• VISIT THE OLD BLOG
  • Home Envy
  • Before & After
  • Our House
  • DIY
  • Advice
  • Happier Home
  • Nerd Life
  • Home Projects
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Sponsorships
  • About Me
  • In The Media
House Nerd

  • VISIT THE OLD BLOG
  • Home Envy
  • Before & After
  • Our House
  • DIY
  • Advice
  • Happier Home
  • Nerd Life
  • Home Projects
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Sponsorships
  • About Me
  • In The Media
Skip to content

Stories on our house and its never-ending renovations!

  • 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

    Continue Reading
  • 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

    Continue Reading
  • 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.

    Continue Reading
  • 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

    Continue Reading
  • DIY

    How to Paint an Old Concrete Driveway

    February 6, 2021May 3, 2021

    Guys, don’t think that just because I have a house blog that I’m always super gung-ho about getting started on our long list of things we want to fix up here. That is definitely not the case. I procrastinate a lot, sometimes because I’m scared of making the wrong choice, because I just can’t make

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    Our New Walk In Robe

    January 13, 2021July 4, 2021

    We finally got a new walk-in robe! Well, when I say new, I mean that we got our old 1970s walk-in robe fitted out at last – after 11 years with our old robe. Nala turns 11 this month, and her birthday made me realise that we have been in our house a whole 11

    Continue Reading
  • Before & After

    Our Tiny Ensuite Bathroom Renovation – Seven Years Later

    June 5, 2020June 5, 2020

    It’s been a while between posts, online friends. Time feels like it has flown past lately. When we all had to stay at home, the mornings and evenings felt a little slower, but the days still rushed past – and are still rushing past. I wonder if that’s normal for everyone who has kids? With

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    Our Cubbyhouse Makeover

    February 7, 2020February 22, 2020

    Pass me that mother of the year baton, guys. I don’t get to have it too often, but I totally deserve to hold it for a good minute or two. I won a cubbyhouse! I won it late last year through an Instagram competition held by a local Perth cubbyhouse company called Kidzshack. To enter,

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    My Husband’s Big Deck: Our Backyard Before & After

    November 15, 2019April 16, 2021

    Well, that got your attention, didn’t it? Blame my shrunken, shriveled brain, but somehow I have totally neglected to share a big part of our home renovation here on the blog – our new patio and deck, which is about thirty times nicer than what what our once-daggy 70s house had there before. (Those before

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    Spray Painting Our Old Colorbond Sheds

    October 8, 2019February 17, 2021

    Recently I tackled a DIY project at our place that had been on my to-do list for a LONG time – spray painting our old Colorbond sheds black. Woohoo! I know they are just sheds, but they look SO much better now that it legitimately thrills me. I had it in my head for months

    Continue Reading
  • DIY

    How To Make DIY Wallpaper from An Old Book

    August 9, 2019April 20, 2021

    This post was first published on my original blog format on November 17, 2014.  Today I’m going to share a very easy DIY project – one that I think is maybe my favourite DIY project ever. I feel like everyone should do this to their home, partly because it is so easy, but mostly because

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    Our Budget Nursery Makeover: Miss Nerd’s Room

    June 24, 2019April 23, 2021

    Not everything about writing a blog is fun and roses. But one of the things I love most about blogging being a part of my life is that it gives me so many kicks up the butt – deadlines and incentives to finally get my act together and do something. I need these kicks up

    Continue Reading
  • Before & After

    Our Cladding Makeover Reveal

    June 21, 2019August 21, 2019

    Don’t fall off your chair. Today I finally have a reveal for you! Our before and after of our Scyon Walls elevation makeover, where we overclad the exterior of our double brick 1970s house. Yep, it’s been a while. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome! Basically we decided to overclad our

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    Florence Broadhurst Blinds for Your Home (and WIN!)

