Seaside serenity

For the owner of this holiday home on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal, this space is her escape from a frenetic city lifestyle. A neutral palette immediately sets the scene for relaxed living and takes back-seat to the magnificent seascape which lies on its doorstep.

Within the brief of "strict budget, make use of existing pieces", Elize Labuschage Interiors chose a monochrome cream and white colour scheme with touches of subdued colour brought in with artwork and paint techniques. A shell motif is used extensively on scatter cushions, door knobs, graphics and linen, creating a delightful continuity and underscoring the notion that this is a seaside home A slip-covered sleeper couch complements comfortable cane chairs and two large ottomans add additional seating in the lounge leading out onto a spacious outside area overlooking the ocean a mere seaspray away. In the dining room area a beautiful 19th-century Transvaal boekenhout table with a lustrous sheen sits comfortably with modern cane chairs and paint-washed ladder-back chairs. Above the table, a unique composition of pale-cream fallow deer antlers resembling driftwood, was converted into a lightfitting. Low-maintenance quartzite stone slabs are softened with rough-textured, cotton rugs. This home is eminently practical for a family whose lifestyle demands easy living and lots of socialising, but Elize's innate good taste and attention to detail ensured that it is a pleasing environment with a touch of class.

Sand castles on a shoestring

A decorator's eye, passion and commitment to client individuality is the gift Elize gives to each project. And this is what made the impossible realisable: furnishing a three-bedroomed holiday home from scratch on a very tight budget. These six beach homes, used by members of the Public Servants' Association in East London, had no architectural interest, providing the sparsest of rectangles out of which to create the Pandora's box that each holiday-maker dreams of. Special attention was paid to graphics, place-mats and other accessories, customising these in each unit to add individuality. Inexpensive curtain fabrics - and in some cases ready-made curtains for bedrooms - helped meet the budget and the very short lead time. Hard-wearing fabrics and sturdy furnishings were used, as these units are rented out to the public and have to withstand heavy use. Marine motifs such as shells, lighthouses and fishes were introduced through fabrics and graphics.

Mabula game reserve

Dorbyl's four-bedroomed executive lodge in Mabula game reserve afforded Elize the rare pleasure of letting her creativity run wild - literally. Her brief was to create a colourful, bright African interior, steering clear of the natural colours so often used in game lodges. The result achieved by combining hand-printed fabrics from Zimbabwe with Gabbeh carpets, made by nomadic tribes in Iran, is delightful. African art and objects, commissioned from local communities, add a vibrant, tongue-in-cheek touch.