Welcoming committee

Some fun always happens at De Oude Huize Yard 

Hennie kept himself busy making the welcoming committee.  

Everything was regenerated 

You have to love this 

Two pieces of sand stone
Some facial features were added
The finale was the headgear
An old grinding disk and some left-over caps 

The old wooden fence post came in handy for the bodies
Pieces of left over electrical conduit was used for the arms and legs

A set of feet to stand solid and face the world 

More delicate little feet to "steel" the heart 

A rose for charm 

A Little piece of music 

Part of the committee 

The second part of the welcoming committee 

Standing at the entrance to the parking area at De Oude Huize Yard

Thanks for visiting 

Thanks for all the wonderful friends visiting us 

Lots of blessings from South Africa 

Sandra 

A Stroll Thru Life; A delightsome life; Any Girl Can Do It; Craft Berry Bush; Crafty Allie; 

Create with Joy; China on a shoestring; Confessions of a Plate Addict; Elizabeth & Co; 

Embracing Change;  Fabulous Friday;   From my front Porch; Fabulously Creative; 

French Country Cottage; Fishtail Cottage; Funky Junk;  Have a Daily Cup; 

Ivy and Elephants;  Katherines Corner; Knick of Time; Lavender Garden Cottage; 

Life on Lakeshore; My Romantic Home; My Salvaged Treasures; 

Miss Mustardseed; Revisionary Life; Rooted in thyme; Redoux Interiors; The Dedicated House; 

The Charm of Home; Rose Garden Malevik; Tilly's Nest ; Shabby Art Style Sisters; 
Savvy Southern style; Sweet Bella Roos; The Shabby Nest; The Jenny Evolution; 
 Too Much Time;  We Call It Junkin

The bathroom is shaping

DeOudeHuize
The hosts of De Oude Huize Yard shares their triumphs and heartaches while renovating their NEST 

When we first encountered the 155-year old house it was extremely dilapidated. 

Today, De Oude Huize Yard offers luxury accommodation in 4 bedrooms that provide a living reminder of the olden days. The large cast-iron baths are opulent to olde-worlde country living and every thing accentuates this grand sense of history. 

We we got permission to add a room it was essential to keep to the olde-world style and as written about it in a previous post describing our hunting trip for the bathroom that we planned to instal. 

You can read more about it here

Just to keep you updated on what is happening I'd like to share some photo's. 

This time I must admit that my hubby, Hennie did all the work. 

My supervision was enough.

An old Victoria cast iron bath that we managed to find in a small town in our country at a bargaining price.  We had it transported via our next door neighbour whom is the proud owner of a transport company.  

Sanding on the outside was essential.  

Falcon feet were essential and lucky we were to found four from the same owner.  

The inside of the bath was "not so nice"  we had to scrub and sand it to remove all the limestone residues had to be removed.    

The sanding and cleaning has been completed and now it was time for Hennie to do his magic.  

A Plascon Latex nr 8 was used for the re-enamel process.
What a time consuming process.
Spray painting was essential for a smooth finish.
There is only a 24 hour window between layers.    

Next up was the sexy Falcon legs.
My apologies for the upside down photo.  

After three days it was time for the outside of the bath.
I have dreamed of a soft "khaki" colour on the outside with a little emblem but
when you live in a small town you have to adapt.
The final decision was white all over.  

The complete project.
Not to shabby if I must say so myself.  

 Do you still remember the old buffet.  

Next on our project list will be the regeneration of it into a double sink bathroom vanity.  

Lots of blessing from South Africa 

Sandra 

Thank you for all the wonderful friends whom are sharing this story!!!

A Stroll Thru Life; A delightsome life; Any Girl Can Do It; Craft Berry Bush; Crafty Allie; 

Create with Joy; China on a shoestring; Confessions of a Plate Addict; Elizabeth & Co; 

Embracing Change;  Fabulous Friday;   From my front Porch; Fabulously Creative; 

French Country Cottage; Fishtail Cottage; Funky Junk;  Have a Daily Cup; 

Ivy and Elephants;  Katherines Corner; Knick of Time; Lavender Garden Cottage; 

Life on Lakeshore; My Romantic Home; My Salvaged Treasures; 

Miss Mustardseed; Revisionary Life; Rooted in thyme; Redoux Interiors; The Dedicated House; 

The Charm of Home; Rose Garden Malevik; Tilly's Nest ; Shabby Art Style Sisters; 
Savvy Southern style; Sweet Bella Roos; The Shabby Nest; The Jenny Evolution; 
 Too Much Time;  We Call It Junkin

Revamping a room

DeOudeHuize

I was dreaming of getting a ruin in France but had to settle for a ruin in Harrismith, Free State, South Africa.  

