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Episode 9: Time to downsize

Private Property South Africa
Private Property Reporter |
Episode 9: Time to downsize

In this episode, the team help a family sell a home that is too big for them, now that the children are moving out.

Frans and Hunty’s 5-bedroom house is too big for them now that their five kids have started to move out. They want to sell their home and move into a smaller home.

Frans and Hunty on Vat Jou Goed en Trek

When they arrive to view the home, the team notices that the house is very dark due to the wooden floors and ceilings. Oddly, the home also has two living rooms next to each other, and estate agent Denis Dunn from Harcourts suggests that the living room that is next to the kitchen should be converted into a dining room.

With darkness being a big issue, interior decorator Lara, asks Kevin if he could make her a light box in both rooms. It will hang from the ceiling and make an impact visually whilst still being practical and improving the problem of insufficient light.

Team discussion in the living area

Pallet furniture is all the rage and Lara asks timber man Callie to help her make a sofa using pallets for the living room. It is easy and cost effective. They use sponge that is easily assessable at any fabric store. The pallets get positioned and the sponge is placed on top as seating. Everything gets covered with fabric and bound together with a nail gun.

the vat jou goed en trek team hard at work

As for the colours, Lara and construction expert Kevin decide to go for light pastel colours like yellow, green and grey. The wall unit in the living room gets painted green, the walls are painted an off-white colour and floating shelves are installed on the walls of the living room for extra space.

In the dining room, the team creates a dining room table using 2 doors that are flipped on their sides and fitted with poles to serve as legs on each end. It is painted white with the accent colours of the living room as hints on the table to pull the theme through.

The time arrives for the big reveal and the family is completely blown away by the transformation.

Before and after images - the big reveal for vat jou goed en trek

Denis show them the reaction of potential buyers and it looks as if a ‘Sold” sign is close to being put up on the property.

Before and after images - the big reveal for vat jou goed en trek

After yet another successful week the ecstatic team prepare for another exciting project in Cape Town.


Enter the competition and win

Private Property is running a Vat Jou Goed en Trek competition for the duration of the series, where one lucky entrant will have the chance to win a R50 000 Cashbuild voucher.

To enter, simply visit the Vat Jou Goed en Trek competition page on Private Property, answer the simple question and submit your entry.

Click here to enter the competition.

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