Westcliff Pavilion in Johannesburg

Lots of gorgeous stonework and dark wood make the Westcliff Pavilion (by GASS Architecture Studios)  a simple yet very interesting and lovely home. A bedroom on each end with the living and dining areas situated in the middle. The colors are so warm and the wooded surroundings are quite beautiful. Having sliding glass doors all over the place that open to the outdoors is a nice touch too. 
(all photos from Contemporist)

Hemp House!

A house made with hemp you ask? Yes! Tony Budden and Duncan Parker worked with Michael Orchard of New Earth Architecture and Wolf & Wolf Architecture to create this South African home where they used lots of the underrated hemp. Hemp insulation, hempcrete used to make the external walls and 85% of the furniture and cabinetry is made from hempboard. The Hemp House also boasts numerous other eco-friendly design innovations. A beautiful home that is earth friendly with forward thinking design. Well done.
(all photos from Inhabitat)

A song and some rooms..

...Is what I have for you today

Here is the song

And here are some rooms

Pretty rooms, of course

 I won't dream of sharing any thing less with you

For you are my favorite peeps :) 

Such a guy's room this.. 

Love the bedside table covered in raw silk

 What a fab idea, the painted bottles!

[All this prettiness from House and Leisure]

The Satyagraha House

The Satyagraha House, Mahatma Gandhi's house in Johannesburg, SA, has recently been restored and renovated by the  French company Voyageurs du Monde. It is is now open to receive visitors at it's museum and guests for stay. Heritage architect Rocco Bosman, and interior designers Amit Zadok and Christine Pulch, took utmost care to maintain the existing character and sanctity of the site and recreated the interiors keeping Gandhi's philosophy and austerity as their guiding principle.

Khadi and linen fabrics, jute floor coverings, memorabilia from the days Gandhi and the house's architect Hermann Kallenbach stayed here, period wood furniture, old photographs, simple and functional carefully selected decor pieces, all put together create an aesthetic, minimalistic and sustainable heritage home.

Mahatma Gandhi's original attic bedroom, recreated with the help of images from the Gandhi Museum in India

Watch this short video for the story of renovation of The Satyagraha House. Not only am I impressed by the thought behind this project, I also really admire the style guideline and design aesthetics used to revive this house. There is a sense of calm, comfort, and, organization, that permeates through the house and can be felt through these images.  

Satyagraha: Satya means truth, and (A)graha means request/insistence. Read more about the Satyagraha movement here.

[Images copyright: The Satyagraha House]