Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2020 i Home

35 days in lockdown makes you think about life differently; it gives you insights you previously never had. Five weeks of self-isolation is, well, an out-of-the-ordinary experience. Here is my lockdown diary for March and April. I’d love to hear about yours – send me an email! In the meantime, enjoy your incremental freedom, and please wear the face mask we have included free with this issue if you do venture outside. Wash the mask before wearing it for the first time (as well as after each use), and always wear it over your nose and mouth every time you venture out – a must in these uncertain times! Day 1 Shave! Comb hair! Put on collared shirt! Work is work, even if you’re sitting at the dining room table.…

Stairway to heaven A flight of stairs in a daring shade of green grabs your attention in this otherwise neutral space in Stefan Blom and Albie du Toit’s home in Green Point, Cape Town. The pair painted the staircase after their first visit to Amsterdam. “It reminds us of the fresh colours of the city, the lush grasslands in the Netherlands – and even the inside of a flower!” says Stefan. A show of hands Annamarie and Dirk Blom created this mural on the stoep at their home in Betty’s Bay as a fond reminder of family members who have spent holidays with them. The wall was painted with Dulux Weatherguard after which the couple added their own handprints – plus those of their four sons, their sons’ partners and…

WHO LIVES HERE? Hennie and Jacomien de Wet with their kids Christiaan (9), Amri (6) and Júha (20 months) WHERE Onrus River SIZE 285m² About five years ago, Hennie and Jacomien de Wet of Onrus River outside Hermanus made a deal with Jacomien’s parents: they would, at their own expense, build a small house in a secluded corner of her parents’ property, provided they could swap houses when the young family grew too big for their own place. These days, Hennie, Jacomien and their three kids live in Jacomien’s childhood holiday home, which they’ve given a brand-new look. Jacomien’s parents, Hans and Irma Herbst, bought the property 16 years ago. They knew Onrus River well as this Overberg coastal town had been their holiday destination for 28 years. Back then,…

ASK US ON FACEBOOK Do you have an urgent question that just can’t wait? Then join our Tuis|Home Experts group on Facebook and get help from the team, professionals and other readers. Easy does it Linda Joubert of Montagu writes I love the look of the seamless white floors in Anwar Davids and Simoné Visagie-Davids’ home in your April 2020 issue. How did they do it? Simoné Visagie-Davids replies We used a white epoxy from a.b.e. Construction Chemicals over our raw cement floors. It’s very easy to apply: no primer is required; you simply spray a bit of water on the cement to settle the dust. Allow to dry before you start the application. Use a short-pile wool roller to paint on the epoxy and let it dry for 24…

Buying a unit in an old apartment block doesn’t mean you won’t be able to change the layout; in fact, it’s entirely possible to alter or remove interior walls, says engineer Paul Cameron of Craft Consulting Engineers. “Multi-storey apartment blocks are usually designed and built as concrete-frame structures; basically a grid of concrete supports with concrete floor slabs and non load-bearing interior and exterior walls. My advice to renovators would be to pursue sound expert advice before committing to a project.” Paul’s top tips include: • Almost anything is possible from a structural point of view. It comes down to effort, which in turn equals cost. Keeping it simple will reduce costs. • Getting a structural engineer involved in the planning stages will help identify and set structural constraints.…

THRILLERS, SPILLERS AND FILLERS Brighten your garden, patio and entrance with colourful pot plants. Place vertical plants (thrillers) in the centre of the pot, cascading plants (spillers) to soften the edges, then add filler plants. Experiment with a single colour, a blend of shades or contrasting hues. Gardens of friendship Gardens and gardening have many benefits, improving our physical and mental well-being – all the more important during these uncertain times we’re currently experiencing worldwide. Gardening helps us to create social links and friendships with others, whether it be through exchanging cuttings and plants with others, or joining an online community in which people share their gardens with us. With the winter months being a quieter time in the garden, why not plan a new pavement garden or ecofriendly border…

Summer rainfall This is the best month to move roses that are in the wrong place. Prepare the new positions first. Water and trim the rose bush by a third the day before transplanting. Label the plant because it is easy to get confused when the blooms have been cut off. You may reduce watering to once a week. Spray fully foliaged bushes one more time with Chronos or Rose Protector to prevent black spot and add Ludwig’s Insect Spray for pests. Winter rainfall Protect roses from black spot, rust and downy mildew during rainy weather by spraying with Chronos or Rose Protector; alternating the two sprays will have the best result. Roses that have lost their leaves don’t need to be sprayed, they can be left to go dormant.…

