COOL Karoo blues

Thanks to experience gained from a previous renovation, the Johnsons were able to convert their old storeroom into a gorgeous garden cottage.

- Marlene Malan

THE STOEP

The stoep of the garden cottage is lovely and warm in winter, while in summer the roof provides much-needed shade. The bench with the comfy seat cushion is made from a palette; it has legs attached and was used as a coffee table at the Johnsons' wedding. The wooden table was part of an outdoor furniture set that the Johnsons bought on Gumtree. The sour fig (Carpobrotus edulis) in the foreground grows extremely well in the Karoo and produces the most beautiful pink blooms in spring; it grows quickly, even from cuttings, and it's hardy and waterwise.

Windows and patio doors from Swartland Bouhandel; metal chairs from Decofurn; seat cushion covered with fabric from Fabric City; stoep lights from Builders; white scatter cushions from Mr Price Home; lantern and white planter on table from Checkers

KITCHEN

Here, the Johnsons borrowed ideas from their builder Louis Botha, who had constructed similar kitchens for a self-catering lodge.

"We loved the durability, as well as the clean, fresh look. We aren't experts in cement and concrete, so we left the project to him, as well as the screeding of the cement floor," says Jeani. The kitchen tabletop is made of planks that were salvaged from the old storeroom. Jean sanded and varnished them, while a friend helped with the welding of the hairpin legs.

Chairs from Decofurn; blue-and-white coffee mugs from Woolworths; fruit bowl from Wonki Ware; tea towels from Barrydale Weavers

When Jeani Johnson followed her husband to his heartland, the Karoo, at the end of 2017, it was literally with all her belongings and figuratively with her city-inspired décor ideas.