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The prizes
- The winner in each category receives R25 000.
- The runner-up in each category receives R5 000.
- One favourite, chosen from reader votes, receives R5 000.
The cream of the crop
For 15 years we’ve been celebrating style, innovation and true grit in our annual Fix it with Flair competition – and every time, the entries exceed our expectations. The 2023 contest, once again presented in partnership with JoJo, was no exception.
We’ve already featured a few of the houses and spaces in Home, as we simply couldn’t wait to show them to you.
But here is the official list of the 2023 winners and runners-up.
All of these homeowners can be proud of what they’ve achieved, and they will be celebrated at a gala event at the lavish Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town in February 2024.
Be sure to take a look at the entries in our new Sustainability category. Pure excellence!
MOST BEAUTIFUL
WINNER
WHO Ricardo and Chérie Liut
WHERE Potchefstroom, North West
WHAT Entire home
Incredible style, attention to detail and a lovely combination of old and new finishes won the Liuts the top spot in the Most Beautiful category. The couple transformed the basic shell of their 100-year-old house into a warm, welcoming and elegant home.
Keeping to the same footprint, the layout was reconfigured by knocking down some of the walls, while all the windows were replaced. Except for in the living room, the floors were screeded for a modern industrial touch.
The addition of panelling adds character, as does decorative glass in the lower sections of all the school windows.
- The Liuts’ home was showcased in our December/January 2024 issue; read their story on news24.com/home
RUNNER-UP
WHO Tarien and Pierre Engelbrecht
WHERE Lynnwood Glen, Pretoria
WHAT Entire home
Although at first Tarien was sceptical about the old, dark house she had gone to see, she had barely stepped over the threshold when she realised that “this was the one”.
The art teacher envisioned colour and light with spacious rooms opening out onto the garden, and the Mediterranean charm of a small water feature in the courtyard.
She particularly loved the home’s traditional Spanish architectural style with its whitewashed bricks. The fact that the house clearly dated from the ’70s didn’t put the couple off. After their renovation, there was no sign of the brown tiles in the kitchen, the cream and powder-blue tiles in the bathrooms, and the small rooms with too many walls.
The living room and dining area now form an open-plan space with light pouring in from both sides. New steel-framed doors with cottage panes lead out to the courtyard.
Other well considered changes included fitting additional windows, replacing old carpets with parquet flooring and swapping unsightly green awnings above the windows and doors for laser-cut pergolas with a leaf motif.
- The Engelbrechts’ home is showcased in our annual special issue, Home Renovations 2023 – on sale now!
DIY
WINNER
WHO Jana and Christian Scriba
WHERE Mowbray, Cape Town
WHAT Kitchen
With no experience in cabinet making, screeding, tiling or waterproofing, this couple turned their 1898 Victorian home into a contemporary masterpiece.
Not only did the Scribas, both architects, tackle the installation and plumbing of their new kitchen themselves, but they also fitted the clerestory windows and skylight during the builders’ holiday in December 2022.
“This is the biggest and most intricate DIY project that we’ve ever embarked on,” says Jana.
“The process was daunting at first, but well worth the blood, sweat and tears we poured into it. Building the curved island, for example, was time-consuming and stressful! We aren’t afraid to make mistakes and learn from them.”
- See the Scribas’ renovation in Home, February 2024.
RUNNER-UP
WHO Drikus and Amber Viviers
WHERE Durbanville, Western Cape
WHAT Entire home
What could only be described as a ramshackle outdoor laundry and bathroom with a corrugated iron structure on top is now a cleverly designed tiny home.
Drikus, an electrical engineer, did the construction himself and installed the roof with the help of a few workers.
Keeping the same foundation and exterior walls made building easier and kept costs down, as did sharing a wall with the main house.
The new wall between the main house and the apartment was built up to the same height as the main house to create space for a mezzanine level with a bedroom. Thereafter, a slanted roof was installed for the apartment.
The finishes consist of a combination of exposed bricks, painted walls, concrete floors, and timber to soften the look.
