“Today for Tomorrow” at Made by You Pop-Up Shop

October 20, 2014October 20, 2014 Rose McClementLeave a comment

Cavendish Square collaborated with local green designers to create sustainable products from the waste recycled by the centre. These chic & functional products can be bought at their Made by You & Cavendish Square Recycling Pop up store during the month of October 2014…

I rather like that title “Today for Tomorrow” as a WDC 2014 initiative. To me it carries a very powerful message of being present in what we undertake today, with a view of impacting our environment and surrounding going into tomorrow. One of those “speaks for itself” taglines.

And in keeping with the whole pop-up shop trend that is still gaining momentum in Cape Town, it is heart warming to see one of Cape Town’s landmark upmarket shopping malls, Cavendish Square, playing host to a designer orientated pop-up shop. For those further afield from Cape Town, just a piece of useless information – Cavendish Square has many, many designer label shops. Mostly all in the “High Street” genre. That to me then makes this initiative by Cavendish really cool – bringing in your street level designer labels and giving them exposure alongside the high street labels. Just the kinda inclusive exposure these designers need.

I realise that it is a bit late in the month, but for those of us in the Cape Town area, there is still time to nip over to Cavendish to take in the power of creative design influences by local designers. Something that we can surely be very Proudly South African.

Industrial AV Unit Concept

November 28, 2012November 28, 2012 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

We are currently working on an AWESOME interior design & décor project here at Design Monarchy. Rose and I have always dreamt of doing a project in the now-trending Industrial Style and were therefore super excited when we finally got the opportunity to do so earlier this year! Whilst the project is ongoing and the house is still in the construction phase, most of the furniture, décor, and finish have already been selected. As you can imagine, Rose and our lovely open-minded client had an absolute ball during the recent furniture sourcing expedition!

We could however not find a fitting AV cabinet, and after stumbling across some beautiful precedent images, we designed a unit that would fit perfectly with the rest of the interior. We thought to share it with you as a little teaser until the rest of the project is completed. What do you think?

{precedent: 1, 2}

Before & After: Vintage Radiogram

November 21, 2012November 21, 2012 Design MonarchyLeave a comment

By Jess Binns of Hector & Bailey

It’s with great pleasure to take the reigns on today’s post for the lovely Rose and Marica from The Design Tabloid. I’d love to share with you the latest ‘Found & Fixed’ item, hot off the press from the Hector & Bailey studio. And, exclusively for The Design Tabloid, I’m going to take you step by step through the whole upcycled process.

So get comfy and I shall begin…

Let me introduce you to Maxwell. An abandoned radiogram, stripped of it’s function and in general, looking a bit worse for wear.

First things first, preparation is the key to a successful outcome, that and patience. So to start, remove handle and any other hardware and start sanding. I use a combination of an electric mouse sander and hand sanding. You need to aim to take off all the old varnish in order to reveal the timber is it’s raw form.
Once this messy job is complete, I washed down the radiogram with a sugar soap solution.
Due to this once being a functioning radiogram, there were signs of missing shelves where large recesses sat. I filled all of these areas with wood filler and allowed to dry fully. {click on images to enlarge}

Step 1 {click to enlarge}

Step 4 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

Step 5 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

The next step is to mask off all the areas where you don’t want the paint to reach. In this instance, I wanted to retain sections of wood that were just too beautiful to cover up.
Once complete, I then set to work priming the unit. I only work with water-based paints for all of my wooden items, so I use a wonderful primer from B-Earth, which creates a bond and provides excellent adhesion. Being toxic free, the bond has no smell and dries very quickly, best of both worlds!
Now on to the main colour. For Maxwell, I went for a shade of ‘Greige’ (a grey/beige mix!) in a water-based emulsion. First I painted all the fiddly areas with a small paintbrush… {click on images to enlarge}

Step 6 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

Step 7 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

Step 8 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

The large surface areas were painted with a foam roller. I find this leaves a nice, smooth finish, especially if you have time to build the layers up. I mostly average on 3 coats.
To add a bit of interest, I opted for pale cream painted socks, the contrast from the greige and the rich wood works a treat!
Putting the main body to one side to allow the paint to set, I then turned my attention to the handle. Looking a little tarnished, I decided to spray them cream to match the feet. First you need to prime, allow to dry, then spray on the top coat.
For the inside, I wanted to create an impact by using wallpaper. This is a great way to use up any off-cuts you may have. This is where concentration levels have to be at an all time high! Especially if you want to ensure the pattern matches on both sides. Using wallpaper paste, I attached each section with a careful eye. {click on images to enlarge}

Step 9 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

Step 10 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

Step 11 Before & After by Hector & Bailey ǀ The Design Tabloid

In order to make the most of the radiogram, I decided to utilize the space underneath, so installed a 3mm ply painted base. Before fitting, I staple-gunned fabric to the grill section from behind to provide a splash of colour.
It’s now time to add a back to Maxwell. For this I used 6mm Marine ply with a section cut out to allow access to the low shelf. This was finished in the same colour and panel pinned on.
Almost there, I re-attached the opening mechanism and fitted the newly sprayed handles. the last job is waxing the whole unit with furniture beeswax to create a protective barrier. I prefer using wax over varnish as you can build up layers over time, beeswax is eco friendly and varnish always leaves brush marks.

Please meet the finished article……!

{Maxwell and some other Hector & Bailey upcycled treasures will be showcased and up for purchase at the Joburg Food Wine & Design Fair. Be on the look out for the miss+meisie collab – Jess alongside Wendy of SketchBok/dbn.}

Quick Tips - Decor Diva - The Design Tabloid

Repurposed Ladders

February 6, 2012 Design Monarchy6 Comments

It was my intention to write a little décor Quick Tip about re-using old ladders in and around the house after stumbling across this beautiful image (right below) while browsing through Stylizimo (a funky Scandinavian décor blog). However, after doing a quick search I found a good dozen of excellent ideas and images illustrating ways in which you can repurpose your old run-down ladder. So, this is no ordinary Quick Tip, as instead of the customary one image, I included all the gorgeous images to inspire you!

#11 Don’t toss away your old wooden ladder – repurpose it. Your old ladder, whether you give it a fresh lick of paint or keep it paint-splattered & earth-stained, can be used in a variety of interesting ways: as a rustic book shelf, funky bathroom storage or even a shabby chic way to store and display your beautiful shoes. All you need is a bit of inspiration.