Peeking into People's Places
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
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
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
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
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
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
I have a soft spot for Penshurst, the historic house I’m going to share with you today – which was actually one of my very first home tours – in fact I visited it before I’d even clicked ‘publish’ on my first blog post! (Original post here). When I was a teenager, after school my
Rolling country views, a pony, dogs, a beautiful solar passive new build, a lovely family and two pet sheep who are convinced they are people – this wonderful home visit was one of my favourites and I’m so pleased to share it here today with these gorgeous photos by Heather. Nestled in the Perth hills
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
If I was down to my last $20, I’d probably buy a coffee and a book… maybe a novel about a house. Me at bookstore *Spies book with pretty old mansion on cover* TAKE MY MONEY I am very partial to a story where an amazing house is almost a character. And I’m a total
“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
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
Le Fanu, Perth’s most expensive home renovation, is up for sale. If you could do with a luxury beach home and have a spare $17 million, this heritage-listed house could be yours! Some of you guys may remember the story I wrote a few years ago on this house. Right by the beach in Cottesloe
The right lights can have a major effect on a room or an interior. In fact there are few things that can date a home more quickly than old, daggy lighting. Hello boob lights and oyster lights! No matter how curated and stylish your décor, or how modern your renovation, if you still have an
I was a teenager the first time someone told me I had an addictive personality. “Oh!” I said brightly, flattered. “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 fast.” It wasn’t the last time
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
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
This week’s blog post is for one of my biggest critics and one of House Nerd’s biggest personal fans (well, at least I like to think) – MY DAD. He’s probably reading this right now while grumbling to himself, ‘When is she going to get a real job?’ however, one of the bonuses of me
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
I haven’t blogged in a little while… and if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen why! We recently welcomed our sweet little baby girl Miss Nerd to the family. She is a sweetheart; a smiley, cuddly little koala. She has been warmly welcomed to our family, especially by Little Nerd,
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
After we found out we were having another baby, I started a little bit of a mental baby bucket list. Just some fun things I wanted to do before baby number 2 arrived; things I knew would not necessarily be impossible to do with a newborn in our midst again, just trickier. I was so
Whenever I hear of a young couple that has worked their butts off to get into real estate from a young age, I find it easy to empathise. Mr Nerd and I have also worked hard and made sacrifices to get on the property ladder ourselves. Unfortunately, even when you think you’ve done ‘the right
Can you believe that until recently, I had never caught an episode of Selling Houses Australia (we don’t have Foxtel – at least not yet… this may now change) and the show has been around since 2008. Now in its eleventh season on Foxtel’s Lifestyle channel, this multi-award winning show is bigger than ever. I
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
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
Having built four houses across a range of looks from coastal to Colonial to contemporary, empty nesters Debra and Steve knew exactly what style they wanted their next home to be. The end result is what they both call their dream house – a beautiful, timeless Hamptons-style home perfect for dinner parties and entertaining. Beginning
With increasing urban sprawl and an ageing elderly population, there is one kind of home we’re now seeing more of – the multi-generational home. And I have to say they rarely get lovelier than this. This gorgeous home is a new one I recently had the pleasure of visiting. This house is named the Oak
If you come here just for the home-y stuff, this post is probably not going to be your cup of tea, sorry. If you are here because you are pregnant and hating it, read on! I’d like to preface this post by first saying I’m not a horrible or ungrateful person… honestly. I know some
I love Perth. But in my humble opinion, the rugged NSW coast has to be one of the most beautiful and special parts of Australia. A few years ago my sister-in-law relocated from Sydney to live in a beach house in a small town a couple of hours south of the city (just near Berry,
There’s nothing like stepping into your beautiful, blissful bathroom renovation, carefully designed in a minimalist colour palette of tasteful neutrals… only for your eye to be immediately drawn to the stash of colourful, garishly labelled shampoo and conditioner bottles in your shower. Am I being a little OCD? Yeah, I know it’s a first world
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
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
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?
So guess what guys, we have some news… I am pregnant! We are expecting our second baby in early July 2018 – I am 17 weeks along. We just found out what we are having – a baby girl this time! I hope she likes Enid Blyton and drawing house plans and Tomb Raider and
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
Imagine having acres and acres of land around you, no other houses as far as the eye can see. Sounds like heaven – right? But what if it’s so many endless acres of space that every so often you actually end up craving a little more intimacy, a bit more privacy and enclosed space? That’s
“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
One of the most common problems I think people have when renovating and decorating their homes is choosing the right white paint. We love our white walls in Australia, and for good reason – white walls are versatile, they feel fresh, light and airy, they work with all kinds of décor and they can make
Since we have started our project to rejuvenate the exterior of our house using Scyon Walls™cladding, I have been blown away by the number of people interested in these products and asking me questions about it. I’m not blown away because I’m surprised – I think the products are fantastic – but blown away by
When I am scrolling through Instagram, the photos always guaranteed to stop me in my tracks are ones of renovating. Maybe it’s because I have always been obsessed with a good before and after story – all the bits, from the demo to the drywall to the decking being laid out – but there is
Aside from our own renovations, I haven’t often featured room makeovers on House Nerd – I’ve always gone the whole hog and done a whole house. Even though putting together full home tours – like this one – take me ages, I haven’t often done ‘room renovations’, such as a kitchen or bathroom only, because
This post was brought to you by Nuffnang and Termidor. All writing is mine and all views expressed are my own. Buying your first house is such an exciting time, especially if you have always rented. All of a sudden here is this house you can theoretically do anything to that you want – paint,
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
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
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
I’ve been a bad blogger. Seriously I have been meaning to do this blog post for ages, I’ve had it mostly written up and I mostly just kept forgetting. (Sorry to those of you asked for it). I am disturbingly absent-minded. I don’t know how I retain stupid information, like that there are four to
Would you buy a house you hated? Could you make an offer on a home with an interior you didn’t like at all – a home that was actually a particularly ugly example of the era it was built? Home owners Craig and Emma Croxford did – buying a 1970s Willetton house that was so
So I’m going to make a bold call here, but I have to call it – I think I’ve found my favourite Iwan Iwanoff house yet. (At least my fave of all the ones I’ve visited so far!) It’s this quietly shy beauty – the Frank House in Menora. The house is owned by Michael and Carmen
This story was originally published on my old blog format on July 26, 2016. The house I’m sharing with you today is so cool – and ahead of the general Perth design curve. Built on a tiny inner-city infill block just 200sqm in size, it’s a freestanding house that has been designed to comfortably accommodate
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
I have been a fan of the houses of WA architect Ben Mountford for a while now. You might remember I did a story a few years ago on the renovation and extension he designed for this old Mt Hawthorn cottage, which won him an architecture award. His homes are cool; yet relaxed and liveable, different; but not