Watch: Durban interior designer embraces bold eclectic style
Take a look inside a home that is an eccentric mix of antique treasures, vibrant prints and controlled chaos.
In a world where so many carefully curated interiors can feel like they’ve been lifted straight from a retail store, Tayla Spencer’s Durban home is a fabulous reminder that a home doesn’t have to match to make sense.
There is colour. There is pattern. There is antique furniture rubbing shoulders with modern pieces. There is print on print, and, in one particularly unforgettable room, leopard print from wall to ceiling.
It is bold, eclectic, eccentric and completely unapologetic. But most importantly, it is unmistakably Spencer.
“I think what makes a space feel particularly ‘me’ is that it doesn’t feel overly perfect,” she says. “There’s personality in it. There are things that make me laugh, things I’ve fallen in love with and things that I simply couldn’t walk past without bringing home.”
A teacher by profession for the past decade, Spencer has turned her love of interiors into a career. And her own home is the best introduction to her design philosophy: Buy what you love, trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to have a little fun.
Editorial note: This feature focuses on the home and its unique design. References to the interior designer’s services are included for context and should not be taken as an endorsement.
A home meant to be lived in
Spencer shares her home with her husband, their dogs and their parrots. “Our animals are very much part of the family and, naturally, part of the way we live in our home too,” she says.
Having animals has also reinforced something she believes about interiors. “A home doesn’t need to be precious or untouchable. It needs to be lived in, enjoyed and filled with the things – and the beings – you love.”
Forget the matching furniture
Spencer’s design style is rooted in contrast.
She loves placing antique, lived-in pieces alongside modern, edgy designs, then adding generous helpings of colour, pattern and texture.
“I don’t want my home to look like it came out of a catalogue,” she says. “I want it to feel collected over time, even if some of those things have been deliberately chosen.”
For her, the magic lies in the unexpected.
“There needs to be a sense of personality and a little bit of unpredictability.”
That philosophy is particularly evident in the way she uses pattern. Some combinations might look unlikely on paper, but somehow, in Spencer’s home, they just work.
The secret? Don’t overthink it.
“I think there needs to be a little bit of controlled chaos!” she laughs.
She does, however, have a method behind the madness.
“It could be a colour that appears in several different places, a similar texture or simply balancing something very busy with something quieter,” she explains.
Spencer does, however, think you have to be brave enough to stop trying to make everything match. “Not everything needs to co-ordinate. It just needs to belong together.”
Go big or go home
If there is one room that perfectly captures Spencer’s fearless approach to decorating, it is the leopard-print room.
And no, we’re not talking about a leopard-print cushion or an accent chair. The walls and ceiling are covered in leopard print.
“I’ve always loved leopard print and I wanted to create a room that felt completely immersive. Rather than using it as a little accent here and there, I thought, let’s just go for it.”
The goal was simple: Make an impact.
“I wanted someone to walk in and immediately have a reaction.”
And that is precisely what Spencer loves about interiors.
“They’re allowed to be fun. They don’t always have to be tasteful in the traditional sense. Sometimes the best rooms are the ones that make you smile.”
Her approach to decorating is ultimately a reflection of her approach to life.
“I think my home says that I’m not afraid to be myself. I’m quite the same in my interiors as I am in life – I like things with character, I like things that make people talk and I’m not particularly interested in doing something just because it’s considered ‘the right way’ to do it. I stopped asking myself, ‘Will everyone like this?’ and started asking, ‘Do I love this?’”
That changed everything.
A house full of stories
Walk through Spencer’s home and there is something interesting waiting around almost every corner.
Her favourite pieces tend to be the ones with a story behind them.
“I’m much more drawn to things that have character and history than things that look like they have just come out of a showroom,” she says.
Spencer loves pieces that make you wonder where they came from, who owned them before you and what stories they could tell.
Sometimes, the pieces she loves most are also the ones that make her slightly nervous.
“I’ve learnt that if I keep coming back to something because I love it, there’s probably a reason.”
And that brings her to one of her favourite decorating philosophies: Buy what you love.
“Sometimes I’ve bought things simply because I loved them, without necessarily knowing where they were going to go. They might have to move around several times before I find the right spot, but that’s part of the fun.”
Her advice?
“If a piece speaks to you, buy it. You can work around it afterwards.”
From classroom to creative career
Spencer’s career may have been in the classroom for the past 10 years, but interiors have been an obsession for much longer.
After sharing more of her home online and receiving such a positive response, people began asking her to help with their spaces too.
The move into interiors felt like a natural next chapter.
Her years as a teacher have helped shape the way she approaches design. “As a teacher, you learn to understand people; what motivates them, what makes them comfortable and how differently everyone thinks and lives,” she says, adding that she thinks homes are exactly the same.
For Spencer, a beautiful room isn’t necessarily a successful one if it doesn’t work for the person living in it.
“I want to understand how someone lives and then design around that.”
Spencer hopes people walk through her front door and see something far more meaningful than a collection of beautiful rooms. “I hope people walk into my home and immediately feel that it’s me.”
She doesn’t want visitors thinking everything is perfect. “I want them to think, ‘Wow, this person isn’t afraid to have fun’. I want my home to show that you can be brave, mix things that aren’t necessarily expected, surround yourself with things you love and create something that is completely your own.”
Because ultimately, she says, a home should tell the story of the people who live there, not the current decorating trend.
“And if someone walks out thinking, ‘I would never have thought of doing that,’ then I’ve probably done something right.”
