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No rain, no f lowers<br />
Each time life knocked her down, design stylist Teresa le Grange simply got back up<br />
and fought harder. From hitting rock bottom to a close brush with death, she refused to<br />
let this keep her from achieving her goals. And gosh ... is she thriving!<br />
Text: ALANICKA LOTRIET. • Photographer: JACO BOTHMA. • Make-up & hair: ANTOINETTE<br />
DE BEER. • Venue: ANA-PAULA’S COFFEE SHOP. • Earrings: MADELAINE CLOTHING<br />
Teresa le Grange has always had an eye for<br />
tasteful décor - frequently rearranging the<br />
furniture in her childhood home and later<br />
upcycling the hand-me-downs she and her<br />
husband received as newlyweds.<br />
“Our family soon realised that I had a love for<br />
decor and asked me to decorate their homes.<br />
My confidence grew and I started to invest in<br />
‘fixer upper’ properties. I soon found a great<br />
love for the restoration of older, characterfilled<br />
homes.<br />
“This eventually led to more and more<br />
decorating opportunities and before I knew<br />
it, doors opened for me to embark on even<br />
bigger projects. The result? The birth of Coast<br />
to Country Interior Design.”<br />
By now, Teresa was consuming decor for<br />
breakfast, lunch and dinner. When she wasn’t<br />
attending an interior decorating course,<br />
she could be found engulfed in books and<br />
magazines about the craft. Little did she<br />
know that her life would take a turn for the<br />
worse a few years down the line.<br />
Due to a series of unfortunate events,<br />
her husband lost his business ... and<br />
everything it supported. They eventually<br />
found themselves in a low-cost motel<br />
room with only a bed, chair and small<br />
ensuite bathroom.<br />
It was, obviously, a dark time in their lives,<br />
and although Teresa almost gave up on<br />
decorating, she kept on posting work she<br />
did for clients on her Coast to Country<br />
Facebook page. Then one day she received<br />
a life-changing phone call. A couple wanted<br />
her to decorate their entire home.<br />
Needless to say, she grabbed the<br />
opportunity with both hands ... this was<br />
going to be the start of a promising new<br />
chapter. However, as life was returning<br />
to normal again, Teresa experienced a<br />
horrifyingly close call with death.<br />
“I was staying over at a friend’s house and<br />
was cooking a meal in her newly upgraded<br />
kitchen. While enjoying the lovely aromas<br />
of the food I was preparing, gas was leaking<br />
from a faulty valve and filling the house. The<br />
08 Get It Magazine <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 20<strong>23</strong>
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