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
DIY
How To Make DIY Wallpaper from An Old Book
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
Before & After
Penshurst – A Sea Captain’s Mansion Saved from Ruin
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
Continue Reading
Our House
From Bugcatchers to Bluetooth LEDs: Our Lighting Makeover
“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
Happier Home
What I’d Buy on Facebook Marketplace Today (If I Wasn’t Broke)
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
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
Before & After
From 80s Bland to a Gorgeous Contemporary Renovation
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
Continue Reading
Before & After
A Reno that Makes the Most of Amazing Country Views
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
Continue Reading
Happier Home
How a Freezer Club Can Make You More Organised (and a Giveaway!)
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
A Stunning Nedlands Home Designed for Three Generations
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
From 70s Brick Box to Timeless Beach House
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,
Continue Reading
Home Projects
How To: DIY Beautiful Shampoo and Bathroom Bottles
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
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
Nerd Life
Renovating our House: What I’ve Learned and My Advice for Renovators
“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
Home Envy
A Light and Bright Home Renovation in North Fremantle
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
Continue Reading
Advice
Hidden Housemates: One Important Thing First Home Owners Rarely Think About
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,
Continue Reading
Home Renovations
A 1980s Renovated Home on a Steep Scarborough Site
Amy and Andrew Palmer-Millin stumbled upon their new home by accident. They were house-hunting in seaside Scarborough and were on their way to a different home open when they chanced upon the place that was to become their next home. “We accidentally went to see the house, it wasn’t on our list to view at
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
A DIY Makeover for a Daggy 70s Willetton Home
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
The Nature-Inspired Eco House
Well, this is it, guys – hands-down one of the coolest houses I’ve had the honour of featuring on House Nerd! This is Nature Inspired Eco House. Designed for a tiny 200sqm infill block in the city, this two-storey, solar passive new home is eco-friendly and runs on renewable energy (with no air-con). Built from a
Continue Reading
Before & After
Saved From Knockdown: A 1970s Family House Reno
When Penny and Mat bought a dark, dated and daggy 1970s home in City Beach, they thought it might be a knockdown job – and their friends presumed they would bulldoze it and build anew, too. But when Penny and Mat decided that instead they were going to renovate and extend to make it a
Continue Reading
Home Envy
Two Apartment House: The Ground Floor Apartment
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
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
The Eco-Friendly Small House in Maylands
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
Continue Reading
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.
Continue Reading
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
Continue Reading
Home Envy
A Spooky Old Sea Captain’s Mansion
Some people like gardens that are perfectly neat, with not a weed in sight or leaf out of place. But I tend to prefer the messy, crazy, overgrown ones; big and rambling, or small courtyard gardens, I like ones that enshroud their houses in dark jungle-like thickets. To me a crazy overgrown garden is so
Continue Reading
DIY
DIY: How to Make a Pressed Tin Bedhead
Today’s post is about how we made this bedhead out of pressed tin panels for our main suite – a nice way of adding impact and charm into our rather small bedroom. When we gave our bedroom a makeover, one of the major things Mr Nerd and I knew we had to do was upgrade
Continue Reading
Happier Home
10 Tips for Styling a Home on a Budget
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
Continue Reading
Advice
Renovating a Rental… As A Tenant
“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