Ideas is all about MAKING your world more beautiful. Packed with creative inspiration, fresh ideas, easy projects and step-by-step instructions, this magazine is the go-to guide for crafters, stitchcrafters, makers, cooks and DIY home decorators.
CONTACT ME terena@ideasfactory.co.za instagram.com/terenaleroux It's astonishing how one day it's still wonderfully warm and then in the blink of an eye, the cold is here. And because winter is next level these days, we reckoned that this issue's ikigai (read Martie's story on page 104) should be to make us all feel a bit cosier and warmer, like a nice tight hug against the storm. Hence the complete cold shoulder to the ‘ban’ on white foods which, for our team, are the perfect comfort food. Everyone came up with their own food favourites when we got together to plan this issue, or their own food story, like Elsa shares in her article on page 64 about the cooking grandmothers who are such sensations on social media … What really brought…
It was a busy day in the heart of Cape Town when Sumien Brink – a former magazine editor with an unerring nose for recognising potential in a space – entered the incongruously named Impala House, with its modest but beguiling pink marble foyer. The lift opened directly into the space, literally stopping her in her tracks. ‘I was flabbergasted – I had no idea proportions like this still existed in the city,’ she said. The building itself didn't deter, nor did interior designer Etienne Hanekom bat an eyelid when most of us might have run a mile. Etienne installed Perspex corrugated dividers to create two bedrooms: a smart, inexpensive way to carve up what was previously an office with only rudimentary bathrooms and a tiny kitchen. To provide focus…
A BLEND OF OLD AND NEW The original stone floor, beautiful wooden beams and wooden shutters lend a timeless elegance to this room. The shutters are practical, keeping out the sun and heat while also offering protection and privacy. The stately French-style bed and linen bedding give the space a timeless sophistication. A single, bentwood table serves as a bedside cabinet and the suspended bedside lights consist of exposed bulbs with the cord strung over wall-mounted wooden hooks. Complete the look by hanging framed black-and-white artworks to create a gallery wall. FARM STYLE Two single beds can work so well in a guest room. If you don't have vintage pieces, there are plenty of second-hand shops through which to browse. The headboards in the photo are from Werf in Simondium,…
MUSHROOM RISOTTO This creamy and comforting Italian favourite is perfect as a main course or accompaniment. The stock should be stirred in slowly, allowing the starch to be released from the rice and giving the dish a rich and velvety texture. Serves: 4 Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: About 45 minutes ♥ 1,5 litres good-quality chicken or vegetable stock ♥ 60ml olive oil, plus extra for serving ♥ 400g mixed mushrooms, sliced ♥ 1 onion, finely chopped ♥ 2 cloves garlic, crushed ♥ 375ml Arborio rice (or other shortgrain risotto rice) ♥ 125ml dry white wine (or use extra stock) ♥ 30ml butter ♥ 125ml grated Parmesan cheese ♥ Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 1 Heat the stock in a saucepan. Keep it on the stove over a low…
MINI BRÛLÉE CHEESECAKES Makes: 16 individual cheesecakes Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus cooling time Baking time: 15 minutes Oven temperature: 180°C YOU WILL NEED ♥ muffin tins ♥ cupcake liners (silicone liners work well) ♥ blow torch (or you can use the oven grill) CRUST: ♥ 150g digestive biscuits, crushed ♥ 75ml melted butter FILLING:♥ 2 x 230g tubs of cream cheese ♥ 4 large eggs, lightly beaten ♥ 5ml vanilla essence ♥ 150ml icing sugar, sifted ♥ 125ml sour cream ♥ 15ml cake flour TOPPING: ♥ 250ml castor sugar…
Somewhere on a cargo ship between South Africa and New Zealand, there is a container with a tightly packed little box of my mother's handwritten recipes. In her beautiful old-fashioned handwriting in worn-out black Croxley notebooks. There are also recipes cut out and pasted from magazines and newspapers. She was a young bride of 19 when my father swept up the beautiful girl from Boekenhoutfontein, a greatgrandchild of Paul Kruger. Two years later, I arrived. Four more children followed. She had lost her own mother at the age of seven. She'd had to teach herself so much, especially how to keep five hungry children and a giant of a man well fed. All those handwritten recipes describe her journey from a young woman with little experience to a master cook…