Bernard Mentoor cultivates the most beautiful show chrysanthemums on his property in Johannesdal, just beyond the Helshoogte Pass outside Stellenbosch. His hobby not only gives him a great sense of joy, it makes his wife Anne happy too. “Because he is at home all day and the flowers keep him busy in his retirement!” she says with a smile. Bernard first became acquainted with these striking blooms at the age of 22, and it was Anne who ‘planted the seed’, so to speak. “We were still dating when she introduced me to friends who were propagating chrysanths. I had never even heard of them,” he recalls. Those friends encouraged Bernard to try his hand at growing mums and gave him a few as a gift. “My first blooms were small…

Serves 6–8 as a side dish • Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus cooling time Cooking time: 30 minutes • Oven temperature: 200°C • 1L milk • 1 heaped cup (180g) semolina • 3 egg yolks • 250ml Parmesan, grated • 125ml butter, room temperature • a large pinch of nutmeg • fresh herbs like origanum and sage 1 Warm the milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until steaming, whisking occasionally to prevent scorching. Season the milk with salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg, lower the heat and whisk in the semolina in a steady stream. Switch to a wooden spoon and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring to prevent scorching on the bottom of the saucepan. 2 Once the mixture thickens and starts to pull away from the sides, remove from the heat and stir in…

Write to us at Home, Readers’ Letters, PO Box 1802, Cape Town 8000; email editor@homemag.co.za, fax 021 408 3046, and join our Facebook group (facebook.com/homemag) or follow us on Instagram @TuisHomeMag. When submitting a letter, please include your full name and the town in which you live. WINNING LETTER Much more fulfilling! Janine Adams of Cape Town writes With the world becoming more and more digital and questions being asked about whether books are becoming obsolete, I must admit I took a break from buying Home for a few months, echoing what I so often hear people say: anything you can find in a book, you can find on the internet. But now I must confess, I’ve started buying Home again. I found that scrolling through numerous pinned pictures or…

WHO LIVES HERE? Bernie Diedericks WHERE Villiersdorp SIZE 252m² During his lifetime, Bernie Diedericks has built and renovated plenty of homes and he isn’t one to shy away from a challenge, but this old house in Villiersdorp in the Western Cape almost drove him over the edge. The house, which he purchased from the bank, had stood empty for three years. “It was awful, a total nightmare,” says Bernie. “The garden was so overgrown, you couldn’t set foot in it.” So why buy such a run-down house in the first place? “If money was no object, I would fix up all the old homes in the world. I get so frustrated when I see how places have deteriorated,” he says. “But this house... I wasn’t in my right mind! The…

WHO LIVES HERE? Antoinette Stockley and her daughter Emma (19), as well as their pooches Laya and Fudge and three cats, Artemis, Twitch and Yuki WHERE Somerset West SIZE 445m² Even though she wasn’t the owner of a rather ordinary house situated on the slopes of the Helderberg mountains in Somerset West, Antoinette Stockley knew exactly what she would do with it if it was hers. For seven years she had been a regular visitor to the house while a friend was renting it. Then, one day about a decade ago, the property came on the market and Antoinette became the proud owner. She immediately set about implementing significant changes. “All that remained were the foundations and one half of a wall,” she says. “I wanted lots of glass as…

You will need SHOPPING LIST • bench • fabric of your choice • mod podge TOOLS • paintbrush • scissors • staple gun QUICK PROJECT GUIDE Hard labour 1/10 Skill level 1/10 Time needed 2 hours Do it yourself for R1 095: bench R500, tea towel R290, printed fabric R250, mod podge R55 Another great idea! Simply stretch beautiful fabric over a canvas or frame it and hang it on your wall as an artwork. Beautiful!…

Q: What colour paint was used on the kitchen walls on page 21 of your January 2020 issue? – Corinna Quinlivan, Cape Town A: The Du Preezs used Coprox Waterproof Dualcoat ‘brush-on’ in the colour Oat and sealed it with Coprox Wall & Floor Clear Sealer (coprox.com). Q: The almost life-size artwork on page 19 of your March 2020 edition is so beautiful! Where can I get something similar or how do I commission a piece? – Amoré van der Merwe, Bloemfontein A: The artwork is by Stellenbosch artist Marié Stander (mariestander.co.za).…