Drikus even designed and welded an L-shaped staircase as the quotation he received was too high. The result is a comfy loft apartment with its own private garden entrance.
- The Viviers’ home is showcased in our annual special issue, Home Renovations 2023 – on sale now!
SUSTAINABILITY
WINNER
WHO Donné Putter
WHERE Gqeberha, Eastern Cape
WHAT Entire home
A worthy winner in our new Sustainability category, Donné put the environment first when she converted
an outbuilding on her parents’ plot into a comfortable family home.
She used reclaimed building materials such as salvaged parquet flooring, upcycled bricks from various sites, lifted and reused clay driveway pavers, and internal doors from another project.
Green building consultancy Sow & Reap gave input on the windows as well as building materials to ensure thermal comfort and optimal natural light without spending a fortune.
“This was such an important part of the success of my home,” says Donné. “I never need to heat or cool the space, and very rarely need lights to be on during the day.”
- See Donné's renovation in Home, February 2024.
RUNNER-UP
WHO Pieter Hoffman
WHERE Carnarvon, Northern Cape
WHAT Entire home
Pieter needs no introduction as he is one of our regular entrants in the Fix it with Flair competition. Every year, we’re impressed by his projects – and 2023 was no exception.
Pieter can only be described as a seasoned renovator dedicated to preserving our Karoo heritage. On Carnarvon’s Church Street, you will find his five nagmaalhuisies (communion cottages) – each meticulously renovated and restored.
This year’s entry, Mrs Blackie, had been sorely neglected, with mismatched windows installed by previous owners over the years.
Pieter replaced various windows in the home, added stone cladding to the walls, built a fireplace in the living room, and constructed and plastered the chimneybreast and surround with the help of his builders.
“It’s quite a challenge to restore historical buildings, but the final result makes me so proud and knowing that I’ve saved another home warms my heart,” says Pieter.
- Pieter’s home is showcased in our annual special issue, Home Renovations 2023 – on sale now; read it at news24.com/home!
INNOVATION
WINNER
WHO Jeremy Puren
WHERE Swellendam district
WHAT Entire home
Jeremy ticks all the boxes as the winner in the Innovation category: he is an out-of-the-box thinker, unconventional and creative.
To get close to nature, he built a micro cabin of 2.5 x 2.5m in a kloof on his family’s farm outside Swellendam. “It’s such a magical spot with a lot of healing sentiment connected to it for me,” says Jeremy.
The interior and exterior wooden cladding was scorched and then sealed with raw linseed oil to protect it from beetles and rot, and to give it a beautiful clean aesthetic.
Jeremy added a dry compost toilet and an outside bath and shower that get water from a mountain stream. A cold plunge pool made from an old JoJo tank that was damaged in a windstorm on the farm is perfect for a quick dip.
Jeremy’s home was showcased in our December/January 2024 issue; read his story on news24.com/home.
RUNNER-UP
WHO Denise Nel
WHERE Linden, Johannesburg
WHAT Stoep
It’s hard to believe that this inviting stoep was once a ‘dead spot’ in Denise’s backyard.
By reimagining the space, she managed to create a lovely outdoor entertaining area complete with a steel-beam roof, concrete floor, built-in braai, pizza oven, plenty of work surfaces and a wine fridge!
Denise’s stoep was showcased in our October/November 2023 issue; read her story on news24.com/home.
READERS’ FAVOURITE
Surita and Henk Kruger of Ermelo received the most online and SMS votes for their converted motor home and won R5 000 in cash.
The Krugers are passionate about travel and wanted to see as much of South Africa as they could with their four children. What better way to do that than in a 1980 International bus?
“In its previous life, the bus was a mobile library,” says Surita.
“We decided to use as many of the original library shelves as possible. With a background in architecture, we designed our dream tiny home with a bunk room for the kids, a shower, composting toilet, wardrobe, pantry, full tiny kitchen and a living space that doubles as our bedroom.”
On sale now!
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