Publications
Behind-the-scenes photos Suné Esterhuizen; cover photos Henrique Wilding and Karl Rogers
The brief: style a bedroom with only 10 Mr Price Home items and make it worthy of a Tuis | Home cover.
The challenge: each bedroom had been stripped down to the essentials with a bed against an unadorned wall, a bare floor, no nightstands, and a lamp well past its sell-by date.
This was the annual Tuis | Home Décor School in partnership with Mr Price Home in a nutshell.
It was hosted in Cape Town in September and in Johannesburg a month later.Day 1 was all about visual inspiration. Kerry Strauss, marketing director of Mr Price Home, enlightened students about décor trends and business ethics, revealing that 40% of Mr Price Home homeware is made here in SA. Local is lekker!
Tuis | Home editor Wicus Pretorius and creative editor Marian van Wyk coached the students on how to prepare for their cover shoots with photographers Henrique Wilding and Karl Rogers on Day 2.Tasked with taking a room from zero to hero, the Cape Town students were whisked off to Canal Walk and the Johannesburg bunch to Sandton City, where they filled their trolleys with an array of gorgeous textiles and homeware from the flagship Mr Price Home stores. They were advised to rest well...
The real challenge was on Day 2: two photographers, two rooms, one creative editor and eight hours with 15 students in Cape Town and 16 in Jozi.
And the students blew us away! As did Mr Price Home with its vast selection of trendy décor pieces – enough to shoot 31 covers, each with its own identity, all from a single store visit.
Look at what they achieved…
LESANG KOBE
Engineering Supervisor, Rustenburg
Briefed to create a focal point without using a traditional headboard, Lesang used a gorgeous Mr Price Home tablecloth creatively. She also surprised us with her bold choice of accessories: who would have guessed that a soft pink throw would look so good in a room with a bright yellow wall? It creates the ideal backdrop to make all her flowers and foliage really stand out.
YOLANDI NORTH
Recipe Developer and Lifestyle Blogger, Johannesburg
Undeterred by this bedroom’s spatial challenges, Yolandi struck the perfect balance between cosy and graphic. Her choice of Mr Price Home soft furnishings makes for an interesting colour-block effect with moody blues, charcoal and trendy dusty pinks. A boho-style pendant lamp sitting snugly behind the Tuis masthead and subtle pops of copper and gold finish the look.
MARLESE VENTER
Sales, Sourcing and Account Management, Cape Town
Marlese’s choice of terracotta and turmeric-yellow Mr Price Home cushions adds warmth to this cool blue-and-white bedroom. By adding oversized charcoal cushions, she not only concealed the absence of a headboard, but also enhanced the geometric colour-blocking effect of the cushions.
MYRTLE VAN DER MERWE
Hardware Shop Owner
Myrtle broke many of the traditional dos and don’ts of mixing patterns when she created this showstopper. She casually draped a striking Mr Price Home comforter over the foot of the bed. A combination of printed and plain Mr Price Home cushions is used to great effect in creating a visual balance between the floral motifs at the head and foot of the bed. An elegant copper lamp from Mr Price Home provides a counterbalance to the casual, cosy feel of the bed linen.
