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Stef-Albert Bothma, DMA, is a South African-born, international award-winning interior designer, painter, pianist, and author whose multidisciplinary career spans four continents and over 400 bespoke design projects. His work in interior architecture has garnered global recognition for its refinement, emotion, and aesthetic clarity.
As a visual artist, Stef-Albert’s paintings hang in more than 200 private and corporate collections worldwide. As an internationally acclaimed concert pianist, his classical improvisations—particularly through his signature multimedia series Music on Canvas—have been featured in concert halls and media across Europe and the United States.
A storyteller at heart, he has also authored several illustrated children’s books in both English and Italian. His 440-page visual memoir, Places Lived, Faces Seen, chronicles twenty-five years of homes, cities, and emotional landscapes, revealing the dialogue between space and identity.
His recently released Broken Rooms is a candid, poetic, and emotionally resonant novel based on true events. Remains of Silence is a deeply honest and raw memoir in which he shares his upbringing in South-Africa and the struggles he faced as a grown man from these roots. A second Novel The Saffron Veil will be released in October and pre-release reviews hail it as his best work yet. Stef-Albert now lives in Florence, Italy, and works internationally across design, painting, writing, and performance.
His work can be seen at www.stefalbert.com
His piano performances and painting combination projects can bee seen on the internet under Stef Albert Plays Pathetique, Stef Albert Reawakening and Stef Albert Oblivion.
Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite
Broken Rooms by Stef-Albert Bothma explores themes of design, love, loss, and self-discovery. Inspired by true events, the book takes readers on a journey through the life of Sebastian Cole, a talented designer whose career spans multiple continents and whose personal life is filled with moments of triumph and heartbreak. The novel is structured as a series of interconnected chapters, each exploring a different phase of Sebastian’s life. Bothma’s attention to detail is remarkable, capturing the essence of each space and its emotional significance. The narrative is rich with sensory imagery, allowing readers to feel the textures, see the colors, and hear the echoes of the rooms Sebastian transforms. The story is about pursuing beauty, not just in design, but in relationships, experiences, and the act of living. Sebastian’s journey is one of growth and transformation, as he navigates the complexities of his career, identity, and longing for connection.
Stef-Albert Bothma’s prose is poetic yet grounded, balancing introspection with moments of quiet humor and warmth. The book’s pacing allows for reflection, giving readers the space to absorb the complexities of Sebastian’s life and the lessons he learns along the way. Broken Rooms invites readers to consider the physical and emotional spaces they inhabit and the stories they hold. It is a tribute to the art of design and the human capacity to create meaning and beauty, even in the face of impermanence. Readers of character-driven stories will find much to admire, and those who enjoy travel-inspired narratives and stories set in diverse, evocative locations will appreciate the novel’s global scope.
