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Ideas and tips to make your home a welcoming place for spending time in and making memories.

  • Happier Home

    Great Kids Books Parents Won’t Mind Reading Again… and Again

    July 26, 2022July 26, 2022

    This post contains affiliate links – that means if you click on a link in this post and buy something through it, I might earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog as part of my job! 🙂 Some nights I absolutely love reading my kids a book

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  • Nerd Life

    Meet Luka! Introducing a New Puppy to Our Moody Older Dog

    February 24, 2022February 25, 2022

    Well, we finally did it. After (only) a couple of years of thinking about it, we got another dog! Meet Luka, our beautiful Australian Shepherd x border collie puppy. She is 12 weeks old today and has turned our house and lives upside down… in a mostly good way. She loves belly rubs, going to

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  • Happier Home

    Miss Nerd’s Bedroom Update: Emma Mattress Review

    January 27, 2022February 24, 2022

    This post is sponsor-supported by Emma Sleep, who gifted me a mattress for review. All words and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting my blog’s sponsors! A little while ago it was time to finally upgrade Miss Nerd to a ‘big girl’ bed. We got her a new (secondhand) bed frame off

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  • Happier Home

    Robot Vacuum Review: the Ecovacs DeebotT9+

    August 6, 2021January 27, 2022

    Wasn’t it exciting when robot floor vacuums came out some ten-odd years ago? Well, perhaps you’re not as easily excited as I am, but as a lifelong hater of vacuuming, I thought it was awesome. It made me feel like, WE HAVE ARRIVED. We have house robots now! Look how far tech has come in

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  • Advice

    How to Choose the Perfect Cabinet Handles and Hardware (and a Giveaway!)

    July 12, 2021July 13, 2021

    This post was sponsored by Manovella. Thanks for supporting my blog’s wonderful sponsors. There are so many decisions to be made when you are renovating an older home or building a new house – if you’ve ever felt a little conflicted or stuck, you won’t be alone! Choosing colours, materials and things for your home

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  • Happier Home

    How We Made Our Old House Warmer

    July 4, 2021August 1, 2021

    Who’s feeling the cold right now? Yes, I know the whole running joke about people in winter in Perth, where it gets to 16 degrees (60 Fahrenheit for those of you overseas) and people start squawking and moaning that they’re freezing to death. To give people overseas an idea, it never snows in Western Australia.

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  • Happier Home

    Eating at Home: Our Eggs Benny Chan Recipe Hack

    June 21, 2021July 5, 2021

    Forget rose petals on the bed and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. My idea of romance is the Sunday morning I got to sleep in late, then wake up to see Mr Nerd had made breakfast. But not just any breakfast. He had prepared for me a replica of one of my all-time favourite, iconic Perth

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  • Happier Home

    Win Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products from Resparkle

    June 7, 2021June 21, 2021

    I’m definitely not alone when I say we are constantly thinking about ways we can reduce our plastic use. I think a lot of us are – these days most people in Australia know that single-use plastics are terrible for the environment. We are far from living a plastic-free lifestyle, but we try to reduce

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  • Gardens

    How To Grow a Lush Garden from Cuttings – for Free

    May 30, 2021June 7, 2021

    There is nothing that chills my husband to the bone more than me than the sound of me screeching, “STOP THE CAR. I SEE PLANTS.” I have gotten so, so many plants for our yard – for free – by finding them on the side of the road, in the wonderful scheme that is green

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  • Happier Home

    Why You Need Plants in Your Workspace (and a Giveaway with The Plant Runner!)

    April 7, 2021May 1, 2021

    One of my favourite things to give as a gift has got to be a plant. Most people like them; they’re usually a decent gift for that person who already has everything, they’re good for your health and wellbeing (more on that below) and they (generally) tend to have a shelf life longer than cut

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  • Gardens

    You’ll Love this Cute Indoor Plant Shop

    January 15, 2021July 4, 2021

    Perth plant fans, there is an indoor plant paradise right here in suburbia called Novos Home Nursery, and it is amazing. Can you believe this place is someone’s backyard – and you can go there to buy plants? Novo’s Home Nursery in Leeming is run by a lovely family that have turned their backyard into

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  • Before & After

    A Resourceful Makeover for my Mum’s Guest Bed (my old teen bedroom!)

