DIYgirls (www.diygirls.co.za) is a one-stop interior design studio that offers bespoke interior design, custom-made furniture, and handcrafted décor. We serve commercial, retail, and residential clients across southern Africa and have transformed everything from five-star lodges and glitzy hotels to tiny apartments and family homes.
Our secret is our in-house, all-female workshop and sewing room where we carefully and meticulously manufacture all our own furniture, soft furnishings, and décor. No middleman, no mark-up, just us providing exceptional products and services at remarkably affordable prices. We have full control over the entire manufacturing chain, enabling us to ensure everything is sustainable, green, and ethically sourced. It’s high-end interior design with a conscience.
We are client-centred, quality-driven and obsessed with beauty.We combine style with function, ensuring your rooms are not only welcoming but comfortable and practical too.
1. Unleashing Success: Discover Our Top Business Strategies for Personalized Design and Premium Service
Personalised service: Infused with passion and creativity, our interior designers strive to exceed clients’ expectations throughout the interior design process and beyond.
Project management: Smooth delivery, from concept to completion, making the entire interior design process stress-free for the client. We’re committed to delivering quality of the highest standard, on time and within budget.
Custom furniture: Our joinery and furniture specialists create custom furniture pieces from the finest materials. We never compromise on quality or use mass-production.
Unique décor: Combining careful craftsmanship, intricate detail, and the finest finishes, we offer a range of exclusive lighting and table décor solutions, 100% locally handmade.
Installation and styling: Through careful planning, project coordination and site supervision, we create and decorate the client’s dream space with seamless installation and interior styling.
Trade partners: We offer professional benefits and discounts to architects, interior designers, decorating professionals and home stagers through the DIYgirls Design Circle programme (https://diygirls.co.za/pages/trade)
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2. Transform Your Space with DIYgirls’ Virtual and Bespoke Interior Design Services
Whether building your home from scratch, refreshing an existing space, or decorating a boutique hotel, we pride ourselves on designing and finishing interiors, managing projects from start to finish, turning concepts into reality.
A key part of our service offering is to offer both physical and virtual interior design services to accommodate our clients’ specific needs.
2.1. Affordable and Convenient Virtual Interior Design Services with DIYgirls
Our virtual interior design service (https://vconsult.diygirls.co.za/) is one of our most popular and affordable services, because it’s so convenient and economical. The client pays a once-off fee of R2 500 (discounted to R950 for a limited period) with no obligation to buy from DIYgirls. The client then selects a convenient timeslot for their 45-60 minute video call, they complete an interior design style questionnaire to give us insight into their décor style, lifestyle and unique needs, and share photographs of the space they would like to refresh.
Our interior decorators analyse all the information the client gave us: We go through their style quiz, look at their photos, and find some inspiring references. We use all this to compile the first draft of the mood board, in preparation of our virtual consultation.
One of our interior decorators then meets with the client via Zoom and presents them with our custom mood board. In this consultation, we give them expert advice on how to use their existing pieces, update tired furniture and add décor that will completely transform their space. All of this happens in the comfort of their own home or office.
At the heart of this creative process is the client’s personality, their individual taste, and their practical needs.
2.2. Bespoke Residential Design Tailored to Your Personal Taste and Requirements
Our bespoke residential interior design (https://designprojects.diygirls.co.za/) is another key part of our service offering. This involves custom designs tailored to clients’ personal taste and requirements. We start off with an obligation-free, no-cost telephonic consultation. During this discussion, the client shares their requirements, expectations, project brief, timelines, and budget. After the call, we compile the no-obligation interior design quote.
Once the client accepts our interior design quote, we start conceptualising their design. By the time we have our on-site meeting, the interior designer arrives with the complete project scope, the digital mood board and product samples, ready to create the interior design according to the client’s taste and needs.
Based on their feedback and the measurements we took during our meeting, we fine tune their design and present the client with a final proposal, including a mood board for every room. We repeat these steps until the client is 100% satisfied that the design reflects their vision.
