Tabla de contenidos para Home Yard - 2022 en Home

These days, there are cords everywhere. They hang out of our ears from earphones plugged into our phones. They hang out of our phones, charging flat batteries. And then the whole lot gets tangled up in ridiculous knots (especially when we were still wearing masks). Earphones with cords + disposable masks with strings = knots. Tired of all the knots, I decide it’s time for those fancy Bluetooth cordless jobs. The kind that people from Sea Point wear in the gym as if the rest of the world doesn’t exist. Blind and deaf to friend and foe. Or the young Gen Z’er in the lift. Shut off, but still amongst us. (By the way, I see the earphones are neatly marked with an L for the left and an R…

WHO LIVES HERE? Karen and Ross Flood WHERE Gqeberha SIZE OF ERF 1 012 m² TYPE OF SOIL Sandy Karen Flood’s hands are always full of either paint or soil – evidence of where her passions lie: gardening and painting. And with both of these pastimes, she’s focused on conserving our planet. Just over two years ago, Karen and hubby Ross bought a plot of land in the Sardinia Bay Golf and Wildlife Estate about 15km outside Gqeberha. Their goal was to establish a garden on this former dairy farm that would do so much more for Mother Nature than simply be waterwise. “The estate forms part of a state-owned conservation area so there are strict rules about what we may plant and what may be removed,” says Karen. “It’s our…

WHO LIVES HERE? Wilna and Mario Greyling WHERE Centurion SIZE entertainment area: 25m² covered and 30m² open Interior decorator Wilna Greyling transformed her small stoep into a spacious outdoor entertainment area by making a few smart changes. “The house, stoep and swimming pool were on different levels. The flow was poor and the colour scheme was extremely dark – which made it feel even more cramped,” she explains. These days, with the doors completely open, the interior and outdoor space feels like one big room. “I still marvel at how beautifully this whole outdoor area worked out,” says Wilna, happily. “It’s exactly what I wanted, and more! It has a peaceful atmosphere and it doesn’t feel as if I’m in the city at all. Thanks to the trees, it’s also nice…

QUICK PROJECT GUIDE Hard labour 4/10 Skill level 4/10 Time needed 6 hours Finished size 600mm (W) x 600mm (D) x 600mm (H) PROJECT NOTES • Leave the bottom of the compost box open so the compost has contact with the soil, thus allowing micro-organisms to get into the waste material to assist in the decomposition process. • Installing a lid on top and a door on the front makes filling and emptying the compost box easier. • Adjust the size of your box according to your space requirements. SHOPPING LIST • three 3.6m lengths 22 x 45mm pine, cut to: four 600mm lengths (back and sides) two 555mm lengths (front supports) four 540mm lengths (door and lid supports) • six 3.6m lengths 22 x 102mm pine floorboards, cut to:…

Al fresco! We love the beachy blues and whites of this Simon’s Town abode, where a Cape Dutch fisherman’s cottage aesthetic meets Mediterranean al fresco simplicity. “The homeowner loves the colours and patterns of Portugal as well as the Mediterranean penchant for dining outdoors,” says interior designer Tanya de Waal of Salt and Light Design. “Previously, the courtyard was a hard and dull space that lacked any personality and it wasn’t conducive to entertaining. So, we wanted to create a magical little space that would integrate these Mediterranean influences, while also celebrating the gorgeous sea and mountain views. The courtyard became a lovely private area that’s sheltered from the wind and allows the interior to flow seamlessly into a ‘breathing space’.” Tanya believes that it’s vital to integrate the surrounding…

WHO LIVES HERE? Liz and Charles Forsdick WHERE Bazley Beach, KwaZulu-Natal SIZE 2.5ha TYPE OF SOIL Predominantly clay On the first dune of the unspoilt KwaZulu-Natal South Coast you’ll find the ‘Shangrila’ homestead with its exquisite coastal garden, forest and grasslands. Here, you can easily get lost in the endless views over the Indian Ocean while lazing on the inviting wraparound veranda of this old colonial-style beach house. However, when Liz and Charles Forsdick bought the property in 2013, it was anything but welcoming. There was no trace left of the once productive smallholding that boasted every kind of fruit tree and vegetable that would grow on this coast. The Forsdicks have admired Shangrila since they bought their beach house next door back in 1982. When the neglected property came on…

WHERE Bergvliet, Cape Town SIZE OF STOEP 108m² For this family from the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, it was time for their home to “breathe better”. Their heart’s desire was to improve the flow from inside to outside and vice versa, and for it to be as organic as possible. The new spacious stoep they created during a recent renovation meets this requirement 100%: it is a sociable outdoor space with plants and more than enough room to hang out with family and friends, dogs and cats, in all seasons. The stoep is on the same level as the interior of the house, with steps down to the braai area on one side and into the pool on the other. Previously, this space had no shelter and the homeowners…

WHO LIVES HERE? Emmett Green WHERE George Thanks to the dome’s excellent protection against the elements and birds, our veggies seem to be super-sized and they grow incredibly quickly.–Emmett Why don’t we build one of these?” asked Tristan Green, casually. He was helping his uncle, Emmett Green, search the internet for a hinged lid for his herb planter box when they came across an interesting dome structure. Equally casually, his uncle agreed. Emmett had always wanted to grow his own vegetables and as an avid DIYer he felt he could build his own greenhouse. The Covid-19 hard lockdown in 2020 presented the ideal opportunity for Emmett and Tristan, who was visiting from Johannesburg, to get stuck in. With no clue where to start, the pair found an online tool that allows…

WHO LIVES HERE? Hermie Delport and Jan Bührmann with their sons Jannis (19) and Kristo (15) Voulgarelis WHERE Durbanville, Cape Town SIZE 4.5m in diameter Hermie Delport and Jan Bührmann’s Durbanville garden feels just like a farm garden. Not only is their circular, above-ground swimming pool a farm dam lookalike, but their garden also boasts an orchard full of peaches, limes and lemons. “When we built our new eco pool, we specifically wanted to create a farm feel in our garden,” says Hermie. “Which is why we also used farming irrigation pipes for our pool’s water system. Jan grew up on a farm in the Free State and until I was about six years old, I lived in the minister’s manse in Prince Albert, a town that had leiwater dams and…