Come on in, everybody's welcome

One weekend last summer, my girlfriend Fi and I were house-hunting in Brighton when we got talking to Nettie, an artist, who was standing outside her bright blue home. It displayed a huge "open house" banner.

One weekend last summer, my girlfriend Fi and I were house-hunting in Brighton when we got talking to Nettie, an artist, who was standing outside her bright blue home. It displayed a huge "open house" banner.

She explained that every year, artists all over Brighton open their houses for the public to talk to the artists and buy direct from them, and that she was the organiser of the Hanover Art Trail. Fi mentioned that she was a designer/maker and that we were going to put an offer in on the place opposite. Nettie signed us up to "Artists' Open Houses" before we'd even moved in.

So here we are a year later, doing our first open house as part of the Brighton Festival, every weekend in May. We decided early on that we were only going to open up the ground floor and the garden and that we wanted other artists to display their work too. So as well as my partner Fi Szabo's digital prints and leather work, we're displaying photography by Nicola Hippisley and willow sculpture and painting by Leigh Scotland.

The main logistical problem has been to have at least two adults around while one of us makes sure that our two-year-old son, Aidan, gets out and about - a stir-crazy toddler and art do not really mix. It is also much better to have one of the artists around to talk about the work and potential commissions.

So how does it feel to have strangers traipsing through your house all weekend, from 11am to 5pm? It is very strange at first and it is hard to know what to do with yourself sometimes. You have to be available but discreet. I have taken this to mean that, when possible, I should have half an eye on any inquisitive visitors and half on the weekend papers.

This is the first year that all of the separate art trails around Brighton have been collected together, and we have been astonished at how many people have come round. The first person through the door on the first Saturday bought one of Fi's larger floral canvases, the next person bought something too and it was a very good first weekend, with all of the artists discussing potential commissions.

It would have been naïve to think that there are not people out there wanting to take advantage of the fact that open houses are just that - open. Some houses have a sign on one of their steps saying "private" but we've opted for a physical barrier - it's hard enough keeping an eye on our son without worrying about people wandering upstairs.

Most people have been unfailingly polite. However, we've had a few stressed husbands who have rushed around, rudely hurrying their wives. I spoke to one nearby open house and they had someone pointing at some photographs and saying "I could do that one, and that one, and that one". The artist said: "Wonderful! Will you bring them along next year, and we'll display them?" He skulked off.

I have only had time to visit a small proportion of the 170 open houses. I had imagined from the row upon row of identical Victorian townhouses in our area that there would be a uniformity of interiors. Not a bit of it. Meg Powers, over the road from us, has a series of scenes from the Jungle Book hidden behind a huge grass screen which you peer through using little magnifying glasses. The artists at 17 Holland Street have borrowed the house from a friend. But the saddest story came from Maureen Black at 11 Hanover Terrace, who had her balloons stolen from her front garden and suspects someone has taken her cat too.

Our comments book ("Interested in the willows if we get a garden", "All lovely, will be back with balance!") is not as much fun as the overheard comments book that I've been compiling ("A beige carpet? Are they mad?", "It looks just like satin. Oh, it is satin"). Some people have clearly come to have a good nosy around.

This Sunday, when we put everything back to normal, it is going to feel like the day the Christmas decorations come down. But at least we can get round to cleaning our beige carpet.

92 Albion Hill, Brighton BN2 9PA (Tel 01273 697306), May 28 and 29, 11am to 5pm www.hanoverarttrail.co.uk www.artistsopenhouses.com

Hanover highlights

* 38 Albion Hill. Wonderful corner house featuring Lizzie Lee's recycled plastic and lighting and Andy McLynn's bold prints.

* 62 Hanover Terrace. Rachel Mallalieu's often stunning architectural photography.

* 52 Richmond Street. Annabel Wilkes' evocative collographs and silkscreens, and much more.

* 67a Islingword Street. Offers tea and cakes in a beautiful garden.

* 60 Albion Hill. Enchanting Jungle Book tableaux.

* Pubs: The Greys and The Dover Castle on Southover Street and The Setting Sun on Windmill Street all serve really good food.