We could only dream an impossible dream.  

This is a little picture story of what happened as we go along in one of the bedrooms.  

The walls was painted Beige Blond but the old clay bricks was to uneven so we had to give it a second colour.
I liked the name Onion Skin Tan and that was our wash's color.  

The very first 6 months it looked like this.  

Fresh flowers in a silver teapot did help 

We were then able to change the twin beds into a king bed 

The headboard changed the picture 

This had to be replaced 

Furniture with a twist 

Chandelier found on a auction 

Think I can live with this 

The ruin is now a home 

Thanks for visiting may you all have a wonderful week.  

Love from South Africa 

Sandra 

Thank you for all the wonderful friends whom are sharing this story!!!

at 

A delightsome life; Any Girl Can Do It; Craft Berry Bush; Crafty Allie; Create with Joy; 
China on a shoestring; 
Confessions of a Plate Addict; Elizabeth & Co; Embracing Change: 
From my front Porch; Fabulously Creative;

French Country Cottage; Fishtail Cottage; Funky Junk; Have a Daily Cup; 
Ivy and Elephants; Katherines Corner; Knick of Time;  Lavender Garden Cottage; 
Life on Lakeshore; My Romantic Home;  My Salvaged Treasures; 
Miss Mustardseed; Revisionary Life; 
Rooted in thyme; Redoux Interiors; The Dedicated House; Rose Garden Malevik; 
Tilly's Nest ; Shabby Art Style Sisters; Savvy Southern style; Sweet Bella Roos; 
The Shabby Nest;  The Jenny Evolution; The Brambleberry Cottage; Too Much Time; 
We Call It Junkin;   

De Oude Huize Yard at the foot of Platberg

DeOudeHuize

De Oude Huize Yard offers a wonderful view of Platberg!

Platberg and the gardens of De Oude Huize Yard

Platberg is the Free State’s own “Table Mountain”, that overlooks the town of Harrismith. 
Literally meaning the flat-mountain, the 2 377-metre high inselberg is an eastern Free State 
landmark and forms an imposing backdrop to the town.

The biodiversity of the Mountain 

The Platberg, an extension of the eastern foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, has remarkable biodiversity. Its western slopes and the summit of the mountain are a nature reserve 

with a number of endemic/near-endemic alpine plants that are unique to the region.

There is everything and more

From a distance, it appears to have a distinct flat top. 

However, once on the summit the plateau is found to be undulating, with rolling grass-covered slopes. 

The vegetation of the plateau is dominated by grassland, with a few rocky ridges, sheet rock 

and rubble patches, as well as numerous seasonal wetlands and a permanent 

open playa (pan) on its far western side.

Sunsets are remarkable, the town of Harrismith nestles at the foot of the mountain and early morning mist enfold the town and mountain

A historical site during the Anglo Boer War

Woody patches as well as the indigenous grow along the base of the cliffs. 

The shrubland vegetation is concentrated on the cool side of Platberg, 

on sandstone, in gullies, slopes, mobile boulder beds, and on rocky ridges. 

Platberg also has elements of Fynbos

Some of the beautiful plants on the mountain

We have a wonderful connection with the mountain

Thanks for visiting may you all have a wonderful week. 

Love from South Africa 

Sandra & Hennie

Stoep . . . patio . . . terrazza . . . korto . . .

DeOudeHuize

We are born at a given moment,
in a given place and,
like vintage years of wine,
we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born. 

As it is the time for Spring to pay us a visit in South Africa it was time to do something to the stoep server.  

A little Vignette

The question is what is a vignette?  

1.   A small illustration placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter

2.   A short graceful literary essay or sketch
3.  A photograph, drawing, etc, with edges that are shaded off

But so we still call it a Vignette and the most important thing is to enjoy your life. 

To be happy 

Its all that matters.  

I love history... everything is inspired by history, so that's why I love vintage and antiques.

Thanks for visiting may you all have a wonderful week.  

Love from South Africa 

Sandra 

The MOTHS & the Sheephead Long Table Banquet

Every year the MOTHS celebrate the their annual SKAAPKOP DAG. 

Lets call it the Sheephead Long Table Banquet. 

There were 120 ovenroasted sheepheads available

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY