With my own two hands'

After a lengthy detour in Asia, this Free State farm boy lost his heart, but found his feet, in Philadelphia where he restored a Victorian home to its former glory.

- Marian van Wyk

On a beautiful day in December 2013, Willem de Wet turned left at the NG church in Philadelphia. Enchanted by the Merino sheep and wheat field next to the road, he felt compelled to enquire if there were any houses on the market in the town. This Free State farm boy had been working abroad for several years, and was longing to put down some roots. After a slice of milk tart and a glass of ginger beer under an old oak tree, he popped into the grocery store on the corner. It formed part of a dilapidated Victorian house dating back to 1860, and “it definitely wasn’t anything to look at”, recalls Willem. He left, uttering what he thought were empty words: “I’ve written my sister’s number at the back of the shop book. If Tannie ever wants to sell…”

When the call came three days later, Willem ended up buying a house and a shop in a town that he’d only ever set foot in once before. He went back to Singapore, promising himself that he would return to South Africa when he was more or less 50 years old and give his new abode the makeover it sorely needed.

This transpired in January 2019, but when Willem walked into his empty house, he was alarmed. “The first thing I saw was a solitary, crooked lampshade and a huge mess. It felt as if the air had been knocked out of me!” Willem soon realised that much, much more than cosmetic changes were needed. “Holes in the wooden floors were covered up by old rotten carpets, the old mud plaster looked like an avalanche in places and the damp on the walls was concealed with vinyl.”