If this is a favourite time of year for many people – for me – it’s absolutely the supreme season. Winter, not that long an event in SA, is now just a chilly memory. Spring, this glorious season of re-birth – warms rapidly into full summer – and the result is the outdoor lifestyle that South Africans relish.

In 2010, contemporary interior design in South Africa is reaching new levels of expertise. Yet, in a still recessive market, making space work – the synergy between architects and interior designers / decorators – is ever more vital.

Well considered illumination plays a major role in the look and feel of any interior. From low-voltage halogen down-lights and up-lights – in ceilings, bulkheads and even floor locations – the judicious use of lighting creates ambience and improves functionality.

Since man first decided to shelter himself from the elements, furnishing his dwellings has been a priority and what, in prehistoric times, might have been a rock or section of tree-trunk has evolved into a vital global industry worth billions of US$ annually. To relax / recline – while dining, drinking, reading, listening or viewing – is an essential factor in modern residential lifestyle; the daily regeneration necessary considering 2010’s frenetic pace.

We are fortunate to live in temperate climes. And yet, South Africa is a country that does become very cold in Winter – particularly in Gauteng – and both cold and damp in wet-Winter regions such as the Western Cape.

In 2010 South Africa, space is becoming more limited and smaller interiors – in homes of every echelon – are the result. Within the contemporary home, kitchens and bathrooms are most often compact interiors but they remain of vital importance; in this bi-annual focus we look at the latest trends and include informed opinion: