CloCkwise from top left in the tasting lounge, chairs with riempie detail and ebonised-wood tables with white-wood inlays; the bespoke furniture was developed by David Collins studio and produced locally; a Deborah Bell sculpture in the reception area; iron gates lead to the vinoteque private dining room; the entrance courtyard; a ramped walkway with internal sliding shutters leads to the restaurant opposite page in the entrance, dramatic timber doors with studded starburst detail open onto a peach-pip and resin polished floor. the ceiling is clad with antiqued silver-leaf mirror squares to create a glorious light-filled reception area

Between Heaven and Earththe owner of the

Delaire graff estate near stellenBosCh, laurenCe

graff, has raiseD the stakes in luxury vineyarD

experienCes with the help of internationally

renowneD interior Designer DaviD Collins

TexT AmeliA Simonow PhoTograPhs Dook

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inking the vineyard-rich valleys of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, the Helshoogte Mountain Pass

affords lofty views across the surrounding winelands. On the crest of this very pass, Delaire Graff Estate claims what must be one of the most breathtakingly panoramic settings in the Western Cape.

The current owner, Laurence Graff, Chairman of Graff Diamonds International, is a passionate art collector who began his collection years ago with Impressionist works. Fortunately, unlike many collectors,

Graff understood that what he had at Delaire was something so beautiful and unique that it needed to be shown to and appreciated by others.

It was during his many years working in the local diamond industry that Graff experienced the growing global and local interest in South African wines. ‘I saw that there was a niche in the market for truly upscale vineyards that provided more than just wine,’ explains Graff. ‘I didn’t just want to provide an extremely luxurious high-end destination spot, I wanted to provide an experience.’

Having bought Delaire from John Platter in 2003, Graff immediately set plans in motion for a complete rebuild of the estate, with the tasting lounge and restaurant recently reopened and a five-star boutique hotel and Banyan Tree-managed spa to follow in 2010.

To help translate his vision, Graff enlisted international designer David Collins whose client base includes some of the most influential names in entertainment, art and fashion. ‘He is one of the preeminent interior architects in the world and having been to many of his incredible

CloCkwise from

top left linen curtains with bands of chevron grosgrain

ribbon and grey-leather ebonised-wood chairs with

riempie-strung backs create subtle african patterning; the

wide marble-clad fireplace in the tasting lounge with an

artwork by william kentridge, Deborah Bell and robert

hodgkins above it; figurative sculptures positioned in

water are a trademark of the architectural courtyards at Delaire opposite page

Collins is a detail-driven designer who tailors his

furniture to build a visual language. in the tasting

lounge, the back stitching on the aubergine-leather

chair cushions echoes the riempie leather and

white-wood inlays on the ebonised cocktail tables.

the library ladder inlaid with brass is a custom design

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establishments, I knew he would be the right person to give the proper look and feel to Delaire,’ says Graff of Collins, whose award-winning designs include, amongst many others, The Wolseley, J Sheekey, Nobu, Locanda Locatelli and the Connaught in London.

At the time of their first meeting, Graff had moved away from the Impressionists and into the world of contemporary art, acquiring major pieces by Picasso and Warhol, as well as works

by key South African artists. Collins was quick to pick up on Graff ’s artistic fervour and saw clearly that his client’s vision for Delaire was very much tied in with art and local art in particular.

‘My love of South African art comes from my long-term involvement with the country,’ Graff explains, ‘and at Delaire I wanted to bring the best indigenous art together – I want to support and give back to the countries where we source so many of our beautiful diamonds.’

With this in mind, Collins and Graff worked closely together to create a contemporary high-design interior that also worked as a display platform for Graff ’s collection.

‘I believe it is very important that art is seen and appreciated, and that local artists be showcased,’ says Graff. With names such as William Kentridge, Sydney Kumalo, Dylan Lewis and Anton Smit in the collection, Delaire was destined to become an important and relevant centre for African art.

Collins used this and the setting to develop his design, incorporating his own instinctive understanding and interpretation of the continent’s art. ‘In my own way I attempted to reinterpret some African designs and I have been very influenced, as my fellow countryman Eileen Gray was, by tribal art. My inspiration that’s shown in the furniture is a little of the 20th-century oceanic art, which was influential in France in the 1920s,’ says Collins.

The overall flavour of the finished interior is described by Collins’s studio as being a marriage of ‘historic Cape Dutch architectural influences with traditional materials, techniques and colours indigenous to South Africa’.

The use of exceptional material is head turning, impressive and ambitious – from the vast timber entrance doors studded with the signature Delaire starburst pattern to the polished peach-pip and resin floors. Heavily veined maron marble has been used to clad fireplace surrounds and countertops, whilst custom-designed bronze and handblown-glass lanterns hang from vaulted Tasmanian-oak ceilings.

Purple (fresh grape skin springs to mind) and palest grey leather chairs with riempie-detailed backs again reflect Collins’s elegant interpretation of iconic South African design as do the decorative plaster mouldings framing the two main rooms at high level.

Colours throughout are soft and ripe, the only splash of vibrancy being the orange-leather interlinked serpentine banquettes in the restaurant. Here Collins was inspired colour wise by an untitled Kentridge hanging nearby and

aBove the reception area features glass

panels that look into the working cellar with its

wine tanks and barrels. David Collins studio

designed the impressive silver-grey oak reception

desk, which has spittoons and brass taps

inlaid into it for ad-hoc wine tastings

aBove the restaurant features snaking banquettes in orange leather, which accommodate round and square tables at intervals. the ceiling is made from asymmetrically vaulted tasmanian oak. an untitled kentridge in shades of red and orange hangs above the double-sided fireplace in the restaurant

certainly this citrus shade is a departure from his famously moody palette.

Interior and exterior spaces are dominated by Deborah Bell sculptures, first discovered by Graff at the Goodman Galleries in Cape Town and Johannesburg. ‘Her work has such a wonderful emotional resonance – she reminds me of Giacometti,’ says Collins, who chose to display some of her pieces as water features in the exterior entrance courtyard.

To help him source local materials and suppliers, Collins enlisted the help of Catherine Raphaely of Uncharted Africa and Andrea Graff of Andrea Graff Interior Design. ‘The result is definitely a team effort,’ Collins emphasises, ‘and of course Mr Graff personally finished the restaurant and hung the art in such a way that for the moment he is happy. However, he is quite acquisitive and is already excited about buying more pieces.’

Graff is quick to add that more works will be displayed in the hotel and spa upon their completion next year. ‘We shall always add more art to the estate,’ he finishes. ‘There is such a range out there and I have been able to support and purchase art that I truly love and appreciate, and know will continue to be important.’ n Delaire Graff Estate % 021 885 8160 n David Collins Studio % +44 207 835 5000; 8 www.davidcollins.com

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