    April 18, 2019August 9, 2019

    Would you like Florence Broadhurst patterned blinds in your home? Or would you prefer to design your own pattern and have it printed and custom-made just for you? Whatever your fancy, you can have the most stylish windows going with one of the newer window treatment companies to make waves on the market, Blinds in

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    From Bugcatchers to Bluetooth LEDs: Our Lighting Makeover

    March 31, 2019April 14, 2019

    “I just want lights on a dimmer,” I used to say to my husband every time the topic of new lights came up. I remember when I was growing up and my friend’s house had their lounge room lights on a dimmer and I thought mood lighting was just the most incredible fancy thing I’d

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    Rejuvenating Our Garden For Summer (and my Favourite Hardy, Affordable Plants)

    December 23, 2018August 13, 2019

    This story is a paid partnership with Scotts. Thank you for supporting my blog’s sponsors. Ahh – summer. I am going to be honest, I’m not a summer person. In my past life I probably was the Wicked Witch of the West who melted to death. Her rage was an accurate representation of my snippy

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    Nearly Finished! Our House’s Cladding Makeover (and How Much it Cost)

    September 17, 2018February 18, 2021

    Little Nerd is at his Oma’s house, Mr Nerd is at work, the dog and the baby are down and I’ve had two coffees by 9am. What better time to snatch some blogging time at my desk and hastily share some progress photos of our Scyon Walls cladding makeover. (If you haven’t seen our before

    Continue Reading
  • 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

    Continue Reading
  • Nerd Life

    Shooting a Video in our Home for Karndean Designflooring

    May 26, 2018May 26, 2018

    A little while ago we had a promo video shot in our home for Karndean Designflooring, the company we got our awesome vinyl floors from. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my post from the day; a little clip of the boys filming Little Nerd playing while Nala harassed them. (Sorry

    Continue Reading
  • Home Renovations

    Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Progress!

    February 8, 2018February 8, 2018

    Well this has been one very exciting and very busy fortnight! January 15th finally came round – the date the guys from TJP Carpentry were scheduled to start on our Scyon Walls mixed material makeover, and they’ve almost finished! We’ve still got to finish the painting, tidying up and a little replanting of the gardens

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    A Tiny Bedroom Reveal: Little Nerd’s Nursery

    January 28, 2018January 31, 2018

    So, most bloggers probably share their baby’s nursery when they’re still pregnant, or maybe in the months after the newborn has arrived. Most probably don’t share it when their little person is two and a half years old… and they’re uh, pregnant again. Clearly I am not most bloggers! But better late than never, right?

    Continue Reading
  • House-Nerd-laundry-makeover-renovation-70s-house

    Before & After

    Our Laundry Renovation (and my Tradie Recommendations)

    December 29, 2017December 31, 2017

    Today I’m finally sharing our laundry renovation on here! I absolutely love our laundry makeover. If you were to ask me which renovation project in our house has given me the most satisfaction, I have to say I think it would be this room. And I don’t even LIKE doing laundry. This is my favourite

    Continue Reading
  • Nerd Life

    Renovating our House: What I’ve Learned and My Advice for Renovators

    November 20, 2017May 25, 2021

    “If we ever renovate again, I would…” “Our next house, we should do this…” These are words Mr Nerd and I have uttered to each other many a time as we’ve been ankle-deep in renovation rubble here. I am still FAR from a renovating pro, but we’ve learned a lot of things through trial and

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Design

    September 13, 2017October 6, 2017

    So I’m excited to share that we are about to start our Scyon Walls™ elevation makeover! Not long ago I shared in this post that we were going to be making over our house’s elevation with a modern mixed materials look in collaboration with Scyon. We also had a designer on board to help us

    Continue Reading
  • craft-room-makeover-home-studio

    Advice

    How to Make Any House Feel Like Home

    August 24, 2017August 24, 2017

    When you were growing up, you probably dreamt of the day you’d have your own place. I was way too dorky to get invited to house parties and do normal teenager things like hook up with boys, so daydreaming about my future house was pretty much my hobby. One of my first (and quite possibly

