.

The second showhouse comprises of an open plan lounge, dining room and kitchen. The kitchen is visually separated from the living area by the breakfast nook and bar stools.

Main Bedroom

The Main Bedroom and En-suite is large with beautiful 50mm venetian wooden blinds in the windows softened by the curtains which frame the window. Placed in the one corner is the Haldane Martin Zulu Mamma Chair.

The Zulu Mamma Chair

There are also 2 children's rooms: a girl's bedroom set out in whites and pinks and a baby boy's room in whites and pastel greens and yellows. The large windows in these rooms have 50mm white venetian blinds, with a soft white voile in front, to again soften the bedroom.

Little Girl's Bedroom

Still to be completed on the exterior of the house is the wooden deck which will create the entertainment and braai area. Jossi Design is still to source the remaining mirrors and some last accessories, then the showhouse should be open for display to the public.

Offices and Holiday Homes with Jossi Design

The Gatemax, Netcare Medical Centre is being completed in Umhlanga Rocks, this is located next to the existing hospital, and Jossi Interior Design has been hired to complete the Interior Design and Decorating for one of the doctor's offices in this block. The building is really starting to take shape and is very impressive opposite Gateway Shopping Centre.

Jossi Design is now hard at work on the design of this office space, comprising of the reception and waiting area, the doctor's office, the examination room and the procedure room. We are looking forward to the completion of the project as it is going to be an amazing space. The deadline is tight as completion date for March which does not leave alot of time to place orders for fabric, wallpaper and furniture. This is however an exciting commercial project and there are some great designs planned for this space.

Craig and Jocelyn also attended a site meeting for the 4 Bedroom house in Zimbali where again Jossi Design has been employed to complete the interior design and decorating. Progress on site has been slow due the large amount of rain experienced late last year causing building delays. It was good to see that there has been some progress on site the last few weeks. Jossi Design has issued the electrical and lighting layouts for all floors and the plumbing layouts have been supplied by the architect so all foundation work can continue without any delays.

Zimbali is truely a lovely estate and I am sure that the client is going to be extremely happy with their holiday house once they have taken occupation. The design of the building takes full advantage of the wonder views of the sea and the house is sure to be an open and spacious holiday home.

Some tips regarding the interior of your existing house: De-clutter! You will be amazed at the difference this will make. Put away, or better yet throw away, anything you do not need or use. Put out only those items that you want to be a feature in your home or perhaps items that is of sentimetal value. By removing all the other clutter from view you will be making those remaining accessories or special items a real feature. You will also be able to appreciate the rest of the space much more without all the other accessories causing confusion.

For more information about Jossi Design as a company or the services we offer visit our website www.jossi.co.za

Palm Lakes Estate Apartments

The apartments at Palm Lakes Estate are starting to take shape. On a site visit this week I decided to take some photos of the progress. Jossi Design worked closely with the architects, DZM Space, in the interior design of these apartments. It is therefore very exciting to go to site to see the progress of both the apartments and the Estate as a whole.

The furniture, lighting layouts and electrical layouts were put together by Jossi Interior Design together with DZM Space and the Developers at Royal Palms. We also developed the boards showing the finishes for each apartment.

There are 3 schemes for the owners of the apartments to choose from: The Classic Theme; The Contemporary Theme and The Rustic Theme. Therefore the tiles, paint colours, finishes for the kitchen and built-in cupboards, granite and formica samples, and cornices were all put onto 3 boards that represented the different looks for each apartment. The owner can then choose the combination he or she likes best.

The site visit was therefore very interesting for me as I could see the progress and outcome of all the hard work in the apartments now being constructed. The Estate is taking shape nicely, the second showhouse is almost complete as the curtains are due to be installed this coming week, once the landscaping is complete this showhouse should be opened to the public. The first showhouse has created wonderful attention for the Estate, showing the quality and style of house that can be achieved, and we have received great complements about the interior decorating.

Interior views of the apartments at Palm Lakes Estate

Jossi Design Travels to Escourt and Southbroom

Craig and I took a drive out to Escourt to meet with a possible client early Thursday morning. There was a fire in their house and the kitchen has been completely destroyed, with some damage to the lounge and dining room. The smoke has also caused some damage in the bedrooms as everything is coated in a black soot.

It is amazing to see the damage that fire can do to a house. It could have been alot worse for the couple but not a nice experience to go through at all. The builders are starting work on Monday, therefore Craig and I were briefed to provide a quote to redecorate the house.

Exterior View of Southbroom House

This week I also attended a breakfast networking meeting where I met many interesting people. I have been encouraged to join a networking breakfast to promote Jossi Design. So far I have enjoyed the experience and look forward to further breakfast meetings.

Lounge at Southbroom House

On Friday Bronwyn and I took the almost 2 hour drive to Southbroom to snag the holiday house we completed just before shutdown last year. The client put together a half page snag list which was emailed through to me. I took the office camera and Bronwyn and I met with the client to go through all the snags taking picture which we will then email to the relevant contractors.

A Bedroom at Southbroom House

The house is looking really beautiful and the client is very happy with the whole look of the house. Jossi Design was briefed by the client in the beginning of the project. The brief entailed 'Happy Colours' to be used in the Decorating. This is a brief which took me out of my usual style of design as I enjoy creating moody interiors. But I am extremely happy with the outcome and so is the client, which is the most important thing.