Casa de Kaloo : My Humble Abode In Pictures

 A few years ago we drove past this house with it's massive tree's and acres of land and wondered "Who lives there?"
Little did we know that some day, it would be our home :)
I always admired homes built with thatch roofs, but honestly never imagined myself living in one. Now that I am, I wonder how come I never made the decision sooner.

When we first moved in, it was around the end of Winter and the place looked rather grim and bare. The potential however was very evident.

I always said that some day I'd like a home with plenty of space, both indoors and out. This place certainly has both. This pic was taken before I commenced any upgrades and maintenance to the garden.

This is the view from the second entrance which we usually use for deliveries. Clearly the end of winter. I think I took these 'before' pics about 2 years back. Lot's has changed since then.

The first item on my list of areas requiring attention was the pool, especially with Summer knocking on the door. I love the foliage around the pool area. The pool is so deep, if I stood in the deepest end and raised my hands up, you still wouldn't see my fingertips! 8feet is what we measured it at.

Initially I wanted to have this area redone in wooden decking, but soon changed my mind when I realized how much the kids love sprawling on the cool bricks after a lazy swim.Lately it's become the ideal spot for Sunday brunches or Saturday breakfasts.

Note the difference in the garden after I had attended to it for a bit. The greenery and life was suddenly coming back, and that potential I once saw was slowly being realized. It's still a work in progress, but we've achieved quite a bit in the 2 years since moving in.

The exterior has these amazing creepers growing throughout. At first I intended having them removed, but as the garden started taking shape, I decided to keep that green look flowing. I'm glad I did :)

There's gnome place like home. This is Old Man Tod. He's charged with keeping order in the garden. He has a team of helpers scattered randomly throughout the property.

That's our driveway. I love the fact that you need to drive to the end of the driveway before you even get to see the actual house. I lined the driveway with those blue lights and had them repainted silver, so this pics rather old.

Lastly the organic garden. We had so much of land with fertile soil behind the house, I decided to try my hand at farming. Not too shabby me thinks. In the foreground is where we started the onions, tomato's and carrots. In the background you can see our usual crop of corn.

The most awesome thing about our home is the fact that it's like a little farm in the countryside when you're walking around the property, but in reality we are bang in the middle of a suburb 5 minutes away from Sandton! We don't hear the cars or the neighbours, and the kid's (when I say 'kids' I speak of Sabreen's cousins and friends of course) have a great time outdoors, never needing to be told to tone the noise level down. That in it's own is a blessing!
I lived in a townhouse when we first got married, and we always had to be aware of where she was and how much noise we were making. With the amount of entertaining we do, that's no longer an issue.

Phase 3 of my plans toward the perfect home will kick off soon.
In the meantime, I'm secretly plotting a mini golf-course before the missus get's any grand ideas of more flowerbeds in the garden.