    Continue Reading
  • ikea-kitchen-renovation-lidingo

    Advice

    Thinking of Doing an IKEA Kitchen? My Pros and Cons List

    August 24, 2017February 25, 2020

    A while ago I wrote about how we gave our old 1970s kitchen an IKEA kitchen renovation, completing it (kind of!) just in time for our baby’s arrival. (These pics above were taken by the lovely Alanna of Earthbound Images when he was nearly four months). I also shared our IKEA kitchen renovation diary. Since then I’ve had a

    Continue Reading
  • Our House

    We’re Renovating Our House’s Exterior! Our Before Photos

    July 11, 2017February 14, 2020

    The renovating bug is a sneaky thing, isn’t it? Once you’ve been bitten by it (or the home building bug, which I hear is as equally infectious) it’s never long after you throw down your paintbrush one day and swear, “That’s it! I’m done! I’m not doing any more renovations,” that bug raises its little

    Continue Reading
  • Before & After

    Our IKEA Kitchen Renovation: Before and After

    March 17, 2017February 22, 2020

    So today I finally have a before and after to share with you – our kitchen renovation! (Finally!) I had putting off doing this Before and After story for ages because I was waiting til we could renovate one of the biggest elements (the floors). But now it’s done and I couldn’t be happier, even though

    Continue Reading
  • Home Renovations

    How We Turned Our 70s Bar into a Walk-In Pantry

    May 26, 2015February 14, 2020

    So I have exciting news – our new walk-in pantry/scullery renovation is finished! I think this may actually be my favourite renovated room in the house now (although I think I say that about every room once we finish it, even the toilet). But I AM in love with our new pantry. I first learned about

    Continue Reading
  • DIY

    How to Paint Tiles: Our Budget Kitchen Makeover

    April 30, 2014February 22, 2020

    If you are looking for an inexpensive, easy way to update your kitchen or bathroom, tile paint could be the way to go. Today I’m going to share how we used it to give our dated, 1970s tile a mini-makeover for less than $100. Yesterday I showed you guys the before photos of our kitchen when we

    Continue Reading
  • Home Projects

    How to Make Shelves from Reclaimed Wood: DIY

    February 25, 2014February 25, 2020

    Check out my new shelves in our toilet! Yes, you read that right. Today, while the house is filled with the noise of Mr Nerd drilling away on our bathroom renovation, I am going to blog about our toilet. I aim to thrill. But seriously, I love how we improved the toilet with the addition

    Continue Reading
  • Furniture

    A Roadside Find: Thonet Chair Makeover

    January 13, 2014February 25, 2020

    Don’t you just love an exciting email out the blue? When a design-savvy House Nerd reader dropped me an email a little while ago to tell me that it was verge collection time in East Fremantle, I was out the door and driving thataway before you could say let’s-drag-home-some-more-junk (thank you, Deb!) Hey, I can

    Continue Reading
  • 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

    Continue Reading
  • DIY

    Our Budget Sunroom Makeover – & How to Spray Paint Aluminium Windows

    February 13, 2013February 13, 2020

    If you grew up in our sun-bleached country, like me, you will be familiar with one of the great Australian home features – the ubiquitous sunroom, or sleepout. When I was a kid so many of my friends’ houses had a sleepout – and so many still do. Commonly tacked onto the back of 60s

    Continue Reading
  • Back to top

    Don’t Miss a Thing

    Receive exclusive updates and giveaways (and I promise to never spam you!)

