Apartment renovation From rubbish dump to rental in the Mother City
These inspired renovators keep making beautiful spaces – and an income too!
The stool used as a bedside table was a bargain from the dump. “It had a hideous perforated pleather top; we sprayed it black and installed a wooden ‘seat’. Now it’s my most prized possession!” says Candice. The linen throw on the bed was bought at an antiques market in France and the pendants used as bedside lamps were bought on a Weylandts sale some years ago.
When Candice Theunissen and her partner Stanley Cornelius renovated an apartment in Cape Town’s CBD, their intention was to create a space they could use when their home in Flamingo Vlei was booked out on Airbnb.
The couple, who were finalists in our 2016 Fix it with Flair renovation competition, already commute between Cape Town and Wolseley; their overhaul of an old school near the village, known as Skoolhuisie, earned them high praise from our judges.
But having done such a fantastic job on their most recent fixer-upper, this 42m2 loft-style apartment in town is now also in demand. “I still have nowhere to sleep when I’m in Cape Town!” exclaims Candice.
Candice and Stanley bought the flat in the centre of the Mother City in March 2017. “It was literally used as a dumpsite,” Candice says. “When we bought it, we were unable to enter because of all the rubble. I could only just get my head around the door. The wall dividing the space in two had already been demolished and the interior of what was once a one-bedroom apartment had been gutted and stripped of all fittings and finishes.”
Plans for the future
Thanks to tough lessons learnt while renovating Skoolhuisie, Candice and Stanley were determined to use the best builders they could afford. “Unfortunately, I didn’t take my own advice and had to switch contractors halfway through the job!” admits Candice. But as the saying goes, all’s well that ends well and now the couple are the proud owners of a simple yet stylish inner-city dwelling that’s making them money, too!
Despite the stress of not always having a place to sleep when they’re in town for work, Candice and Stanley have no plans to renovate another city space anytime soon. “Our next project is caravan guest accommodation at Skoolhuisie. We’re pumping all our love and attention into it, and hope to be finished very soon.”
And that’s just the beginning. “We’d actually like to create a village of cool caravans which we can rent out on our piece of land near Wolseley. One day, when we have more funds, we’ll tackle another small unit in Cape Town or the Woodstock/Salt River area, which we can then also use for short-term rentals.” >>