Once upon a time I built a cottage

When we lived on our previous smallholding in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa), in 1992 I decided to start a business complementing my husband's tractor business i.e. selling tractor spares. We built a 10m x 6m (60sq.m.) pitch-roof building with an office and reception area, using the rest of the space for shelving and all the stock.

In 1996, we bought our current smallholding (just 1.6km from the old one) and rented the house out for a while, staying on our old property. In 1998 I decided to move my business up to the new property as it was on the main road between Krugersdorp and Magaliesburg, with major traffic flow en route to Rustenburg and Botswana. A bit of a bummer for me - I now had to travel 1.6km to work every day, a short drive through the countryside, spotting lots of guinea fowl and other wildlife on my way to work!

The cottage showing the Lounge bay window facing the main house and entrance to the right

With the Spares building now standing empty, we decided to turn it into a one bedroom, 1 bathroom cottage. I had an open-plan kitchen/dining room/study area, the one bedroom and a bathroom.

Custom-built kitchen in genuine Oregon pine

 Stove hob and oven

 A Vintage enamel kitchen sink and granite surround 

 Hand-made baskets served as vegetable trays and shelving across windows provide extra storage

 Hand-painted wine glasses on a shelf in the kitchen

 Vegetable baskets and spice drawers

 Custom-built pantry cupboard

 A vintage organ top and 1890 Stinkwood desk served as a study opposite the kitchen

Dining room with custom built 8-seater Oregon pine table and a 1930's Bell, Web & Bell sideboard

 Dining room

Vintage Armoire in the main bedroom

 The bathroom was fitted with a ball and claw bath, chain operated cistern and Victorian-style plumbing

 Bathroom basin set in an Oregon storage cupboard with a vintage kitchen dresser top serving as medicine cupboard

 

Armoire in the bathroom storing towels and other bathroom supplies 

 Bay window in the lounge - I had to scour my house for extra furniture to use here!

 1890 William Orpwood tall case in the lounge

 Another corner of the lounge

After a few months, the garden I started around the cottage started to settle in.

Front entrance to the main house.

In 2004 we sold this property and moved up to another smallholding, just 1km away, starting renovations on the old 2-bedroom 1950's farm house, adding a whole new wing consisting of lounge, dining room, study, double garage, main bedroom with en-suite bathroom with folding doors opening into a court-yard garden.

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