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HOME TRUTH 

Cape Etc Dec 2006/ Jan 2007 

Multi-talented John Zwiegelaar has a quiet presence and a sense of the observer about him that are refreshing qualities in a master decorator to some of the most formidable clients around. In his newest incarnation as director of John Jacob Interiors (he is a chef too) established in 2004, his projects include Graham Beck’s tasting rooms in Franschhoek, the Bree Street clinic of Dr Fernandez – plastic surgeon and creator of environ skincare, local fashion designer Marianne Fassler’s apartment, Liberty of London owner’s Cape Town home and the five year Steenberg Hotel overhaul. ‘I read the energetic personality of a space,’ he says of his uncanny ability to get to the heart of what his clients and the space need. There’s no talk of colour swatches, trends or a signature style and perhaps this is the key to his speedy success – the ability to detach sufficiently from the trappings, to sense and then apply what is appropriate to each project turn. The new John Jacob Home, the retail component of the business, will showcase, among other things, John’s industrial designs and a range of bespoke John Jacob candles.