NIEU-BETHESDA NEWS – Jacques Muller and Justin Duckitt are well known in the village for their skill when it comes to building, décor and transforming old spaces and objects into something breath-taking!
‘Die Waenhuis’ is testament to their talent and artistry and the beautiful venue and restaurant with its golden walls and fascinating tableaus is now a popular eatery in Nieu-Bethesda. In 2017, Jacques and Justin entered a competition in ‘Home/Tuis’ magazine where they had to submit photographs, a budget and documentation of a space that they had renovated.
The incredible work that they put into the studio flat off the back of ‘Die Waenhuis’, which they renovated and transformed into a beautiful home (on a shoestring) made them the worthy winners of this competition. Villagers were incredibly proud of the talented duo when they saw full page spreads of their work in the ‘Home/Tuis’ magazine. Jacques and Justin once again put Nieu-Bethesda on the map!
But the excitement didn’t end there! The dynamic duo were then approached by Via TV in conjunction with Kyknet, a programme sponsored by Buco and ‘Tuis’ magazine, to become a part of a DIY programme called ‘1,2,3 Fix it’.
This exciting project would involve relocating to the Cape for a few weeks while the series was filmed. After a few frustrating start-up hiccups, they put their lives on hold in Nieu-Bethesda and made their way to Brankenfell where a large house, ready for a transformation awaited them.
The concept of the show was that a group of talented home renovators would put their skills to the test on a home provided for them, as a part of a competition, with one team emerging victorious.
Over 600 Via viewers had entered a competition to have their homes renovated. Annelie Carstens, who had recently had to move from her farm to the city after her husband passed away was the fortunate person who was selected.
The Red, Blue and Yellow teams, each consisting of 2 people, set to work on various rooms that they were allocated in the home. Jacques and Justin were proud to be ‘Team Yellow’!
In 24 short days, each team was allocated an entrance, a bedroom, a bathroom, garden area, patio space and living area (Team Yellow’s living area was the kitchen and dining room).
They were given 4 days per challenge, working from dawn until dusk when they had to gut, re-plaster, re-tile, paint, knock down, build-up and decorate each space.
According to Jacques the work was exhausting and the time frames quite traumatic! Aside from renovating each room, they also had smaller, 2-hour tasks such as making a bathroom cabinet or an ottoman thrown into the mix. On the 4th day of each ‘room’, they were allowed to work from 09:00 to 12:00 before they had to down tools and the judging began.
Jacques Muller and Justin Duckitt in a newly renovated space.
Each room was judged on the following criteria - budget, repurposing, Annelie’s mood board (her vision of each room) and quality. A different judge was allocated to each category.
1,2,3 Fix is currently being aired on Via, channel 147 on Thursdays. While no-one knows the outcome of the competition at this stage, Team Yellow have won the bedroom challenge as well as the smaller challenges of making an ottoman and a bathroom cabinet. Every Thursday villagers in Nieu-Bethesda gather at the Sports Club to watch the show with Jacques and Justin (and Mutton, their dog, who missed them while they were gone!)
Everyone shares a plate of eats and a drink and are privileged to have those who were actually involved in their midst. Jacques says that watching the show, in retrospect, is ‘like trauma counselling! For me, it was 24 days of trauma getting through the challenge. The expectations were immense and the time frames hectic! You should see how quickly we can tile an entire space now! Watching the show, surrounded by supportive friends, is wonderful counselling!”
Each Thursday locals get together and watch the show together.
Justin and Jacques made a fabulous team. On site, Justin was known as Mr Neat and Tidy - a perfect compliment to Jacques’ creative flair.
Friends and villagers will continue to watch 1, 2, 3 Fixit which is aired at 17:30 on Thursdays with a repeat at 17:00 on Saturdays on DSTV channel 147 in the hope that their townspeople will come out tops.
If you happen to find yourself in Nieu-Bethesda on a Thursday evening, bring a plate of snacks to the Sports Club and join the locals for a fascinating bit of viewing!
'We bring you the latest Nieu-Bethesda, Karoo news'
