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Starting off our new Style Guide series, it felt only natural to draw inspiration from home. Our first Style Guide's sample board is a celebration of proudly South African materials and hand-crafted artistry.
Inspired by African design and a bush lodge style, the board leans into the richness of warm colours, bold textures, and natural fibres. Throughout Africa, the surfaces of luxury lodges are adorned in Cemcrete finishes. The projects that we have been a part of have shaped the theme of this board, as we highlight textures aimed to spark creativity. |
To us, 2026 is the year of texture and tactility. Therefore, we could not resist showcasing the versatility of RenoCrete. RenoCrete Barnacle (pictured above) with an imprinted stone texture forms our base, a look that can elevate any wall or floor, bringing a natural quality to the space. This look was achieved through floating the RenoCrete, then dusting it with Release Agent in the colour Light Ivory. A stone patterned imprint mat was then also coated in the Release Agent and stamped into the surface. Once it was lifted, a uniquely beautiful textured finish was revealed.
The white sample pictured below features RenoCrete Sea Foam, modelling a rugged texture achieved by raking the wet substrate in a curved pattern. This lively texture makes for an accent wall worthy of conversation and admiration.
Base: RenoCrete Barnacle Imprinted, Top Left: CreteCote Tan Skimmed,
Top Right: RenoCrete Sea Foam Raked, Bottom: DecoCrete Brown & ColourCem Tan Carved
Top Right: RenoCrete Sea Foam Raked, Bottom: DecoCrete Brown & ColourCem Tan Carved
Inspired by Malawian Sun Circles, our round sample was formed using DecoCrete Brown, with the colour enhanced by blending in 10% ColourCem Tan. The cascading texture was thoughtfully hand-carved, designed to emulate sun rays.
For a touch of refinement, we included our classic, smooth CreteCote Microcement in custom colour Tan. This wall and floor finish is simple and elegant, while also feeling alive with movement and personality.
For a completed look, we have brought in two very special collaborators who embody the essence of our style inspiration; South African born brands creating custom, hand-crafted textures fused with a passion for design. Coral + Hive (runner up of SCAPE's Brand of the Year 2025), a boutique rug studio creating custom, handwoven pieces from natural fibres, felt nothing but necessary to include to provide the ultimate complement to our flooring products.
To crown it, we worked with Wall & Vessel, a concrete design studio with a strong connection to Cemcrete. With a family history of using our products for artistry, Wall & Vessel created beautifully patterned tiles using Cemcretes's TexCrete , coloured with CreteStain, to bestow an inspirational showcase of the creative and artistic potential of our cement-based products.
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CORAL + HIVE
Coral + Hive is homed in Cape Town, South Africa, where they work alongside one of the largest weaving looms in Africa. It’s a humming hive of creativity, where they design and produce perfectly imperfect rugs for thoughtful spaces around the world. They're supported by their London showroom and a family-run loom partner in India. Jeannine Birch started Coral + Hive as a natural home interior brand to share the magic of South African makers. She grew up watching and admiring the art of weaving, and is personally passionate about the creative process behind woven craftsmanship. Their rugs are woven from carefully sourced natural materials in a handmade process that embraces slow living design. Their approach is collaborative and personal. Whether adapting a design from their core collection or creating something entirely unique, they work closely on each project; guiding fibre, colour, scale, and texture choices to create something meaningful and woven to last. We felt this was reminiscent of our own approach, where we strive to contribute a personalised and unique element to various forms of design in each project. |
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WALL & VESSEL
At Wall & Vessel, each piece is individually carved, cast, and hand-finished, celebrating texture, depth, and materiality. Inspired by organic form, geometric rhythm, and African materiality, their work brings warmth and quiet impact to contemporary interiors. Nelle Guess, mentored and inspired by her artist parents, drives the brand forward in 2026, carrying an unmatched passion for cement-based artistry which soars beyond the encapsulated norms of cementitious forms. The tiles displayed here, influenced by African design elements, serve as pattern studies, showcasing designs that can be scaled into larger wall panel installations for a seamless architectural finish. Created using Cemcrete's TexCrete and finished with CreteStain in various colours, the tiles are an exemplary example of the limitless bounds of our artistic product range. |
MAKING OF THE AFRICAN ELEMENTS STYLE GUIDE