A Word or Two

04/09/2026

Friday. 🖤

We made it at Shabby Shack Decor

Friday. 🖤

We made it.

I’d love to tell you that creativity happens at a beautiful clean table, with neatly arranged brushes, matching little jars and a cup of coffee gently steaming in the corner.

That would be a lie. 😂

Around here, creativity currently looks like 17 open paint tins, 46 brushes, half-finished projects, boxes everywhere, a garden that needs attention and one cat quietly judging the entire operation.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that… Toorwater happened.

A completely fictional little Karoo dorp that somehow now has a hotel, station, post office, bakery, trading store, goods shed and a stationmaster with his own office.

So I feel the question is becoming increasingly valid:

At what point does a hobby become an addiction?
😇

Because apparently my answer to “Do you really need another project?” is still:

Yes. Yes I do.

The mess will eventually get cleaned.
The grass will eventually get cut.
The paintbrushes may even find their way home.

But the ideas?

Those little bu**ers are multiplying. 😂🖤

Happy Friday from the beautifully chaotic corner of Shabby Shack Decor, where we create, reimagine, make things ours… and occasionally lose the table underneath it all.

Create your own magic. Even if it makes a bloody mess first. 🖤

03/09/2026

TOORWATER doesn’t exist on any map but it does at Shabby Shack Decor

TOORWATER doesn’t exist on any map. There’s no road sign pointing you there, no GPS pin and no little Spoorstasie waiting at the end of a dusty road.

It’s a fictional dorp — created from old places, forgotten stories, Karoo memories and a rather overactive imagination.

And perhaps that’s the whole point.

Somewhere along the way, we grow up and become terribly sensible. We stop pretending. We stop making up stories. We forget how easy it once was to turn a cardboard box into a castle and an ordinary afternoon into an adventure.

I think creativity asks us to become a little bit like children again. To look at an ordinary box and see something that isn’t there yet. To paint it, age it, give it a name and suddenly decide that somewhere in a little town called Toorwater, there absolutely must be a hotel, a bakery, a post office, a station and a stasiemeester keeping an eye on the whole lot.

Because sometimes you don’t need to find the magic.

You get to create it. ✨

And around here… that’s exactly what we intend to keep doing.

TOORWATER — old places, old stories, made new again. 🤎

Work in progress...

03/09/2026

Some days creativity looks like this… at Shabby Shack Decor

Some days creativity looks like this…

A finished project.
Paint on your hands.
An idea that actually worked the way it looked in your head.

And other days?

The lawnmower, w**d eater AND generator are all in hospital, the garden is threatening to reclaim the house, there are seventeen unfinished things staring at you and you’re wondering whether coffee counts as a project. 😂

But somewhere between the mess, the work and the “what the hell was I thinking?” moments…

things are slowly getting done.

Not perfectly.
Not all at once.
But little by little.

And I think that counts. 🖤

What are you working on at the moment — finished, unfinished or currently driving you completely insane?

03/09/2026

🌿 HELLO SPRING at Shabby Shack Decor🌿

🌿 HELLO SPRING 🌿

There are little signs everywhere.

New leaves pushing through.
Flowers appearing where yesterday there were none.
The sun staying just a little longer.
And the garden quietly reminding us that no season lasts forever. 💜

Mine is still very much a work in progress — there are w**ds to pull, beds to sort out and, currently, a lawnmower, w**d eater and generator receiving medical attention. 😂

But amongst the chaos, Spring arrived anyway.

And maybe that’s the lovely thing about a new season.
Everything doesn’t have to be finished before something beautiful can begin.

Same garden. New season. More hope. 🌱

Happy Spring Day from my slightly wild, wonderfully imperfect corner of the world. 💜

Shabby Shack Decor
Reimagine • Restore • Create

03/09/2026

Monday — Behind the scenes at Shabby Shack Decor🖤

Monday — Behind the scenes at Shabby Shack 🖤

There is a plan. I promise. 😂

At the moment it may look suspiciously like someone opened every box I own, shook it vigorously and then quietly left the scene.

But Shabby Shack is getting a much-needed shuffle.

The shop is being reorganised.
The workshop is getting sorted.
The Olive paint is finally making its way onto the walls.
Stock is being unpacked, sorted and given proper homes.

And somewhere amongst all of this, actual work still has to happen. Orders need finishing, prints need printing, things need painting… and apparently the lawnmower has also decided that this would be an excellent week to develop an attitude. 🙄

This is the part we don't always show.

The before.

Not styled.
Not tidied for Facebook.
Definitely not Pinterest-ready.

Just boxes, paint, half-finished projects, too much stuff and one woman who swears she knows where all of this is going. 😏

Because sometimes creating a beautiful space starts with making an almighty mess of the old one.

So here it is — Shabby Shack, mid-chaos.

Let's see what we can do with it. 🖤

P.S. If you spot something in these photos and think “Oooh, what's THAT?” — ask me. There are forgotten treasures coming out of places I had apparently forgotten existed. 😂

09/08/2026

Happy Women’s Day to all the incredible women here. 🖤

Just in case nobody has told you today…

I see you.

I see how hard you work.
I see how much you carry.
I see how much you give to everyone around you.
I see the things you quietly do that nobody applauds.

And I see how, even on the days when you’re tired, overwhelmed and would quite happily hide under a blanket and tell the world to bu**er off for a while… you somehow get up and keep going. 😂

So today I just want to remind you:

You are freaking awesome. 🖤

I’ve left a little Women’s Day gift for you over on Shabby Shack Decor.

There’s nothing to buy.
No competition to enter.
Nobody to tag.
Nothing you have to do in return.

It’s simply something beautiful I made for you.

