I have never stayed anywhere as tranquil as Millars by the Lake. Set deep in the karri forest of Quinninup, this sweet heritage cottage has something wonderfully calming about it. Owned by my friend Jade and her husband Andrew for the past four years, I’ve watched from afar, through texted photos and social media, as
Home Envy
An Idyllic 1950s Cottage in Carlisle
What would you want if you were about to sell the house you’d called home for the past ten years? The home that you and your partner slowly, fixed up over the years, painting, DIY-ing and landscaping. The house to which you’d brought two babies home from the hospital, and spent hours playing with your
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Happier Home
How We Made Our Old House Warmer
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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Home Envy
An Energy Efficient 1960s Renovation in Bayswater
Bayswater is one of my favourite suburbs in Perth. If you don’t know it; think old farmhouses, sleepy streets, old trees, character houses with tons of potential, and little pockets of former farming land that make you feel like you could have stepped back in time. It has so much perfectly unpolished charm, and it
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Home Envy
A Timeless Federation Bungalow in Coolbinia
This beautiful home has just gone on the market with Nadija Begovich and Dan Broad of The Perth Property Co. Buying a house in beautiful Coolbinia was a dream come true for then newly-engaged couple Ash and Lisa Mitchell. Both Ash and Lisa had always loved character homes and when the chance came to buy
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Home Envy
The Hilton Fibro Cottage Renovation
I love this house. This is the former home of our friends Tim and Caity Phillips, it’s a cool renovation and a house that I like because it suits its owners down to a tee. You guys may already know Tim’s name from some of my earlier posts; he and his TJP Carpentry team put
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Home Envy
An Old Lady Cottage Freshened Up for a Young Family
What do you do when you love renovating and building and are itching to do it again… but you love your current location, which is just perfect for your family? Well, it might not happen very often, but these two dedicated renovators sold their much-loved labour of love – and built their next home right
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Home Envy
A Federation House Renovation in Mount Lawley
What better way to celebrate turning 100 than with a makeover that makes you feel beautiful? If houses could talk, this stunning Federation home in Mount Lawley would certainly agree. Once beautiful back in its heyday, this old Federation home had many charming character details. But over the decades it had fallen into disrepair and
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Home Envy
The Woodbridge Weatherboard Renovation
This story first appeared on my original House Nerd blog here. It was dilapidated, needed love and had slowly deteriorated to the point that almost none of the doors and windows could be closed properly. But there was something mesmerising about the old weatherboard cottage that drew young couple and serial renovators Nat and Trent
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Home Envy
A 1940s Cottage Renovation in Maylands
When first home buyer and building designer Janik Dalecki bought a dumpy little Maylands cottage, his friends thought he had lost the plot. “The house ticked all my boxes and I instantly saw what potential it had,” he says. “But family and friends thought I was crazy and said things like, ‘it’s a bowl-over’!” But Janik,
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Before & After
A 1903 Worker’s Cottage Reno
I have always loved the tiny, original workers’ cottages in suburbs like Leederville, Subiaco and Fremantle. But although I look at them from the outside and admire their quaintness and charm, often I think that I could never live in one – I presume that they must almost always be way too small and cramped
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Home Envy
A 1960s Cottage in a Quiet Country Town
I felt like I was going back in time a bit when I went to visit this house. In a quiet town about an hour’s drive out of Perth, this 1960s red brick cottage is home to interior designer Hayley Kessner, 31, (known as Hayley Gemma) and her husband Chadd, 38, a builder and construction manager.
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Home Envy
The Pretty Palmyra Weatherboard Cottage
I love all the houses I put on House Nerd. But with its unpretentious character details, classic weatherboard build and young owners who DIYed and decorated the whole house on a shoestring budget with lots of secondhand, op shop and side-of-the-road finds, this Palmyra cottage felt extra-special to me the moment I entered. I grew
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Home Envy
A Small, Coastal-Inspired East Fremantle Home
Would you trust your mum or dad to put an offer on a house for you – without seeing it in person yourself? This East Fremantle cottage was bought, sight unseen, by globetrotters Vanessa Fordham and Karl Cramond, the founders and owners of exclusive wedding and events styling and hire company Villa Kula. Since selling their business