C’EST LA VIE!

Napoleonic Baroque in the Bushveld? Indeed, but there is nothing antique about the entertainment and lighting systems …

 

One might expect a luxury guest house styled in the Baroque fashion of the Napoleonic era to be found in Franschhoek and to be called ‘Josephine’s’, but in an unusual combination of   location, theme and name, the best example of antique French chic in South Africa can be found under thatched roofs at Paperbark Lodge, in the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve in Limpopo Province.

The once yawn-ordinary game lodge and 500 ha of surrounding land was bought by the Moti family last year and transformed into ‘Le Quartier Francais en Le Veldt’ with the help of Architect Krynauw Nel and interiors pundits Larry & Natalie.

A guaranteed “Ooh la la” experience for arriving guests – whether touching down on the private landing strip or on the marble heliport, or merely pulling into the car park – is to be greeted by their own private butler, chef and chambermaid, to have their travel troubles melt away with an aperitif and les petit snacks, before being ushered to one of the five fabulous guest suites aptly named ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Crème da Masque’, ‘Toile de Jouy’, ‘Le Jardin’ and ‘Napoleon’.

Central to each of the suites is a king-size four-poster bed, layered in rich, jewel coloured quilts, throws, bolsters and scatters, and draped in a customised French tassled Kiwi net. Each en-suite bathroom (with its own outdoor shower) is also an eclectic mix of Out of Africa materials and Over the Top French furnishings.

A bygone era

While the overlay is reminiscent of an opulent bygone era, underlying it are all the elements of modern convenience, such as sophisticated telecoms, including internet access, state-of-the art audio visual systems in the entertainment room, and control systems such as lighting linked to motion detectors.

When the weather prohibits lounging about on couches and in wingback chairs on the viewing deck, or when guests tire of watching the Big Five at the watering hole or lazing beside the pool, they may retreat indoors to be entertained by satellite television or DVDs on big screen with surround sound, or visit the bar, the cigar lounge, the hooka room, the wine cellar, or the gym – which sports a lap pool, sauna and spa treatment room staffed with a full time asseur.

All the AV equipment in the lodge was supplied and installed by 4-Ward Design. In the entertainment room they provided a 65”Full HD LCD panel instead of a projector, mainly because of the room dynamics, but also because it is more robust.

The source equipment list was specified with every taste in mind, so in addition to a Blu-Ray player, there is also PS3, Wii and XBOX Elite. Sound-wise, the room has a THXrated 7.1 Jamo D7 speaker system powered by Parasound amplification and processing.

“The beauty of the system is the simplicity of the control. It’s all managed with the touch of a button,’ said Jason Stevens of 4-Ward Design. Crestron’s stylish new TPS-6X wireless panel provides for complete control over the audio visual equipment as well as the lighting.

“All you need to do is simply select what you want and the Crestron control system does the rest – automatically turning on the LCD, the amplifiers, the pre-amps and the source  equipment, as well as dimming the lights – depending on what source you have selected. All you need to do is kick back, relax and be entertained.”

Part of the overall AV installation was a Crestron multi-room audio system that allows music to be played and controlled in the Bar, Gazebo, Pool Deck and Wine Cellar.

“With an iPod docked in a central position you are able to browse and select your favourite artist via the Crestron touchpanel. The panel can roam, and while all zones can be activated simultaneously, you can also have individual control of any of those zones. Six different music sources are available and it is super-easy to operate,” said Jason.

EQUIPMENT LIST

AV room
• 1 x Sharp 65” Full HD LCD panel
• Jamo surround sound speakers
• Parasound processor, HDMI switcher/extender, 5- and 2-channel amplifiers
• 1 x Panasonic Blu-ray Player
• 1 x X-BOX Elite gaming console
• 1 x Sony PS3 gaming console
• 1 x iPod docking station
• 1 x Crestron CP2E control processor
• 1x Crestron TPS6X wireless touchpanel
• 1 x Crestron iLux lighting system

Bar, pool area, gazebo and wine cellar
• 1 x KEF 2-way speaker system
• 1 x iPod docking station
• 1 x Yamaha 5 Disc CD PlayXChange
• 1 x Crestron 16-channel amplifier
• 1 x Crestron Audio Distribution Processor
• 1 x Crestron CP2E control processor
• 1 x Crestron TPS6X wireless touchpanel
• Boston Voyager outdoor speakers

Suites (no Crestron integration)
• All suites have 1 x Sony full HD LCD TV and 1 x Sony DVD Player