We source and/or manufacture the furniture, soft furnishings, and décor. We do all the project management, all the quality control, all the meeting of deadlines, and the client can simply sit back and relax. We never run over time, and we never go over budget. Our projects run smooth, and our clients stay stress-free.
Once we have all the goods, we arrive with our trucks, and start to completely transform the space. We meet the client on-site and hand over their dream home!
3. DIYgirls Founder Vinette Diab-Nicholls on Female Empowerment in Interior Design
Vinette Diab-Nicholls, interior designer, and founder of DIYgirls, has a passion for female empowerment. A philanthropist at heart, she always knew that her company would not only care about profits, but also about people. She feels strongly about uplifting the community while creating top-class products and services for her clients.
“I realised early in life that transforming spaces is about so much more than aesthetics. It improves our use and enjoyment of our homes, it makes our lives easier, it essentially makes the world a better place.”
Vinette’s mission is to inspire change, create positive impact, and provide women with a platform where they can master new skills, empower themselves, and showcase their talents.
DIYgirls is a 100% female-owned small business. 90% of our employees are black women. We collaborate with female entrepreneurs from rural villages, townships. and cities to continually expand our product range, and offer our clients innovative, beautiful and affordable products.
4. Empowering South African Women: DIYgirls’ All-Female Workshop Creates Beautiful Products and Opportunities
Our all-female workshop offers employment opportunities to women who have loads of talent, but limited resources and opportunity. The result is a team of community women who handcraft the most beautiful products, tailormade to our clients’ needs.
We are committed to continue to provide this kind of support to South African women. By equipping them with tools, skills, knowledge, and confidence, we believe we can help change the future of entire communities, and, eventually, the country.
At DIYgirls, we are committed to community upliftment through skills development and training programmes. We also have full control over our entire manufacturing chain, enabling us to ensure everything is sustainable, green, and ethically sourced. It’s high-end interior design with a conscience.
5. DIYgirls’ Top Interior Design Ideas: From Serene, African-Inspired Homes to Maximalist City Apartments
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Serene and grounded interiors: When the owners of this family home in Johannesburg asked DIYgirls for a complete interior makeover, they decided on an African-inspired aesthetic and neutral colour palette. It had to suit a young, growing family, so DIYgirls opted for a range of durable, stain-resistant fabric that can withstand any number of sticky fingers or dirty paws. The result is a stunning interior that is both elegant and family friendly.
Moody and masculine interior design: The owner of this house in Pretoria wanted a masculine interior with loads of comfort and style. DIYgirls opted for a monochrome, ash colour palette with lots of whites, blacks, and greys, adding accents of forest green and matte gold for interest. The result is a moody, contemporary design with strong materials and bold lines. Combining natural stone, leather, and stainless steel creates a feeling of industrial functionality.
A Contemporary Interior Design based on the principles of Vastu Shastra: Behind the interior design of this beautiful Cape Town residence, is the ancient architectural science of Vastu Shastra, a set of Indian design principles that bring balance and harmony to a home.
A coastal palette makes for a soothing, serene pajama lounge, with blue representing the water element that is associated with tranquillity.
The rest of the décor is minimal and clutter-free, promoting peace and clarity of mind.
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Bringing the outdoors in: Transforming this tiny city apartment in Johannesburg, DIYgirls combined colour and pattern in ingenious ways. They drew from nature’s bounty and turned every single corner into a little piece of paradise by bringing the outdoors in.
In the delightful guest bedroom fun is the name of the game. Bold, bright colours combine with leopard print to create a joyful taste of maximalism. Coastal hues paired with bright red accents create a fresh, contemporary feel in the open-plan living room. And a dreamy combination of deep blues and soft golds in the master bedroom transports one to breezy days beside warm oceans and balmy beaches. How stunning is that leopard wallpaper?
Mixing up texture, colour, and pattern – a DIYgirls trademark – balances the entire space, hitting that elusive sweet spot between contemporary and warm, practical, and beautiful.
