10 Gifts for HIM under R300 | via The Design Tabloid

10 Last Minute Gifts For HIM Under R300

February 12, 2019 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

With Valentine’s Day being a mere 3 days away, I’m sure there are some of you still scrambling for last minute gifts. Well, don’t sweat it – The Design Tabloid has got your back!

Now that we have given some gorgeous and thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift ideas for that special lady in your life – 10 Last Minute Gifts For HER Under R300 – we turn our attention to the gentlemen.

As we have mentioned in past posts, gift shopping for men can prove to be a real struggle. A lot of the “man gifts” on the shelves are either super corny (novelty beer mug with boobs) or really boring (3 pairs of socks). Truly uninspiring, especially if you are shopping on a budget.

However, have no fear! We have scoured the internet to find 10 thoughtful and tasteful gift ideas for the man in your life – and all under R300!

Happy Valentine’s shopping! Hope you all enjoy spending the day with your loved one!Read More »

10 Last Minute Gifts For HER Under R300

February 11, 2019 Design Monarchy1 Comment

With Valentine’s Day being a mere 3 days away, I’m sure there are some of you still scrambling for last minute gifts. Well, don’t sweat it – The Design Tabloid has got your back!

We know that finding a Valentine’s Day gift that is not covered in cheesy cupids and corny slogans can be quite difficult and frustrating – especially when shopping on a budget. Therefore, we searched high and low to find 10 beautiful items, all under R300, that would make gorgeous and original V-Day gifts for that special lady in your life. Truth be told, there is a good couple of items on this here list that I wouldn’t mind getting myself!

And if you are still scratching your head for gift ideas for the special man in your life – fear not – our 10 Gifts for HIM Under R300 post will follow soon.

Happy Valentine’s shopping! Hope you all enjoy spending the day with your loved one!Read More »

Pantone Colour of 2019: LIVING CORAL

February 5, 2019February 4, 2019 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

Feature image via: Honeycombers

by Marica Fick

Like previous years, I was once again surprised by Pantone’s selection for Colour of the Year 2019. My first reaction (and Rose’s too for that matter) upon hearing “The Chosen” colour for this year was: “Coral, really?! – been there done that!” That is so 8 years ago. In fact, we have actually mentioned coral in not one, but TWO blog posts in the past – both trend reflection articles – in 2011 and 2012.

Don’t get me wrong – it is not that I don’t like coral – I actually like it quite a bit and I was once again reminded of that fact while searching for all the gorgeous inspiration pictures we have shared below.

In Pantone’s defence – the way we use coral (now versus 8 years ago), how it is applied in an interior space and the colours we combine it with has evolved into something more “here and now”. Trends tend to do that – evolve.

I tried to recollect whether we at Design Monarchy have ever had interior projects that strongly featured coral. I immediately thought of one hospitality / retirement project we were involved with that included coral into the colour scheme. It was an upmarket seaside venue and we paired the coral with tones of blue – teal and aqua. See the fabric scheme: HERE.

On further reflection, I found that we had a few design and decorating projects that incorporated some shade of coral as an accent colour – be that a coral-coloured scatter cushion or a floral fabric featuring a lovely blue and coral bloom.

Season’s Greetings From Design Monarchy

December 14, 2018December 13, 2018 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

Wishing all our readers and friends a Merry Christmas and a joyous festive season!

It’s that time of the year again! Time to eat & drink too much, celebrate and be merry – not to mention put the feet up! Thank you for all your support during the year – we truly appreciate it! We loved sharing our passion for design, décor and generally pretty things with you this past year!

Since our studio will be closed for business from today till the 15th of January 2019, The Design Tabloid and our social media accounts will slow its pace a bit in terms of posts. Keep your eyes peeled however – next year brings new and interesting changes for us here at the Design Monarchy!

Have a good one, guys and gals! Design Tabloid out!

♥ ♥ ♥ Love, Rose & Marica ♥ ♥ ♥

…

Background vector created by Marifdez – Freepik.com

8 Trendy & Chic Rattan Furniture Items for Your Home

December 7, 2018December 6, 2018 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

by Marica Fick

As we mentioned in the Trend Alert post we shared a couple of weeks ago – RATTAN is back and in a big way! Talk about a 70s blast from the past! What is next – Macrame and Moroccan shag-pile rugs?! Oh wait… that already happened too! Gotta love the cyclic nature of home and decor trends.

The element I most enjoy about the trend’s current incarnation is that it fuses vintage rattan pieces with new, contemporary designs. These fresh designs are slightly more simplified – almost minimal in a way.

While researching our Trend Alert article, I was surprised to see how quickly the rattan trend has spread to the South African retail market. This is something that usually happens at a snail’s pace. A quick online search of our local furniture and homeware stores delivered a lovely selection of gorgeous rattan and cane pieces. This is good news for those who want to incorporate rattan elements into their interior space.

SO, for all you lovers of rattan and cane, here is our round-up of trendy, chic, and beautifully contemporary rattan furniture pieces for your home…Read More »

Trend Alert: Rattan

November 21, 2018 Design Monarchy1 Comment

by Marica Fick

Well, hello my old friend! I am not only talking to you, our patient and longsuffering readers, but also to Rattan! Hello Rattan, I haven’t seen you since the 80s…

I have been meaning to write this Trend Alert post for quite some time. However, as the last quarter of the year is our industry’s silly season, Rose and I have been in the very thick of design and decorating work and projects. Fortunately, as we have now successfully handed off some of our projects, we can turn our attention to a (very long overdue) blog post – YAY!

Since this particular Trend Alert article has been sitting half-finished in my draft folder for SO long, it is not much of an “Alert” but more of an after-the-fact “I am sure you have all noticed”. But hey, now we can happily chat about it together!

We have seen rattan furniture and decorative accessories creep back unto the interiors radar a couple of years ago – probably at the same time as the big Bohemian interior trend. Now, rattan is everywhere. Furthermore, once a trend makes its merry way to the sluggish South African retail market you know it is a big hit.

So, let’s chat a little more about this trend…