When I decided to scale down, I found the perfect two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit in a retirement village (50-plussers are actually allowed to stay there!).
It was love at first sight – the double volume and open, compact unit lent itself to a stylish yet minimalistic living space.

A few things were not perfect, however.

Firstly, there was a giant mirror above the bath. I couldn’t think of many 50-plussers who would appreciate such a kind gesture from the developer.
Furthermore, the shower doors were a tight fit to squeeze in and since I was scaling down, I wasn’t looking forward to cleaning the glass doors.
The kitchen counter took up a lot of space and I imagine that sitting on a high counter stool would become tricky as one ages. Also, the style was quite dated even though the unit was newly built.
Finally, the floor and lighting did not leave much to the imagination.

And so, I embarked on an exciting project to make the necessary changes.

One year passed and I enjoyed my renovated space and becoming part of the surrounding ‘older’ community. Tannie Vasti often brought over some freshly baked cookies and Oom Eric watered my plants when I was away. I meet Lida, who was involved in the making of Wielie Walie, and Flip, an ex State Attorney who reminds me of my dad.

It was during one of Tannie Vasti’s visits that I decided to embark on another project to enclose the open patio and raise the floor to enlarge the living area.
It became too much of an effort to try to keep the patio clean.
Also, I needed a working space. After all, I still had to earn some income to pay for all the renovations…