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • LinkedIn

    housenerd

    One of my long-time favourite local MCM houses is One of my long-time favourite local MCM houses is for sale! 😍 I would buy this sweet house if I could. I've loved driving past this house since I was a kid. Imagine curling up with a book in that cosy sunroom while it's raining, or playing board games in the dining room, the lights of the city skyline in the distance 🌃🤩 AND when you wake up the morning after your wine-fuelled Take Two and Dutch Blitz shenanigans, in just two minutes you can walk to some of the best coffee in Perth, @grouchandco! ☕ The interior is so cute - the house been kept in the same family since it was built in 1962, which I think is so special 💛 They have selected the lovely @siobhanmicaleyardproperty to sell their house for them. 
.
First pic my stalkery snap, professional pics by Clint Baker @musemediaperth ✨ Someone please, please buy it and invite me over for wine 🙏🏽 I will help you throw a 1960s-themed housewarming party. I'll bring pigs-in-a-blanket and devilled eggs 🍸
.
🏡 FOR SALE
29 McCoy Street, Melville
Built 1962, 4 bed, 2 bath
@siobhanmicaleyardproperty
@yardproperty
.
#housenerd #housecreeping #mcmperth #yardproperty #midcenturymodern #modernist #1960s #60shouse #perthproperty #perthrealestate #forsaleperth #houselove #makeminemidcentury #housesperth #houselove #modernistaustralia #cutehouses #housestalking
    "No dogs sleeping on the bed next time we get a do "No dogs sleeping on the bed next time we get a dog," Mr Nerd and I vowed to each other before we brought Luka home. As you can see, it's going really well. Our resolve isn't crumbling at all 😶

Also, that big linen blanket is from my friend @bedtonic, and it might be my favourite thing I own. If you invest in one thing for your bed in the next couple of years, make it one of these! We haven't used the heater in our bedroom since we got one a few winters ago. Good time to ask for one with Mother's Day 😉 🌸 Hope you all had a lovely morning ☕
.
.
#housenerd #housenerdhome #luka #aussieshepherd #bordercollie #australianshepherd #puppy #perthpets #dogsofinstagram #perthblog #perthinteriorblog #saturdays #tireddogisahappydog #mothersday
    A few Sundays ago, we lost Chicken Nugget, our swe A few Sundays ago, we lost Chicken Nugget, our sweet little teenage chook 🐥 "I have two dogs, Nala and Luka, but Chicken Nugget died one night in Mummy's arms and now her be an angel," Miss Nerd has been telling anyone and everyone; including total strangers, who usually tend to look startled. Despite knowing she had a good innings (13), I have now officially cried more over a chicken than over any dog or cat I've owned 😭 Yes, a chicken. (And we eat chicken!)
.
We'd had a really busy Sunday. We were out almost all day; the city, playground, river, came home, took the dogs to the park, had a lovely dinner at a friend's place. One of those rare blissful days where parenting just lines up; everything is fun and easy and everyone is happy. We got home, I got the kids down. It was later at night when I went to let the dogs out the back, and saw a fluffy bundle lying by the back door. My heart sank. I thought she was already dead. She was sleeping. I brought her inside and got her warm cuddled her in my lap. She died in my arms around midnight.
.
I've had so many pets; experienced so many animal deaths. This one was the hardest 💔 Even though she had a nice chicken life and was SO old! I think what made me feel so broken up with this one was that so many animals go to die somewhere by themselves. In her last hours CN crawled up to the back door, to us. I felt so bad that she might have been suffering and I was too caught up running around all day; too busy with everyone else to notice. I felt so guilty - it took me a while to get over that 😔💔 The kids were gutted and still talk about how they miss her, Miss Nerd the most, as CN was her special (long-suffering, gentle and very patient) little friend. "But now Chicken Nugget is an angel in heaven and she has four wings not just two, and she can FLY with those wings," Miss Nerd says, and that is a pretty good image to keep. 💛🐥
.
#housenerd #housenerdhome #backyardchickens #perthblog #chicken #chooks #perthbackyard #bantam
    WIN ✨ A double pass to the amazing @rooftopmovie WIN ✨ A double pass to the amazing @rooftopmovies and a voucher for a delicious bottle of @madfishwines to share 🥂🍷 One of my favourite Perth things to do is to relax by watching a movie outdoors and with a wine in hand - we definitely have the beautiful evening weather for it! 🌄 @rooftopmovies has become such an icon and what better way to enjoy it than with delicious, local family-owned @madfishwines - the official WA partner of this year's Fringe World Perth and Rooftop Movies. Here's your chance to make it there before the end of the season!
.
To enter, all you have to do is: 
1. Follow @madfishwines.
2. Tag a friend below - 1 friend, 1 entry, 4 friends, 4 entries! Good luck! 
Winner drawn 10pm 24/03/22.
✨✨ CONGRATS @the.secret.life.of.johanna! Please DM your full name and email address and we'll get in touch so you can redeem your prize 🥂🍾🍷✨✨

