I hardly took any photos of the outside of the house before the renovation — perhaps because at the time I didn’t realize just how much it was going to change. This is the only shot I can find, and I didn’t share it in my previous post because I wasn’t sure I wanted people to know what the outside of the house looks like. I’ve now given up on that — there’s no hiding this house anymore.

The house as it looks now. Painting it pink was a somewhat spontaneous decision, made when we found out we had to repaint the house anyway after it was waterproofed. We’re calling it the Flamingo Palace.

Back of the house before.

Back of the house after.

Cottage before.

Cottage after. The inside of the cottage isn’t finished yet and currently full of junk, so I’ll save the rest of it for a future post.

Kitchen before.

Kitchen after.

Lounge (living room) before.

Lounge (living room) after. This really isn’t the same room anymore because we knocked down the wall between the original lounge (which was tiny) and what used to be the third bedroom.

Main bedroom before.

Main bedroom after. We added a master bathroom, which is where the new door leads, and also added built-in cupboards, which aren’t yet finished. (Sorry for the junk in front of the fireplace — I was too tired to move it.)

The new master bathroom, which doesn’t come with a before pic — also not totally done yet. I’m so excited about the Liebermann tiles and the shower mosaic.

Entrance hall before.

Entrance hall after. This is one of the most dramatic transformations and something I never would have thought to do, but luckily I have an architect for a boyfriend. It was Thorsten’s idea to add the arch above the columns and to move the doorway to the kitchen/lounge over to the right so the entrances line up. It was also Thorsten’s idea to add the recycled doors from Independent Traders.

Hallway before.

Hallway after, showing how the doorway to the open kitchen/lounge moved. (It’s now out of the frame.) You can also see a glimpse of Timo’s bathroom, which was already nicely renovated and didn’t change much (same for Timo’s bedroom around the corner, which looks much like our bedroom without the crazy fireplace).

Look what an amazing stove we have! It came with the house, which is incredible.

I love that the fireplace has two mantles, which I’ve already decorated. (Yes, there is a pipe that resembles an elephant’s genitalia hanging down in the fireplace. We eventually intend to install a small wood stove in there.)

Garden with Tower.

I love these two windows, both recycled from a salvage yard in Krugersdorp. The wooden window was originally part of a big sliding door that is now installed in the cottage. We also recycled the burglar bars, which Thorsten welded with his dad and then painted green.

We have hung very few pictures in the house so far. But when Bronwen Findlay, our artist neighbor, gave us this incredible painting, we (when I say “we”, I mean “Thorsten”) had to hang it ASAP. It makes me so happy. Trixie the cat loves it too.

I make a point of looking at the Flamingo Palace from this angle at least once every evening.