    September 19, 2020August 2, 2021

    For much of my adult life, I’ve had the same recurring dream; I’m in a big house and I discover a secret passage or a secret room. It’s always quite thrilling and I always wake up feeling vaguely disappointed that there is absolutely no chance that my 1970s brick 3 x 2 in Perth suburbia

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  • Happier Home

    A House Clean by Fantastic Services Review (and WIN a Clean!)

    August 18, 2020September 19, 2020

    Have you ever had a house so messy you feel like you are going to scream? If that’s never been you, I envy you. (And how are you managing to achieve this?) While we have had numerous fantastic once-off cleans and had a terrific weekly cleaner back when our first-born was a baby, for the

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  • Happier Home

    A Bed in a Box? Macoda Mattress Review

    April 22, 2020January 17, 2021

    It was a happy coincidence that Mr Nerd and I had just been talking about replacing our old mattress, as it was getting close to the end of its life, when I got an email came out of the blue from a locally based company called Macoda – asking if we would like to try

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  • Happier Home

    How to Work From Home With Little Kids

    April 2, 2020June 5, 2020

    Wow – how things have changed lately. Without going on too much about all the negative things about COVID-19 – I know we all know it by now! – what it means for a lot of people is that we are working from home… and many of us with children home too. For me, having

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  • Happier Home

    A House Decorated by Marketplace – and Tips for Thrifting

    January 23, 2020February 7, 2020

    Of all the bad things to come out of Facebook – the creepy harvesting of our online data, a rise in loneliness, infidelities kindled from long-lost acquaintances, the erosion of individual self-worth through unfavourable comparison, to name just a few – there are also a lot of good things. For example, I re-met my now-husband

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  • Happier Home

    Make Your Home Beautiful with Bambury (and WIN a $500 Gift Voucher!)

    December 15, 2019February 7, 2020

    If you are after one of the quickest, most affordable and also easiest ways to freshen up a bedroom or living space, I always think new cushions are a fail-proof way to go. Nothing brightens and lifts a space quite as easily! Add in a fresh new plant and you’ve treated your room or outdoor

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  • Happier Home

    Bedtonic – A Local Linen Business I Really Love (and a Giveaway!)

    October 16, 2019May 24, 2021

    I always admire it when people don’t merely just dream or talk about doing things, but they actually go out and give them a red-hot go. It makes sense that I frequently admire small business owners, professionals and creatives, and one of my favourite local businesses is also run by one of the nicest women.

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  • Happier Home

    Spring Cleaning Tips with Max Kater – and WIN an Epic Murchison-Hume Prize Pack!

    October 6, 2019December 15, 2019

    If you’re like most people, the very mention of the words “spring cleaning” makes you want to dive under the covers and hope for six more weeks of winter. Decluttering, doing a deep clean of your whole house, knocking off all those cobwebs to get your outdoor area ready for the warmer weather… we all

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  • Home Projects

    How to Make An Amazing Succulent Bowl

    September 15, 2019June 8, 2021

    If you have ever admired a pretty succulent bowl but thought they looked too tricky to make one at home (or that you’d kill it anyway) I have good news! Succulent bowls are super-easy to put together; and even if you’re a total black thumb with plants, you can keep one alive and thriving, I

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  • Happier Home

    Why Hobbies Are Important (Especially for Parents)

    September 9, 2019October 3, 2019

    Lately there’s a saying that’s been doing the rounds on social media – that to help maintain overall health and wellbeing, you need not just one, but precisely three hobbies. One to keep you fit, one that exercises your creativity, one to make you money. It’s a very neat and clever little idea, and I

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  • Happier Home

    Cook and Clean Perth (and Win a Free House Clean!)

