he word “collector” can sometimes call to mind an oddball
obsessively sourcing and hoarding bits and bobs, treasure
only they fully appreciate. For Fergus Armstrong, stylist,
creative and perennial insider to the local design scene,
editing has become a skill and career, and the distinction
between eccentric magpie and seasoned curator is clear.
Fergus, who works for La Grange Interiors, has a CV that lists a host of
premium design brands. He was the decor editor at Style magazine, and has
been a stylist for countless others. His obvious knack for merchandising and
arranging things to display both the space and its contents optimally is obvious
in his home.
The two-bedroom loft is in a
new residential develop ment,
The Exchange, an exciting mix
of urban regeneration and
historic land mark in New
Braam fontein. Much like the
pieces that Fergus has gath-
ered over the decades – “If you
buy something you truly love,
it’ll always hold value to you,” he says – the property on which The Exchange
is situated has a rich past: It was once the site of the Johannesburg Post Office,
a vital communications hub for the residents of Vrededorp, colloquially
known as Fietas. Here, they could use the telephone, since there weren’t many
in homes during that time, and collect parcels. Prior to the area’s rezoning as
a white neighbourhood in the 1970s, it was a lively meeting place for residents
of colour from diverse backgrounds.
The Exchange is one of three developments on the site that will make up
the Braamfontein Lifestyle Living Precinct, developed by Enate Properties.
“I bought here so my cat Plato could go out onto the green belt,” says Fergus,
referring to his Bengal, a feline of staggering beauty. The area running along
the east of The Exchange and shouldering Fergus’ apartment is still un-
der development. It will become a 350 m-long landscaped green belt with
indigenous plants and outdoor gym equipment. It’s backed by a row of blue-
gums that have supplied funeral-goers at the neighbouring Braamfontein
Cemetery with wreaths for decades.
“I love the volume of the space and its industrial nature – though doing
any thing to the ceilings, such as painting them, has proven a challenge,”
Fergus says of the 6 m-high ceiling, which allows the light from the expansive
north-facing steel windows to be amplified.
Paint-technique specialist Mary Edwards applied a white coat to the brick
walls and then paint stripper for a distressed look. Against this backdrop,
Fergus’s assemblage of possessions brings a timeless quality to the interior.
The eclectic space tells a thousand stories. A series of framed mounted-
butterfly collections was uncovered in two dilapidated old drawers in
a Melville junk shop; a scarab beetle in another frame was a gift from his
sister Amanda, who brought it back from Deyrolle in Paris. Fergus motions
to a framed architect’s sketch under the stairs – “When my grandfather was
liberated in Austria at the end of the war, he picked that up in an old palace.
“I find it very exciting to live here; it has great energy. I hear the call to
prayer, the trains going by and the birds... There’s a resident Egyptian goose
that Plato has already had a run-in with,” Fergus muses. As if on cue, Plato,
who has been missing in action, can be heard from the green belt mewling
stridently from a distance to announce his arrival.
lagrangeinteriors.co.zaACCUMULATED
INTEREST
A loft in the Joburg
CBD is a repository for
a consummate curator’s
story-filled collection.
PHOTOS MARIJKE WILLEMS
PRODUCTION ANNEMARIE MEINTJES
WORDS MILA CREWE-BROWN
T
ABOVE Interior designer Fergus Armstrong.
OPPOSITE In Fergus’s compact living area,
a rug gifted by Paco Rugs complements an
armchair slipcovered in white cotton and
a set of black birdcages from a junk shop.
NEXT SPREAD Hadeda sourced the mirror
for Fergus in Mexico after he’d seen a similar
one in The World of Interiors magazine.
It reflects a corner of the living room, divided
by a canvas screen from Take it For Granted
Antiques and lit by chandeliers from a shop in
Parktown North that has since closed down.visi.co.za JUNE/JULY 2019 58�ISI NEW BRAAMFONTEIN LOFT