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Ramp Diva
 The devil might wear Prada, but this northern-Jozi home doesn’t rely on designer brands to define its raison d’être. Rather, it’s dressed for success by the powerful combination of layering, textures, colour and space – all of them combing to create the ultimate urban sanctuary.
And, as with all A-list fashion success stories, this design collection is inspired by a muse – in this case, the client.
“She’s an absolute powerhouse in nine-inch heels,” says Brian Leib of Brian Leib Interiors, the designer behind the “collection”. “She’d seen our more classical and traditional work, but hadn’t really seen just how far we could creatively stretch.”
A tangible sense of balance defined their relationship from the get-go. “She’s a left-brain person, I’m a right-brain person,” says Leib, “and we immediately clicked – and completely balance out each other’s thinking.”
The brief was simple: to create a space that would serve as a relaxing downtime escape from the pressures of day-to-day living in fast-paced Johannesburg, a city whose pressures are legendary. The client craved a dual-purpose home, one with space where she could engage in solitary pursuits, relax, regroup and revitalise, as well as space where she could be much more social, a place in which she could entertain friends and family.
“She wanted a pied-à-terre – an urban oasis,” says Leib. “She lives a fast-paced life; she’s always on the go, working on massive projects. She’s very high-flying in her career, but low-key in her personal life and completely down-to-earth.”
The first logical step was to open up the space, creating a two-bedroom home out of three bedrooms while expanding the living space through the clever addition of an extension by incorporating the patio into the interior. “What she bought didn’t suit her entertaining needs, space-wise,” explains Leib, “as she loves having friends around. So we totally gutted it and converted the three bedrooms into two, each with an en-suite bathroom. Upstairs, we converted the third bedroom into a walk-in boutique-style dressing room, a place where she actually had space to admire her collection.”
The client’s impressive wardrobe collection also served as inspiration. Her approach to fashion is European in its curatorial interpretation. She prefers investing in limited quality pieces that have a classical flair over the mass consumption of so-so fashion trends, something that Leib kept in mind when interpreting the space. “That’s another thing… She’s a real globetrotter with an impressive collection and fantastic personal fashion sense. She is very sexy, and I wanted her apartment to reflect that same level of sex appeal,” he says.
“Downstairs, keeping her entertainment needs in mind, we enclosed the patio, converting the braai into a fireplace with a galley-style kitchen and separate scullery,” says Leib. “The result is a big open space that includes the kitchen, dining and living areas and an intimate space for tea or small dinner parties – it’s all about creating space
for interaction.”
And, while the home is generous in its scale, it’s never overwhelming. Form and function combine with proportion to create a very human scale. “It’s the classic lock-up-and-go apartment designed for a single person, although it’s generously scaled and proportioned,” says Leib. “I kept things light and airy. It boasts great natural light, something we wanted to emphasise through the use of Duco-coating surfaces and keeping the lines clean by avoiding the use of handles.”
The emphasis is on clean lines and natural colour palettes, allowing architectural, textural and colour accents to come to the fore. “It’s a very stream-lined and functional look, something I’ve coined ‘organo-classical’,” says Leib. “There’s a lot of thought put into fabrics, going for looks that include faux mirror fabrics in slivers and bronzes; and the more you use them, the better they look. I’ve used one of our Brian Leib Interiors’ trademarks, mixing the fabric use on the backs of the dining room chairs. And I’ve used lots of layering techniques in our approach, as well as low-voltage lighting throughout, creating a warm ambience. It’s all about rich colours – dark chocolates, taupes and beiges.”
The home’s new wardrobe hung perfectly from its first “fitting”. “Interestingly, I did one presentation and, with the exception of one minor application, I hit the nail right on the head,” says Leib. “It was immediate ignition, with a tangible sense of excitement and understanding from the get-go. She just ‘got it’ immediately which made all of us even more excited about the project. She’s a perfect client in that sense – she had blind faith in the creative process, as well as an instinctive understanding for it.”
The end-result? A home that’s a perfect fit – it’s a space that’s extremely comfortable for its owner to wear long after the spotlights are turned down. The home cleverly combines sparkling catwalk impact with fleecy tracksuit comfort. An unwavering sense of visual balance and tactile harmony is the key toits success. Like its owner, it’s perfectly dressed.
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Home: Ramp Diva
Posted on: 21/05/2009
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Sandton Editor's Letter 22/01/2010
I spoke with my mom this week, who was
gearing up for another Northern Hemisphere
holiday season. The weather was cold and
grey, her mood a bit blue.
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