South African Style Interiors and Design

I lived in South Africa for many years, and I thought I would share some of their unique interior design style and architecture.   South Africa is a big country, with 11 Official languages, so you can just imagine the diversity of their interior design and they way they live.


Interior styles and architecture have been heavily influenced by Europe due to the first European settlers who arrived there from Holland, France and England.  


Over the years this has changed and Interior designers have found their own way of expressing South African design.

Land is aplenty and so homes are big and spacious.... some with sloping green lawns and pools, large windows to let in as much sunlight as possible...with very few curtains ....this is open plan living at its very best....

or they can look like this.... colourful Cape Malay homes in Cape Town....don't they look beautiful?

or it could be a house with a wrap around veranda like this....

An old colonial homestead....

or a home on a remote piece of land miles away from anywhere....

The interior styles are as diverse and colourful as the people that inhabit them.

Due to space, and enjoying warm weather for most of the year, flooring could be polished cement, terracotta tiles, or natural wood flooring, or both combined.  Furnishings can be made of wicker, wood, or leather.  Colours here have been kept earthy and natural, and walls kept white to emphasise the space and light.

A collection of carved wooden buck heads made an interesting display on a wall.

An interior with an older traditional feeling, ochre coloured walls, flooring in a combination of coloured cement and wooden flooring and zebra skins scattered casually on the floor in a very rural setting

South African's like to hunt and some like to display their trophies.... the display of similar toned picture frames gives the room a contemporary feel as does the overhead lighting.  Once again the colour palette is kept natural, echoing the colours of the earth.

A very unique display of different tribal paintings in the kitchen

 Monochrome with the zebra skin ottoman

a colourful African Inspired bedroom...although there are a lot of different patterns in very bold colours, the overall look is one of harmony.

(all images from google)

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into South African interiors....