As Gutted As An Artist's Blank Canvas
To work with a gutted space – whether a house or an apartment kitchen – can be as fulfilling as a blank canvas is to an accomplished oil painter. I had that rare fulfilment with a project in the Kew area of Bramley, Johannesburg. It started on an unusually cold morning. Phakama, Sis' Melody, and I turned up at Tenerife Court, responding to an online request for a proposed kitchen makeover on the north side of Joburg. The gentleman who had called himself Aviel happened upon one of my adverts and put through a call. He wanted a site visit. I arrived, and soon learned to my delight that there were not one but two separate renovation jobs. First, two water‑damaged units at Tenerife had to be removed and replaced. But the real deal – the one that would haunt my dreams for weeks – was at Vaude, an apartment down the road, just off the famous Louis Botha Avenue. --- The Blank Canvas That Stopped Me Cold Arriving at Vaude, the sight was surreal. Here was an apartment completely hollowed ou...