Competition winner drawn by random selector. Promotion is not endorsed, sponsored, administered by or associated with Instagram. There is a complete release of IG by each entrant. 
.
#brandedcontent #madfishwines #rooftopmovies #perththings #perthcompetition #perthwine #supportlocal #instagramwin #competition #contest #win #perthmovies #competition #instawin #giveaway #giveawayau #compers #winau #winperth #winewinewine #winelovers #wawine
    With Easter and Mother's Day not far away, I wante With Easter and Mother's Day not far away, I wanted to share present ideas from two really nice small businesses that kindly sent me the most beautiful things 💛🥺 They are the kinds of special things that feel SO nice I have to keep firmly reminding myself: "USE them! Don't just keep them at the back of the cupboard for 'special occasions'!" (It's so easy to do that isn't it?!)
.
The first small business is @_cottoncollective_. Based in Perth, Lisa curates the prettiest 100 percent cotton, block-printed tablecloths and textiles like tea towels, cushions and cot blankets. I lover her videos of block printing being done - it is such an art. This is the Hamptons blue tablecloth, carefully block-printed by hand by artisans in India. I really like her Wildwood design too... well, I like them all 🤷🏽‍♀️ She offers free shipping through Australia 📦
.
The second biz is @intheroundhouse, based in Sydney. They sell really fun, colourful plates and placemats; meant to be mix n match and eclectic (I approve) 🌈 I have some plates from their Blue Collection, some from their Italian collection, and a prawn 🦐 (everyone wants the prawn). Impressively they are dishwasher safe, which makes the higher price tag worth it 👌🏽 They are so bold they make setting the table fun - I find myself shouting, "PREGO" like Hilary Duff in The Lizzie McGuire Movie. (An iconic piece of cinema).
.
Spot the @madfishwines in there - another giveaway with them soon! 🥂
.
#housenerd #gifted #brandedcontent #housenerdhome #tablescape #backyard #tablestyling #cottoncollective #intheroundhouse #perthinteriors #perthblog #handmade #entertaining #styling #patiodecor #alfresco #tablescapeideas #perthinstagram #interiorblog #specialoccasions #dinnerparty
    It's little and modest, but this weatherboard cott It's little and modest, but this weatherboard cottage is an icon. Familiar? This is the North Fremantle home famous for belonging to Carmel Mullally, or the ‘lady who lives in the port’ 🏠👵🏻Originally built in 1897, at 28 Bayly Street opposite Port Beach, this worker’s cottage became a symbol of resilience and strength, as the huge Fremantle Port sprung up around it over the years. 
.
Ms Mullally moved into her house in the 1950s with her husband James. Despite her neighbours moving, every other nearby house being bulldozed, and the port becoming bigger and noisier, with the ever-constant hum of forklifts, freight trains, oil tankers and shipping containers being stacked - Ms Mullally refused to move. 
.
She always said she loved living by the ocean and that her cottage gave her everything she needed. And she liked trains. 
.
Ms Mullally endured a five decade-long battle to keep her home, with multiple offers and pressure from government authorities to buy her house starting way back in 1963, five years after she moved in. 
.
A loved member of North Freo’s community, she became a symbol of resilience and strength. “I wasn’t keen on letting my house go – I’d worked for it,” she said. While she and the port authorities had some differences over the years – she famously painted slogans on her walls in the 80s telling the authorities to leave her alone - eventually their relationship came to a place of mutual respect. 
.
Her little cottage was finally heritage-listed by Fremantle Council in 2007, saving it from ever being bulldozed, and Ms Mullally happily continued to live there amidst the bustle of the port work until her late 80s. 
.
Last year, she had to move into aged care, and she sadly passed away earlier this summer at 89. I think she sounds awesome (my novel cont. in comments!)
    Load More...

    Follow Me

    • The Latest
    • Archive
    • Contact
    Copyright 2022 House Nerd | Site design by Station Seven