After decades designing everything from airports and executive offices to high-end condos and tech campuses, we decided to leave city stress behind and move to a tiny surfing/fishing village in Cape Town. Our mission is simple: to work with nice people on interesting projects. That’s it.

We bring a pragmatic approach to a profession often associated with excess. The ultimate luxury, to us, is not a matter of size or expense, it’s about effortless comfort. It means creating a space especially for YOU. Instead of employing a signature style (i.e., repeating the same cookie cutter moves over and over), we devise completely customized, site-specific designs that reflect our clients’ tastes and lifestyles, not ours. Sustainability is non-negotiable these days, so our spaces are always energy efficient and easy to maintain, and they make the most of local materials and building techniques. And beauty is a must, of course, but it’s always underpinned by performance and rationality.

One more thing: we enjoy working with adventurous clients with a sense of humor, who can articulate their likes and dislikes and who will trust our judgment. If this sounds like you, then let’s talk!

About Us

Profile

Charrisse Johnston

FASID, WELL AP, LEED AP, ASSOC. AIA

The current Chair of the South African Institute of Interior Design Professions (IID) and a former Chair of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Charrisse led the interiors practice at an international architecture & design firm based in LA before co-founding studioSALT. She uses her behavioural biology diploma and her MBA to create spaces that not only support mental and physical health but are also completed on time and within budget. Her expertise lies in interior architecture/design, project management and design strategy. Her happy place is knitting, streaming Nordic Noir TV shows, walking the dogs on the beach before dawn, and enjoying Ian’s cooking.

Ian Macduff

PR. ARCH. SACAP

Ian's 40-year, award-winning architectural career has taken him all over the world, with projects in Melbourne, Hong Kong, the UK, Bulgaria, the US, and now South Africa. He has worked on such projects as the Hong Kong International Airport and NVDIA's Silicon Valley corporate headquarters to a private residence in West Hollywood. Ian is studioSALT's architectural planning and construction expert. He has a particular interest in marrying local vernacular with modern day building materials and techniques, and he is an active community leader on issues of building and development. When he’s not surfing, drawing or planning what’s for dinner, he’s shooing the cat out of his office and practicing Stevie Ray Vaughn licks on one of his many guitars.