Archives for posts with tag: Home

From a distance, it’s difficult to keep track of progress, just as it’s difficult to speed things up.  Our Cape Town builder sent us a couple of photographs this past week which do show some activity.  The pool looks almost ready for filling.  It will be a relief to get that ungainly water-bag (in the right hand top corner of the third picture) off the patio.

It’s good to get an idea of how much more accessible the pool will seem, raised to almost the height of the patio.

At last, building has started on the small, new bathroom.  As this is the only part of the renovation which will be visible from the outside and which will alter the ‘outline’ of the house, I’ve been anxious to see it take shape.

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It is above this tiled roof that the new ensuite shower room is being built.

Below are two pictures showing brickwork finally going up.  Because concrete slabs were needed for both the floor and roof of this bathroom, we needed planning approval.

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The picture above shows the new bathroom window looking south towards the street.

I hope the next batch of photographs will show some internal bathroom progress.  My next ‘site visit’ is scheduled for April.  Perhaps I’ll be able to speed things up a bit.

Wow.  It’s been absolutely ages since I updated this blog.  Home-in-the-Making is ‘made’ but, as any homeowner knows, homes are never ‘finished.’  There’s still quite a lot going on here and a few things still have to happen.

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I asked my local street corner ‘Beader’ to make little yellow chickens.  I think I got ducklings instead.

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So this is a quick update.  As usual in Johannesburg at this time of year, there is a distinctly autumnal feel in the air.  As recently as last week though, we were still having thunderstorms and heavy rain and the drought in this part of the country has been well and truly broken.  After just one storm on Friday, I measured 20ml of rain.

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It’s fairly late in the year for this sort of rainfall and our water storage tanks are brimful.  This is reassuring for the dry winter months ahead.  Should we have any inexplicable water cuts, we’ll be covered.

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Our house seems to have settled into its surroundings now.

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Autumn is creeping into our park.

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Guest Suite Over the Garage

My next project is to finish decorating and furnishing the guest suite over the garage.  These rooms have a separate entrance and would only be used to accommodate visiting friends if the main house were full.  Despite the mixed reactions I have had from friends on the subject, I’m thinking of trying this out on Airbnb when it’s complete.

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Galley Kitchen in Open Plan Living Area.

This is how the guest suite looks today.  You can see two perspectives of the living room and three of the bedroom, one showing the sliding door into the bathroom.

Barn sliding door in guest suite

Barn slider in guest suite.

Quite a lot needs to happen in this space before I can consider renting it out.  Let’s see how it will turn out. And in the meantime, Daisy wishes you all a Very Happy Easter.

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The Building Centre

The Building Centre

In London, a friend recommended that we visit The Building Centre. (www.buildingcentre.co.uk)  We took the tube to Tottenham Court Road Station and found the Centre easily at 26 Store Street.  Not quite sure what to expect, we were surprised to find a smallish exhibition centre, featuring great designs, 3-D models and providing interesting information on alternative energy sources. As you enter the building you are presented with a particularly interesting 1:1500 scale model of central London, showing all recent and proposed planning submissions.    For anyone who enjoys models and miniatures, this is fascinating place to visit.

House model showing layout of alternative heating source.

House model showing energy-efficient heating and plumbing options.

Model Garden.

Model Garden.

The Chelsea Harbour Design Centre (www.dcch.co.uk) is also a lovely place to spend a few hours – or more if you have the time to spend poring over thousands of fabrics.  It’s a perfect place to visit on a rainy day with its spectacular glass domes allowing light to spill through the central atrium right down to the ground floor.  The emphasis is on fabrics and soft furnishings but beautiful bathroom fittings, bespoke doors and several decor stores are also featured.

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One of three linked atriums surrounded by showrooms and stores.

One of three linked atriums surrounded by showrooms and stores.

Loved this Nicholas Haslam trestle table.

Loved this Nicholas Haslam trestle table.

Beautiful Nicholas Haslam Oak table.

Beautiful Nicholas Haslam Oak table.

My primary response to the Chelsea Design Centre was one of feeling quite overwhelmed by the vast array of products and options on display.  It is a place that would require several return visits and probably a fairly specific focus before one could really come to grips with it. It’s worth a visit simply for the architecture of the building itself and must be absolutely spectacular when lit up at night.

There is also a good coffee shop and an excellent RIBA bookshop stocked with every architectural and design book imaginable.  I could have stayed there all day.

A tiny selection of books available in the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) bookshop at the Chelsea Design Centre and part of my growing personal collection.

A tiny selection of books available in the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) bookshop at the Chelsea Design Centre and part of my growing personal collection.