Just before Covid, I bought my first home in Stilbaai. I had a tight budget and wanted a family-friendly home to accommodate my busy then two-year-old and Labrador Buddy. I was on the search for a relatively easy fixer-upper with an X factor. For this property, the X factor was the extra-large tree located in front of the house. I was immediately drawn to this small three-bedroom facebrick home with a beautiful and majestic Wildevy tree. The house had an impractical layout with an indoor braai room located at the back of the house next to the garage, a very small living area and no outside or relaxing area. Over the course of only three months, I converted this ugly duckling into a beautiful relaxing holiday home perfect for a small family.

The main things I upgraded:

Added a large patio to the front of the home, overlooking the garden and tree.
Planted windbreaker trees around the erf to create some privacy.
Created a terrace with local stone to utilise the sloped back garden area. Installed new lawn and irrigation.
Knocked out a wall between the living area and double garage to enlarge the living/TV room (the house now only has a single garage) and added a TV wall unit to save space.
Upgraded the existing kitchen. Kept the frames and added new doors/handles/counters.
Added two large glass doors to both sides of the home to create light and easy flow through the home.
Upcycled an old restaurant bench and created a dining nook.
Opened up the enclosed braai room, gave the old built-in braai a makeover and added a sliding window with a bar counter.
The braai room now overlooks the beautiful back garden, and the kitchen feels so much bigger.
Repainted the interior walls and old wardrobes. Modernised the home by adding new handles, new light fixtures and bathroom accessories.
Cleaned the tile roof with a high-pressure hose and replaced old PVC gutters with seamless gutters.