Get cosy, it’s winter! Centre of attention Tilda loves all things snug and warm. – Jane Paterson, Piket-Bo-Berg, Western Cape Classic catnap Honey contemplates hibernation. – Charné Dreyer, Johannesburg It’s a numbers game Sussie is a Rummikub champ. – Anél Wentzel, Paarl Don’t make me! Madigan, meaning ‘little dog’, is reluctant to face the winter chill. – Shaunnagh de Villiers, Kuruman In style for season Nelson wards off the cold in his hoodie. – Stefnie Britz, Centurion Hot product The Pawbreakers Catnip Ball (from R49, canineandco.co.za) is a toy and treat in one. Made from natural catnip rolled up into a solid edible ball, it will keep your furry friend busy for hours. The hot spot Zing and Rigby huddle up next to the fireplace. – Diana Hefferman, Kyalami  Each…

Lewisia cotyledon ‘Elise Mix’ This plant hardly looks like a succulent, but it is, and it bears strikingly beautiful blooms to boot! Originating from the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains in America, Lewisia ‘Elise Mix’ is a flowering perennial hybrid that is low-growing and compact (15–30cm high and wide). Sprays of brightly coloured flowers, in shades of pink to deep magenta, yellow, peach, and orange, appear from late spring to early winter (or the first frost). The blooms are carried above a rosette of fleshy, spoon-shaped green leaves. How to grow In cooler climates, Lewisia does best in full sun, but in warmer areas it prefers semi-shade. It needs well-drained, moderately fertile, gritty soil that provides perfect drainage around the plant’s crown. Once established it is drought tolerant.…

Plants for privacy Lyzinda Kock of Klerksdorp writes We are currently building a new house and laying out the garden. On one side of the property there’s unsightly electric fencing and on the other, my neighbour’s house. We are not keen to build walls. What can we plant to conceal the electric fence and to create privacy? We get quite a bit of frost in winter and it’s extremely hot in summer. The house is on a slope, so the plants/trees must grow tall. We also don’t want to wait 10 years for privacy. The plants must be evergreen and fairly waterwise. JJ replies There are a few plants you can try but I would keep them at least 2m away from the electric fence so that you have enough…

If you’d like to grow chrysanthemums, buy one as an indoor plant and then transplant it into your garden later. These potted plants are usually available at nurseries and retail stores throughout the year in almost every colour possible. Some have single blooms and others have double with big or small flowers in a variety of shapes. Place the potted plant in a room with enough natural light or on a stoep that gets morning sun. Water it regularly – potted plants dry out faster than those in the garden – but make sure the soil has dried out slightly before watering again. Trim off spent flowers regularly and cut back the plant by about 5cm after it has bloomed. If you cut back too much, the plant might die.…

Hake with a bacon crumb Under R140 • Serves 4 • Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes • Oven temperature: 200°C • 12 slices butternut, about 5mm thick • 30ml olive oil • 700g hake portions, skinless • 45ml creamy mayonnaise • 6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped and fried until crispy • 125ml dried breadcrumbs • 3 spring onions, chopped • a generous sprinkle of chipotle Tabasco or your favourite chilli sauce • lemon and fresh coriander • cooked rice 1 Preheat the oven. Mix the butternut with the oil, season well and spread in a single layer in a baking tray. Bake until the butternut starts to soften (about 20 minutes). 2 Remove the tray from the oven and turn the butternut slices over. Move the veg to the side of the tray and arrange the fish in a single…

Ballo’s handmade easy-to-fit face masks (R150 each) feature a double layer of pleated cotton. The outer sustainably-sourced cotton layer comes in various colourful patterns; these designs vary according to availability. For every mask purchased online, Ballo will donate one to someone in need. Go to ballo.co.za to get yours. Samesyn’s unique design features three layers of fabric: cotton on both sides and a water-resistant inner layer. The mask (R140 each or R390 for a pack of three) is secured with elastic bands and it’s reversible. For details, go to samesyn.co.za. Wren Design’s double-layered Classic (R130) and Deco (R180) face masks are made from paper and brushed cotton; they have double tucked-in pleats and are edged with soft cotton black bias tape. These reusable masks are available in various designs and also come…

Renovating a house built with unbaked clay bricks like Bernie’s requires special measures. “If you’re in any doubt, avoid products that weren’t available in the olden days,” recommends Henry Paine, a conservation architect and heritage practitioner in George. Here’s his advice: • Cement It is very important to use as little cement as possible on old houses. Cement gets very hard when it dries and it’s quite brittle. It doesn’t adhere to clay or sun-dried bricks and it has a different coefficient of expansion and contraction. • Slaked lime is the oldest method of waterproofing walls and ridges of thatched roofs. Slaked lime, rather than ordinary paint, works best for covering exterior walls. It is waterproof but allows the walls to breathe. Since it expands and contracts at roughly the same…