    August 23, 2019September 11, 2019

    When I first heard of Cook and Clean WA four years ago, my first thought was, “What a good business idea!” I think Little Nerd was about six months old, and the reality of how hard juggling a baby and a job (with a husband on frequent work trips away) had most definitely sunken in

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  • best-books-about-houses

    Nerd Life

    14 Great Books About Houses: My Reviews

    April 14, 2019December 27, 2021

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you purchase something through an affiliate link on my site, I may make a small commission on the purchase – at no extra cost to you. If I was down to my last $20, I’d probably buy a

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  • Happier Home

    What I’d Buy on Facebook Marketplace Today (If I Wasn’t Broke)

    February 2, 2019December 16, 2019

    I was a teenager the first time someone told me I had an addictive personality, and I didn’t know what it meant. “Oh!” I said brightly. “Meaning people find me addictive?” I was picturing myself as this alluring, magnetic creature. “NO,” they shot back rudely. “It just means that you get addicted to things very

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  • Happier Home

    Saving Money on Our Gas Bill

    November 18, 2018November 18, 2018

    This post was a paid partnership with Origin Energy. Thank you for supporting my blog’s sponsors. Woah, 2018. It’s been a very busy – and expensive – year for us. This year we made massive changes to our house’s façade with our Scyon Walls cladding makeover; a project that grew into the goal of improving

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  • Our House

    Our Living Room Makeover Series: The Before Pictures

    June 27, 2018April 5, 2019

    Even though our living room is one of the two rooms in our home where we spend the most time, after years of living here, I still never felt like we had fully finished it or properly styled it. A little embarrassing – most people seem to do the living room first, don’t they? I

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  • Happier Home

    How a Freezer Club Can Make You More Organised (and a Giveaway!)

    May 31, 2018July 22, 2019

    My freezer club started with a jar of homemade tomato sauce left on my doorstep. A friend of mine had messaged the girls group chat and said she’d just made a huge vat of veggie-filled passata but had way too much – would anyone else like some? Four of us said yes please. I added

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  • Happier Home

    How to Minimise External Noise Coming Into Your Home

    December 16, 2016February 23, 2020

    Hi House Nerd, I live in an old home in Fremantle that I am renovating and would love some tips on how to reduce road noise in my house. Being close to the street and constructed of weatherboard I hear every car that passes and it is getting quite frustrating especially when trying to sleep.

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  • Happier Home

    A Mother of Three’s Completely Edible Suburban Garden

    March 8, 2015February 25, 2020

    Can you be self-sufficient from the average-sized suburban garden? I don’t know, but the owner of this one is definitely trying – and she has such an awesome garden that I think half of you will be itching to plant sweet potatoes or peaches this weekend. I was introduced to home owner Kate Reading by

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  • house-nerd-craft-room-junk-room-makeover-studio

    Before & After

    My ‘Monica’s Closet’ – My Junk Room Turned Studio

    December 18, 2013June 11, 2021

    Hands up if you have a junk room in your house. Or a junk cupboard? Come on – at least a junk drawer? If you have none of these, and your entire house is as organised as Martha Stewart’s pantry, I envy you. But if you have that messy part of your house that has

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  • Happier Home

    10 Tips for Styling a Home on a Budget

    October 6, 2013May 15, 2021

    When it comes to creating a beautiful and comfortable home, you really don’t need a ton of spare cash. No, really! I’m often awed by people who pull off a gorgeous home given only a tight budget. Of all the designers and decorators I know, one of those who is very, very good at styling

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  • Advice

    Renovating a Rental… As A Tenant

    August 14, 2013May 15, 2021

    “Dear Nelly and Sam, I just wanted to say thank you for being such wonderful tenants, looking after the house so well and particularly for all the improvements you made. The bathroom looks particularly wonderful. I love the photos on the blog site… from that I got the impression you enjoyed living there as much

