A better use of space

Thanks to a savvy renovation, this home now boasts a spacious indoor-outdoor entertainment area.

WHO LIVES HERE? Dylan and Shannon O’Leary with their two young children WHERE Plumstead, Cape Town SIZE Kitchen 23m²; deck 85m²

SShannon and her daughter moved into their Plumstead home in 2012. She hadn’t met Dylan yet and the small, neat cottage was all they needed back then. But four years later, their family had grown – she and Dylan, a single dad, had since gotten engaged – so they decided to renovate the entire home, including adding a new kitchen and deck to the side of their house.

“We love to entertain but in our small semi-detached house we had no space for a dining room. All we had was a tiny table and four chairs in the kitchen where we ate dinner – we couldn’t even open the fridge door due to the lack of space,” Dylan explains. Enjoying family dinners outdoors wasn’t an option: the old deck, situated just outside the kitchen, was way too small.

After careful planning, the couple got stuck in and converted the existing main bedroom into the dining room; the kitchen became their dressing room and en suite; and a new main bedroom, kitchen, deck and pool were added.

“Now we really enjoy the flow of the house from front to back and from the indoors out,” Dylan says. “There is far more light and a greater sense of space. The kids absolutely adore the new pool and they spend most of their time in the water in summer. We love to start our day with a cup of coffee under the pergola – not to mention having friends over without everyone constantly bumping into each other!”

It’s hard to believe this is a vibracrete wall! To achieve this look, the wall was cleaned with a high-pressure washer, prepared with a slurry of bonding liquid and cement, cured for two days and then plastered and painted. Round cushion from MRP Home

The O’Learys were keen to incorporate an island in their new kitchen. “People tend to gravitate towards it and it’s a great place for the kids to do their homework,” Shannon explains. The original Oregon pine floors in this 100-year-old home were sanded and stained with Woodoc Stain in the colour Imbuia while the new kitchen floor is concrete screed. Aluminium sliding doors (instead of stacking doors to save space under the pergola) lead out into the yard. >> Kitchen design and installation by Hollywood Kitchens; pendants from K.Light; stools from Block & Chisel

The deck is made up of 140mmwide garapa planks instead of the usual 90mm; the couple decided that the narrower planks would have looked too busy with the extended surface area. Old Coca-Cola sign from Ruby’s Cottage; pink couch from Robertson’s Antiques; outdoor dining table and chairs were second-hand finds Shade was created by adding a pergola with a clear corrugated Perspex and latte roof. The pool pump is cleverly concealed under the deck with a hatch for easy access.

White shelves and a metro tile splashback contrast with the warmer dark blue and wood units used in the new kitchen.