#1 A fine art Up the wall Liezie Mulder-Färbinger bought this striking tablecloth at Babylonstoren in Franschhoek a few years ago and decided to hang it up against a wall in her home on Thesen Island in Knysna, rather than use it over a table. She nailed the tablecloth to the cornice but soon realised that this wasn’t ideal as it created small tears in the fabric. “Rather wrap the top edge of the fabric around a piece of wood and then nail the plank to the cornice or wall to prevent damage to the material,” she says. “I love the colours of the fabric – and the extra material that pools on the floor gives it a luxurious feel.” From ceiling to floor Clarisse Coetzee also used a piece…

1 Position the first piece of fabric on the bench, making sure that it can fold over the edges to the bottom. Mark where the fabric ends on the seat. 2 Apply the mod podge to the area you marked in step 1; apply to the top of the seat and the sides. 3 Place the fabric on the prepared area and smooth it out with your hands. 4 Repeat steps 1–3 with the second piece of fabric. Remember to fold hems into the fabric as you stick it down, if it doesn’t have stitch-in hems already. 5 Turn the bench over. Cut excess fabric away but leave just enough to fold the fabric (with a hem) over the bottom edge of the seat. 6 Fold the fabric over the…

Email your queries to experts@homemag.co.za. When Warren Spiro bought one of four units in an old apartment block in Green Point, Cape Town in 2018, he considered it the ideal prospective project. The block is located in an upmarket area, while the building is charming with its Art Deco-inspired architecture. The spacious flat consisted of two bedrooms and one bathroom, but the interior was dated with typical ’80s-style finishes, soiled carpets and old curtaining. Warren called in the help of Craig Olckers of Oolong Blue to manage the renovation, but as with any project there were a few surprises; not least of which was Craig being rushed to hospital for open-heart surgery after a near heart attack in the middle of the project. He asked Lynette van Zyl of Ressource…

Linda Brodie of Centurion writes My pooch recently passed away due to old age and while I’m a big animal lover, I don’t want to own a dog again any time soon. How can I get involved at animal shelters without adopting? Dr Roxanne Jones, veterinarian and owner of online pet care portal zuki.co.za, replies Animal shelters are always in need of support and there are lots of ways in which you can help, even if you aren’t keen to adopt. Here’s how: Walk the dogs Most shelters are short on volunteers but packed to the rafters with animals that need to be walked, played with and generally fussed over. They’re usually thrilled to have an extra pair of hands and you don’t need any special skills to enjoy a…

Annemarie van Wyk of Pretoria writes I planted ‘Forever Delight’ in pots and they receive a lot of afternoon sun. During the past two hot summers they have not done well, even though I watered them every day. Ludwig replies It is possible that the roots in the pots became very hot from the direct afternoon sun, especially if the pots are plastic. Does the water drain out every time you water and do they receive a dose of Vigorosa once a month? Another alternative is to make a raised bed, filled with lots of organic matter for good drainage and transplant the roses into the soil. Their roots will be cooler, especially if you mulch. ‘Forever Delight’ needs to be in full sun to show off its colouring. Jennifer Simmons…

Chocolate and raspberry Hertzog cookies These treats are worth all the effort!   Makes 12 cookies • Preparation time: 1 hour Baking time: 35 minutes • Oven temperature: 180°C • 375ml (210g) flour • 125ml (50g) cocoa powder • 45ml castor sugar • 10ml baking powder • pinch of salt • 150g butter, at room temperature • 1 egg • 1 egg yolk • about 30ml ice water FILLING AND TOPPING • 3 egg whites • 250ml (210g) castor sugar • 500ml (160g) coconut • 5ml baking powder • cold raspberry jam • extra flour 1 Prepare the dough by sifting the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder together. Rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (or use your food processor). Mix in the egg and egg yolk, plus enough of the ice water to make a manageable dough. Knead gently until…

When the virus descended on us and the whole world suddenly ground to a halt – death lurking at our doors – many of us had not an inkling of what had hit us or what to make of it. First off was the deluge of jokes and goofiness. To counter the panic, there was frenetic shopping, spring-cleaning, visits on WhatsApp and Zoom; a kind of euphoric hysteria. And in the background, flickering on TV screens, frightful images of dying people and the endless rows of hearses. Surreal. As the shadow of the virus grew and an eerie silence filled the world, there were those whose thoughts turned inwards. In Stellenbosch, where I live, the bells of our historic Mother Church rang out at noon each day, its melancholy chimes…