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    housenerd

    We read this book again tonight – one that our k We read this book again tonight – one that our kids talk about a lot. Dee Kawai Tang @kawa_heart_studio wrote @the_love_is_book after she tragically lost her firstborn daughter Kawa Leaf when she was three. Dee’s husband Desmond Sweeney is the artist behind @8footwalls. While painting helped him with his grief, Dee wrote and illustrated Love Is to help herself heal; to rediscover and remind herself of the tiny things that bring love to life ✨ Designed as a kids book (but secretly for adults) the book is written in simple verse with happy illustrations. It is an easy-to-read curation of some of the sweetest pleasures in life; how the tiny experiences and fleeting moments in life are the things to be cherished most 💛
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I still remember standing in her sunny back garden studio, Dee telling me she was going to make a book in honour of Kawa. She told me she could envision every detail, right down to how the book would look and feel, like a worn antique book you'd stumble across in a secondhand shop, and I just knew she would make it happen. An amazing kickstarter later, and her book is a reality. When it turned up at our doorstep, I almost cried. It actually arrived at the perfect time, as our kids had just had their own first experience with loss. They were so sad and the book (and the big discussions it provoked about angels) really helped them. 

I admire Dee and Desmond so much. I can honestly say that Dee is one of the most beautiful and strong people I know. Despite having gone through the most heartbreaking loss a person could, she is still warm, still makes everyone laugh. To meet her is to love her, and her warmth and love for life comes through in her book. She is brilliant and it’s an honour to have her book in our home 💛😊
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#loveis #deetang #housenerd #booksforkidsandadults #loveisbook #kidsbooks #realbooks #loss #childloss #theloveisbook
    WIN 🌧️❄️✨ Curl up this winter with the WIN 🌧️❄️✨ Curl up this winter with the softest, snuggliest, ethically crafted throw from @baobabcollective. Launched this year to the Australian and New Zealand markets, this range offers a beautiful collection of blankets and throws that are sustainably sourced and ethically made at South Africa’s oldest textile manufacturer, Aranda Mills. The pieces range from traditional to graphic and contemporary, with something to suit all tastes - it was hard to narrow it down to my two favourites! 🖤 Pictured are the Tartan throw in Navy (RRP $89) and the Lyric throw in Coffee/Cobblestone ($79). What I love is how soft they are, but also versatile - I've always liked having pieces I can easily style all over the home, and these would also suit our bedroom or the kids rooms. They'd look great at the foot of a bed for an extra layer for winter! 🛌❄️☕🧤
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To enter: 
- Follow @baobabcollective.
- Tag a friend to enter the draw - 2 friends, 2 entries, 5 friends, 5 entries and so on.
- Tell me which of these two throws you'd like to win, the Tartan in Navy or the Lyric in Coffee 💙☕
Good luck!
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Winner drawn 8pm 28/07/22. Promo not endorsed, sponsored, administered by or associated with IG. There is a complete release of IG by each entrant. Open worldwide.
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#gifted #brandedcontent #housenerd #housenerdhome #baobabcollective #sustainablehomewares #sustainablehomewares #sustainablysourced #throws #competition #wablog #contest #giveawayau #australianblog #perthhomes #tartan #tartanthrow #winterinperth
    Woah my Stories blew up today when I started talki Woah my Stories blew up today when I started talking about kids birthday parties and our present drawer! For about a year or so now, I've kept a drawer of gifts in this old dresser (and wrapping paper and gift bags nearby in another). Now that the kids are in kindy and school they get invites to SO many parties - and I swear June and May have been particularly hectic! 🥳🎉😅 At one point, Mr Nerd and I were like, "Maybe we can just ask them to pick the parties they most want to go to?" 🤔 but apparently that is not how kids operate 😅 
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I had my reservations about starting a present drawer again (you can read my odd reason why in Stories 😆) but now having one seriously saves me SO much time - and money, because buying for multiple parties a weekend can sure add up! Do you have a present drawer? I'm really enjoying the conversation - how you guys budget and organise for birthday parties, and also what you think is an appropriate and sensible spend for kids gifts! 💰 I'll put the Stories and responses in my 'Adulting' tab of my Highlights 😉

