COLLECTORS AT HEART
GROUPED PLATES MAKE A PRETTY WALL FEATURE. Both Bernice and Michael are avid collectors and have garages, rooms and homes filled with objects they have collected over the years. “Mike’s job has allowed us to travel and I definitely think this has shaped our decor taste,” says Bernice.
Although the general theme is very Frenchcountry, there are plush Hungarian elements too. No attention to detail has been spared. There are clocks, mirrors, dressers and fireplaces aplenty in the warmly decorated interiors. Bernice has collected cameos and cleverly grouped and framed them as art pieces, for example. An original vintage French wooden carousel horse was one of her first auction buys. “I was so excited,” she says, “I didn’t realise I was bidding against myself!”
Michael’s French heritage comes through in the bistro area, which is used for serving finger desserts after intimate functions. Framed vintage photos of his family line the walls and tickey creeper climbs up the exterior. The walls are papered with an Andrew Martin wallpaper, which is designed using original vintage postcards juxtaposed alongside each other and are made to look like love letters pinned to the wall.
There’s also an impressive, handmade Astoria Italian espresso machine, about which Bernice jokes: “It was either the coffee machine or a car – and I picked the coffee machine!” This sits next to another vintage find, a till machine that was purchased on one of the Morrells’ many antique buying missions – this time in Johannesburg instead of Paris or Budapest.
Heavy bronze busts, yellow orchids, intricate clocks and rich drapery give the venue a romantic, cosy feel.
The piano room feels like a Parisian cafe and has handmade chandeliers hanging low from the ceiling, giving the room a lovely warmth. Edith Piaf’s voice coos from the hidden speakers, proving that every detail, including what you’re listening to, has been considered in this French-style hideaway.
• Morrells morrells.co.za
THE WELL-MANICURED GARDEN.