Danger pay.

That’s what I should get. Because when one is exposed to other people’s beautiful homes and brilliant ideas each and every day, it requires great restraint not to get stuck into makeovers in your own home.

On the whole, I get it right because you know... the economy. But one can only withstand so much. And our annual Fix it with Flair competition is such a temptation. The more you see and read about what others have done, the longer the list of things the builder must do in your own home becomes.

At the end of last year, it was all too much. Both of my neighbours were in the midst of extensive renovation projects. Apart from the time when the builder to my right started demolishing walls and making a racket at 5.30am and the other time when they were angle-grinding pavers around the swimming pool at 7.30pm on a Friday, I managed to smile throughout, shamelessly inviting myself over to check on their progress and eventually growing so envious that I invited my own builder over for a glass of wine and an exploratory discussion about my courtyard. The old clay tiles there have been bothering me for ages – they are dull, broken and uneven with ugly cement marks that simply won’t budge (courtesy of a mess left behind by the previous owners).

I compiled my list and, as arranged, Mr Koch arrived with his tape measure. Four hours later he departed, but sometime during the course of the evening he also hinted at removing and raising a section of the roof. “Restrain yourself,” I told him as we took measurements by the light of a torch in the dark backyard.

But then, just to torment me further, we started filming our new TV show, 1,2,3 Fix It, which starts on lifestyle channel VIA (channel 147 on DStv, with English subtitles) at the end of this month. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back: three competing teams renovating a reader’s home really got my fingers itching.

I was on set every second day to judge and monitor what each team was doing, and every evening I arrived home with even more ideas for Mr Koch to include in his quotation. This TV series is going to be so exciting – you’ll be entertained for hours on end! Tune in at 17:30 on 28 February.

Other big news in this issue is a free artwork for readers: a stunning mandala by Lize Beekman!

The idea of art may give you pause for thought; many people regard it as unaffordable – and they’re intimidated by it. But this need not be the case because you can beautify the walls in your home with almost anything! Take a look at what the experts have to say on page 60.

In this special section on how to use artworks to best effect in your own home, we showcase all kinds of ideas that won’t cost a fortune – and the Lize Beekman artwork, created especially for Home, is the perfect way to get started! A one-off series of four mandalas has been printed on good quality paper and is being distributed with this month’s issue. You can collect the entire set – just check in-store for the others (if you turn the magazine over, you’ll see which one is included with each copy of Home). Check out the full set (opposite) and please send us pics to show us how you’ve used them on your own walls...

Enjoy!