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Also if Nala looks proud, it's because she thrifted this dresser with me a few years ago, we found it on the side of the road going for a walk. We cheap like that✌🏽😎 🐶
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #presentdrawer #presentideas #kidsparties #giftcupboard #parenthacks #organisedhome #makelifeorganized #perthparents #perthblog #smallroomideas #kidspresents #frugalliving #budgetideas #howwehome
    I fell in love with a house this week. Went to wri I fell in love with a house this week. Went to write some copy on this little warehouse-style home in North Fremantle for @sarah.bourke_real.estate and didn't want to leave! Look at it! 😍

Many moons ago, before my head grew cluttered with trends and overwhelmed by the noise of Pinterest and Instagram, this is exactly the kind of house I envisioned I would have one day: small and cosy with a loft bedroom, lots of reclaimed timber and recycled materials, exposed brick and soul. I LOVE IT 🖤 It was designed by now-retired architect Tom Roberts, built in 1984 and it has aged so gracefully - to me that material palette is still just as timeless today. It  has dual zoning - the front room could be used either as an office OR bedroom. Bonus points for the cute potter's studio in the garden. (And the Stop the Toad sticker 🐸)

If my hunch is correct it will go under offer in roughly two minutes, so go buy it quick haha. Once you're settled in, I'll come over with a bottle of red. 

🏠 11A Jewell Parade, North Fremantle
2 bed 1 bath
Open 10am Sat 18/06
🏘️ @sarah.bourke_real.estate
📷 @rmvision_photography
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #perthproperty #northfremantle #perthhome #warehousestyle #makememove #openhouse #industrialhome #realestateperth #exposedbrick #reclaimedtimber #perthcopywriter #WAblog #houseblog #interiorsblog #copywriterperth #architectureperth
    Who knew a cute adult nightlight was the home item Who knew a cute adult nightlight was the home item I never knew I needed? 😊💡 @beaconlighting sent me a lovely little thank you recently. This is their Odette LED Portable light (in Olive) and I love it - the stylish shape, the colour, the way it dresses up the MCM drawers I found on the kerb, and the practicality. A while ago, in an attempt to decrease how much time I spend mindlessly scrolling (a lot 😅) I started keeping my phone OFF my bedside at night, so I wouldn't scroll before sleep and upon waking up. But of course this means missing out on one of the best things about a smart phone - a torch at the ready 🔦 Now I tap the spot on this little touch lamp and carry it around - perfect for checking on the kids when they're asleep, reading a book without keeping Mr Nerd up, or getting up to write a reminder to yourself for that urgent task that *only* comes into your brain as you're about to fall asleep (I know a lot of mums in particular will relate 😅) Will link in Stories!
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#housenerdhome #gifted #housenerd #beaconlighting #bedside #thrifted #perthblog #interiorsblog #handyhomethings #usefuldecor #nightlight #odettelight #ilovelamp #interiordecor #vintage #vergefinds #smallbedroomstyling #australianhomes #realhouses #reallifehomes
    If the perfect piece of furniture doesn't exist... If the perfect piece of furniture doesn't exist... DIY your own! ✨ I've always wanted to add a drawing/Lego desk to Miss Nerd's room. But typical of lots of 70s houses like ours, her room is little - 2.7m x 2.7m (about 7.3ft) - and those of you with small spaces will understand, every inch counts! 😅 No desk I found would fit or was exactly what I wanted (swipe for the before, a hand-me-down make-do). So I roped in my clever sister @simoneanderson to help the kids and I make one. I know my strengths and weaknesses, and Simone is much handier than me and less likely to chop off a digit 🤘🏽😎
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We used two pieces of wood from @bunnings affixed together, added brackets to the walls, and Miss Nerd helped me paint it with some paint leftover from a @duluxaus collab (Dulux Edvard) 💙 
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The kids loved their little upgrade. It's a tight fit, but it makes the room more practical.
And gives just enough cosy space for them both; for Little Nerd to produce his wholesome stories, and for Miss Nerd to produce many creepy drawings to come 👹🕷️💀😶
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #DIY #DIYhome #kidsroom #smallspaces #smallkidsroom #childrensdecor #deskdiy #DIYblog #girlsroom #princessroom #smallspacesolutions #perthblog #australianblog #pocketofmyhome #
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