Go over to the Women’s Day post on Shabby Shack Decor and it’s yours.

Print it. Make something with it. Frame it. Save it. Share it with your friends. Print another one for somebody you love.

Or keep it entirely for yourself.

No strings attached.

Because sometimes it’s rather lovely to receive something without owing anybody anything in return.

Today, this one is simply for you. 🖤

Happy Women’s Day, you incredible bunch of women.

Shabby Shack Decor

30/07/2026

Shabby Shack Decor

Today's Memory... 🖤

Facebook has this funny habit of reminding us where we've been.

Sometimes it brings back memories we'd rather leave behind.

Sometimes it reminds us of people we've loved...
roads we've travelled...
and dreams that quietly took root long before we realised they would become part of our story.

Today it reminded me why I do what I do.

While we're covered in paint...
sanding old furniture...
planting gardens...
building shelves...
and slowly creating the home that Shabby Shack Decor has always deserved...

these little memories quietly tap us on the shoulder.

They remind us that beautiful things don't happen overnight.

Every scratch has a story.
Every faded piece has lived a life.
Every layer we carefully remove reveals something that was worth saving all along.

Maybe that's why I've always loved restoring old things.

Because people aren't all that different.

Life leaves its marks on all of us.

Some memories make us laugh.
Some still make us cry.
Some we'd gladly forget.

But then there are the memories that shape us.
The ones that teach us resilience.
The ones that remind us who we are...
and gently lead us back to where we were always meant to be.

Shabby Shack Decor has never been just about furniture.

It's about seeing beauty where others see something worn out.

It's about believing that another chapter is always possible.

It's about creating a home filled with stories...
while writing a few new ones of our own.

So today, I'm grateful for the memories.

Even the difficult ones.

Because without them...
I wouldn't be the person standing here today with paint on my hands, hope in my heart, and more dreams than ever before.

And I think that's the most beautiful restoration of all.

🖤

"Sometimes we restore old furniture... and sometimes, without even noticing, the journey restores us."

28/07/2026

Shabby Shack Decor

Last night reminded me what a home really is.

Last night did not go as advertised.

Riekus had just got home. We were sitting in my "natural habitat" (my bed), chatting about our day. I was showing him my latest renovation injuries, hoping for a little sympathy. He was telling me about the tiny train lenses he had been struggling to cut.

Just another ordinary Monday evening.

Then we heard an explosion.

Within seconds my phone started going crazy.

One of our neighbours' houses was on fire.

I pulled on a tracksuit and ran after Riekus. By the time we reached the house, so had most of our neighbours.

Something remarkable happens when disaster strikes.

Nobody asks whose job it is.

Nobody waits to be told what to do.

People simply help.

We made sure everyone was safely out.

Cars were pushed out of the garage because the keys were trapped inside the burning house.

Riekus ran in to remove the last gas cylinder that could still be reached.

The emergency services arrived quickly, but despite everyone's efforts, the house and almost everything inside it could not be saved.

Thankfully...

Every single person walked away.

This morning I walked through what remained.

Blackened walls.

Collapsed roof.

Broken pottery.

Melted glass.

Rooms that only hours before had been filled with ordinary life.

And I realised something.

At Shabby Shack Decor, we spend our days restoring old furniture, painting cupboards, choosing colours and creating beautiful spaces.

But last night reminded me that a home is so much more than the things inside it.

It's the family photographs tucked into a drawer.

The recipe written in your grandmother's handwriting.

The children's artwork on the fridge.

The letter from someone who is no longer here.

The little treasures collected over a lifetime.

Those are the things that money cannot replace.

Last night also reminded me that being prepared isn't about living in fear.

It's about loving the people in your home enough to be ready if the unexpected ever happens.

The infographic below isn't meant to scare anyone.

It's simply a gentle reminder to spend five minutes today thinking about tomorrow.

Know where your important documents are.

Know where your spare keys are.

Have a small plan.

Have an emergency envelope.

Have a fire extinguisher.

I sincerely hope you never need any of it.

But if you do, I hope those five minutes make all the difference.

If this post reminds just one person to prepare... if it helps just one family... if it saves even one life...

Then I've done my bit.

🖤 Neolien
Shabby Shack Decor

25/07/2026

Shabby Shack Decor

Some people meal prep.

I craft prep.

I buy supplies for projects I haven’t thought of yet…

…then forget where I put them and buy them again.

Happy Saturday from the Shabby Shack. 🖤

23/07/2026

Shabby Shack Decor

Technique Thursday 🖤

Today isn't glamorous.

There are no dramatic before-and-after photos.

No perfectly styled workshop.

No grand reveal.

Just the jobs that quietly make everything else possible.

While I wait for my workshop paint to arrive (I changed my mind... because sometimes your gut knows before your head does), Trusty Abel is busy painting the fascia boards, columns and open trusses.

After that comes replacing old window putty.

Then sanding.

Then painting the wooden window frames.

The sort of jobs nobody gets excited about.

But here's the funny thing...

Beautiful homes aren't built by beautiful moments alone.

They're built by hundreds of ordinary ones.

One brushstroke.

One repaired window.

One painted column.

One patient decision at a time.

I've realised that's true for life as well.

Sometimes progress doesn't look exciting.

Sometimes it looks like standing on a ladder, painting another fascia board while dreaming about the colour that's still on its way.

And that's okay.

Because every little job is bringing this old house one step closer to becoming exactly what I imagined.

One patient brushstroke at a time.

🖤

P.S. The outside colour is called Elephant Hide (who comes up with these names? 😂), and the workshop colour arriving next week is Olive. Sometimes choosing the right colour takes longer than painting the room.



p.s. Tell me... what's the most boring job you've ever done that made the biggest difference in the end?